A Report from Energy Ant—My Trip to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico

The sun has always been a very important part of the Pueblan culture. So it makes great sense that Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, uses solar energy and has made a great effort to include solar energy in its programs. In fact, the cultural center has installed photovoltaic (solar) panels in its parking lot, and those solar panels produce electricity for its lighting and other energy systems. These photovoltaic systems take solar energy and convert it into electricity. (There's a great diagram of how this works in the Solar page of this site.)

Solar energy has many practical applications here in New Mexico and in lots of other places around the country and in the world. You can use it to heat water, generate electricity, cook food, and even make tea! Some people have even found great ways to use solar energy to move themselves from place to place—in solar-powered cars!

These solar panels use all of the sunshine in Albuquerque. And that's a lot of sunshine! So the center works with the New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department to help bring renewable energy to more places in New Mexico.

As you can see from the photo, the solar panels not only provide electricity for the building, they also provide shade for cars here in the hot New Mexico desert!