Kit Carson Electric Cooperative Awarded $800,000 for Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations

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Award grant part of New Mexico Department of Transportation electric vehicle charging station grant program funded by American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

Taos, New Mexico – Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, Inc (KCEC) today announced that the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) has selected KCECs proposed EV projects to receive $800,000 in grant funds appropriated to the NMDOT by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Section 9901 State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

The NMDOT award for KCEC will provide funding for engineering services, design, and installation of electric vehicle (EV) DC fast charging stations across seven New Mexico locations under the NMDOT Level 3 Direct Current Electric Vehicle Charging Station Grant Program. The charging station host entity and their respective locations are:

·      Angel Fire Ski Resort, Angel Fire, NM

·      Red River Convention Center, Red River, NM

·      El Rito Northern New Mexico College, El Rito, NM

·      Picuris Administration Building, Penasco, NM

·      Questa Village Hall, Questa, NM

·      Oja Calliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa, Oja Caliente, NM

·      Taos Plaza, Taos, NM (2)

KCEC began establishing EV charging stations throughout its service area in 2019 as part of its plan to be among the cleanest, most cost-effective electric cooperatives in America. With the new charging sites, KCEC will have 50 total EV charging stations and expand its contribution toward New Mexico’s statewide objective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by the year 2030.  The EV grant award is the latest in a string of 2022 milestones KCEC is meeting in partnership with its wholesale power provider, Guzman Energy, including having lower retail electricity rates than any Tri-State member cooperative, and achieving 100% daytime solar powered this year.

“With these new charging stations, we are providing our members with expanded clean energy economy services that improve quality of life and economic opportunity in our region,” said Luis A. Reyes, Jr., CEO of KCEC. “We are thrilled that the NMDOT shares our vision to ensure EV services are available to our community as well as to our valued New Mexico tourism visitors.”

The new charging stations are targeted to be operational around 2023. 

The Letter: Laudato Si Film Released Today

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The Letter, the #laudatosi film, is out today. No coincidence that it is also the Feast of St Francis. Watch & listen to people from Senegal, the Amazon, India, and Hawaii as they articulate a radical vision for the protection of Creation.

In 2015, Pope Francis wrote Laudato Si’ (The Letter); an encyclical letter about the environmental crisis to every single person in the world. A few years later, four voices that have gone unheard in global conversations have been invited to an unprecedented dialogue with the Pope. Hailing from Senegal, the Amazon, India, and Hawaii, they bring perspective and solutions from the poor, the indigenous, the youth, and wildlife into a conversation with Pope Francis himself. This documentary follows their journey to Rome and the extraordinary experiences that took place there, and is packed with powerfully moving personal stories alongside the latest information about the planetary crisis and the toll it’s taking on nature and people. Because, in the words of the Laudato Si’ Movement chair Lorna Gold, “once you know, you CANNOT look away.” #LaudatoSiFilm

The Latest Issue of the mid Rio Grande Times

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Answer the Tree Questionnaire and get updates on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, Bernardo Waterfowl Complex and the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refute.

Click here to see the October 2, 2022 issue.