Contact: Caroline.Funk@sierraclub.org
The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter, 350NM, City of Albuquerque, and the Earth Day Festival organizers are delighted to announce the 2024 Earth Day Festival on April 21, from 10-4 at Balloon Fiesta Park. Tickets are free for all throughout March.
The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter and 350NewMexico, along with our partners, want to help people learn how to access their Inflation Reduction Act benefits, as well as state and local savings at the Earth Day Festival. Sierra Club Energy Guides will lead visitors who sign up ahead of time to Energy Experts – the folks who understand the tax benefits and installing the technology.
Everyone who registers for the Earth Day Festival can sign up for free help and an electrification plan made specifically for them on Earth Day. They can then visit booths to talk to government agencies, vendors who sell electrification technology, and non-profits who help in the process.
For a little bit of background: the Inflation Reduction Act provides tax incentives to households to increase energy efficiency in every way, including weatherizing and adding solar, to buying used and new EVs and installing chargers. New Mexico was one of the first states to apply for state level Inflation Reduction Act funds, and soon the folks at EMNRD will be deploying additional state funds focused primarily on upgrading and retrofitting lower income households. The tax benefits and rebates are available now. A few main websites explain programs and allow households to explore options and calculate costs and savings:
Rewiring America
Electrify New Mexico
Harnessing the Power of the Inflation Reduction Act | Sierra Club
We are working to make sure all organizations and agencies with conservation and climate missions are invited to register for a booth at Earth Day. We are particularly focused on agencies and organizations that work in areas related to the deployment of the Inflation Reduction Act. And, we are looking for businesses who perform energy audits, install the new electrification and weatherization systems, work with EVS, and professionals who work with the tax credit situation for household – owners and renter
The deadline for Earth Day Festival booth registration is April 1. Costs are $150 for nonprofit organizations, $175 for recycling-focused artists, and $350 for businesses. You can sign up online.
- If you aren’t planning to host a booth, we could use help finding Energy Guides, Energy Adopters, and Energy Experts on Earth Day too.
We in the Sierra Club need somewhere between 30-50 folks to serve as Energy Guides in two hour shifts. We’ll train everyone to help visitors find the right resources at the Festival. The link for signing up to be an Energy Guide is here: Earth Day Energy Guide - 350NM and their collaborators need Energy Experts, folks who are in the business of installing or planning the new tech: solar, heat pumps, ev chargers, induction ranges or folks who have experience with the tax credits and rebates. They also need Energy Adopters, folks who have done some of this for themselves – bought an EV and installed a charger, set up a heat pump anything in their house, cook on induction to talk to folks about how it went. The link to sign up to be an Energy Expert or Energy Adopter is here.
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