Santa Feans hot for energy film.
Turns out, all you need to draw a crowd at the faltering Jean Cocteau Cinema is to throw some hummus on the counter and a short film on renewable energy in the projector. Voila, sold-out show.
Granted, this March 20 event-a screening of
Santa Fe's Solution: A Biomass Future
-is free. But open seats are at a premium. Dozens of people linger in the concession area ***image1***nibbling appetizers and clamoring for spare tickets. An usher reports that those without will have to wait until a second showing at the Cinema Café on March 30.
The film represents a tangible description of innovative efforts to make Santa Fe a model city for renewable energy.
The push is being spearheaded by the nonprofit Local Energy, which was awarded a $1.3 million federal grant in October 2003 to help design a heating system for downtown Santa Fe fueled by biomass, also known as bark, sawdust and other wood waste.
The critical next step is currying public favor-and funding-for the project. That's where
Biomass Future
comes in.
"It's a great promotional tool," City Councilor Patti Bushee says. "Not just for their concept but for the City of Santa Fe…I think it would be a phenomenal feat for the community-both economically and environmentally-if Santa Fe can become a conservation capital to the country."
The film delineates the economic and environmental benefits of the system. Santa Fe Community College-which has installed a biomass boiler-serves as the local success story.
After the screening ends, Local Energy Executive Director Mark Sardella echoes the optimism of the film while acknowledging the difficulties of instituting the concept.
"It is scary to go to a new energy source," Sardella tells the crowd. "We have to rearrange how we think about energy resources. We have to rearrange how we think about our economy. But at some point we have to face the fact that high-quality resources are going to decline."
That reality is what drew Madeline Pryor to the Jean Cocteau. "I wanted to see what they are doing here," Pryor says. "It makes sense. There is going to be a lot of opposition, but if any place could do it, Santa Fe could."
It's an ambitious idea, if nothing else.
"I really think this is a great concept and I hope that we can embrace it," Bushee says. "It's a matter of time and money but I believe it can be done."
The price tag for detailed engineering studies would be hefty, let alone actual implementation of the system. Bushee nevertheless says the effort is headed in the right direction.
"They've taken their first steps with the grant and now this public education effort," Bushee says. "The next great leap is getting the funding for a large-scale district heating system. If we can focus on specific plans…we'll be cooking without gas, as they say."
