Offering an exploration of a sustainable, electric, world of the future, the Jan. 20-21 PowerUP Expo is designed to be a “fun and interactive experience,” said organizing committee member Renee Frank. The Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave., will be a place where people can get good information as detailed as they want, she said.
“There are so many reasons to be optimistic about the future,” Frank said. “It is an exciting time and it’s a time for people to know what’s available to them and to start making decisions that will make their lives better.”
Frank is an area realtor who specializes in the future of electrification, she is an ecobroker.
The expo offers information to the public in a way they can see and touch, feel and understand how these things are going to enable them to make their lives better, she said. It is about how people can actually make choices that can make their own lives better for now and also improve the planet.
The expo has three focuses, she said. The first one is about electrification including appliances and transportation. The second will focus on renewable energy, mostly solar.
“Right now, today, renewable energy is the cheapest source of energy,” Frank said. “The solar or wind generation plus the batteries combined is cheaper than any other source.”
She said El paso Electric’s goal is to be carbon free by 2045 and they will be on site promoting that.
The third focus is energy efficiency, she said. Focusing on technologies that have advanced and which make houses more energy efficient.
“Energy efficiency is probably the cheapest way to start reducing your carbon usage,” Frank said. “It’s the most accessible.”
The expo includes “Electric Avenue,” as visitors walk up to the Convention Center entrance, they will see it lined with electric vehicles of all kinds, from cars to scooters. A Ford F-150 Lightning will be on display with other, more affordable vehicles that can be purchased under $40,000.
On the morning of Friday, Jan. 20 the morning will be full of workshops and training, with the displays opening to the public at noon. An opening ceremony is around 12:30 p.m. Saturday offers even more of the fun stuff and demonstrations. There will be corner talks involving induction cooking, a solar corner, energy efficiency and one about electric homes. Also, for the little ones, there will be a hands-on children’s museum section, Frank said. Hours are noon-5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.
“The essence of this is this is an optimist playbook for clean energy future,” she said. “Technology has moved far from where most people really understand it is, this will show them what is happening.”
Visit meetinlascruces.com for more information.
