By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Los Alamos County has big goals and plans for its environmental sustainability.
During the Feb. 17 County Council meeting, Sustainability Manager Angelica Gurule laid out what some of these objectives are: reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, becoming a carbon neutral electric provider by 2040 and phasing out natural gas in the County’s operations by 2050 and in the general community by 2070.
These are not mere daydreams or grandiose promises, Gurule reported on the County’s progress in its Climate Action Plan to achieve carbon neutrality.
She explained for Fiscal Year 2026 and 2027, there are 13 action items being focused on. So far, four have been completed, four are in progress and five are upcoming.
Regarding what has been accomplished, Gurule said Firebrand was selected to provide climate marketing and engagement services. Additionally, the draft fleet conversion and community-wide electric vehicle (EV) charging plan has been published and six, level two EV chargers have been constructed at the Municipal Building.
Gurule elaborated further on the EV charging stations; she said in January, there were 348 unique charging sessions and in the first 10 days in February, there were 115 sessions.
As far as what is underway, she said several focus areas are being addressed, including encouraging alternative transportation.
“(We are) trying to move people from driving single occupancy vehicles and more towards using the bus, bicycling, walking, commuting, carpooling … building out campaigns to try to inspire people to get out of their car and do something different,” Gurule said.
Another focus area is promoting energy efficiency, EV adoption, recycling and composting.
The intent, Gurule said, is to present the final fleet conversion and community wide EV charging plan to council in March. She added work continues to expand EV infrastructure and design. Work is also being done to procure two DC fast chargers at Mesa Public Library, which are partially funded by a New Mexico Department of Transportation grant. Efforts are also underway to expand the County’s energy resiliency and expand the solar array at Foxtail Flats in the Four Corners Area.
Gurule touched on what the future has in store. She said work is starting on an energy audit service for residential customers. Also, it was recommended to conduct a climate vulnerability assessment this year. Gurule reported that a commuter trip reduction program is being developed to reduce the number of single occupancy cars on the road. Adopting green building standards is starting to be investigated. She said the Community Development staff have begun reviewing County building codes and will present their findings to council. Additionally, a low-impact development education brochure is being created to capture and keep stormwater on site. This would be voluntary but would be used to educate any development in the County, Gurule said.
While outside of the Climate Action Plan, Gurule reported that an audit was conducted on the County’s recycling program and it determined that the County has a 17 percent contamination rate, which is lower than the state’s average. The audit findings revealed that continuous education is needed on how to recycle correctly. It also showed that the contamination rate has remained unchanged for about a decade.
She also mentioned that a possible piece of state legislation is being evaluated for extended producer responsibility. This would make manufacturers of things like mattresses, batteries and other things that are hard to recycle responsible for their disposal. Another item being researched is a tariff on bill financing, which is a way for the County to offer low-interest rate loans to upgrade homes through things such as electrification or HVAC installation. Finally, Gurule said the County was selected to receive a $1.2 million Environmental Protection Agency grant for food composting.
Need more green news or further insight to County’s carbon neutrality work? Follow Gurule’s advice and subscribe to the Sustainability newsletter here.