Amory Lovins to Speak In Carbondale May 17

Mr. Lovins will speak about RMI’s latest ground-breaking work, Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era. Reinventing Fire maps pathways for running a 2050 U.S. economy 158 percent bigger than today’s but with no oil, no coal, no nuclear energy, and dramatically lower costs. Researchers at RMI spent much of 2010 and 2011 researching what was possible and how, while synthesizing current innovation with RMI’s 30 years of leading-edge research. The result is a grand synthesis that integrates the transportation, buildings, industrial, and electricity sectors, and shows how they can deliver the services society wants without relying on fossil fuels (see reinventingfire.com for more information). He will also discuss how Colorado can harness the economic opportunities of being at the forefront of this transition.

Tickets can be bought at http://www.cleanenergyeconomy.net/register.html or purchased at the door. Seating limited, so advance purchase is recommended. Tickets are $15. Students are free, but must get a ticket in advance. Scholarships are also available for non-students, call 704-9200 or email info@cleanenergyeconomy.net for more information. The Thunder River Theater is located at 67 Promenade in Carbondale.

The event is presented by CLEER (Clean Energy Economy for the Region), and cosponsored by Rocky Mountain Institute, Alpine Bank, and Thunder River Theater.

Solar Rewards Community™ Introduction and Solar*Rewards Installer Training

Xcel Energy will offer an introduction to its Solar Rewards Community (SRC) program on Thursday, May 24, 2012 in Glenwood Springs. Don't miss out on a chance to learn all about it, and refresh your knowledge around the Solar Rewards process.

Topics will include: introduction to the SRC and its new online application platform; a step-by-step overview of SRC application process; Solar Rewards program updates and news; and tips on successful Solar*Rewards application completion.

The two sessions (“Solar Rewards” at 7:00 am–8:30 am and “Solar Rewards Community” 9:00 am–10:30 am) are free. A continental breakfast will be provided. The trainings will be at the Glenwood Springs Community Center, 100 Wulfsohn Road Glenwood Springs.

Please RSVP by May 18, 2012 at http://xcelenergymyrsvp.com/. There are a limited number of seats available for each training date and session. Please limit attendance to two people from each company. For more information, click here.

Energy Efficiency Programs Helping Building Trades
through Rough Economy
By Cam Burns/CLEER

A combination of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs and technology advancements—on the local, state and federal, levels—are helping local contractors stay in business during tough economic times. Although there are indications that the recession is starting to abate, some contractors attribute local and regional energy programs for helping them stay in business.

“I would say our retrofit work would represent 20 percent of our volume and that’s 20 percent we didn’t have five years ago,” said Rick Rogers, branch manager at Insulvail, an insulation company based in Gypsum. “And it’s good work.”

Rogers cited a recent effort to improve energy efficiency at the Rifle Housing Authority’s senior housing complex—where Insulvail workers spent several weeks weather-stripping, blowing in insulation, and making other improvements—as an example.

Chris Allen, sales and production manager at Glenwood-based Climate Control Company, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services firm, said currently, 30–40 percent of his company’s work is in efficiency upgrades, and that doesn’t include energy efficiency work in new construction, which lately has been spurred by new building codes.

“I would say we’ve seen a pretty good impact from energy efficiency in general,” Allen said. “We’ve seen a big uptick in business so far as people wanting to do energy efficiency.”

To read the rest of this story, click here: http://www.cleanenergyeconomy.net/news-contractors.html.

Garfield Clean Energy Undertakes Rooftop Solar Survey

Things at Garfield Clean Energy are looking up—literally. As part of their scope of work with Garfield Clean Energy, CLEER is undertaking a survey that will help elected and appointed officials in Garfield County and across the Western Slope understand the space potentially available for solar-electric power.

Specifically, the survey is being done to assess the amount of room available on the roofs of local government buildings across Garfield County.

“Garfield County—like all Colorado—has a huge solar resource,” said Rob Morey, program director at CLEER. “We’re taking a look to see what’s possible. No one’s done this before, so hopefully what we learn will boost solar power deployment in Western Colorado.”

Morey and Jeff Dickinson, renewables program director with CLEER, are using Google Earth and its mapping function to calculate the amount of rooftop space available. Interestingly, schools have some of the largest rooftops in the region, Morey noted, meaning that the renewable energy opportunity could also become an educational opportunity. Results will be published later this year.

Garfield Clean Energy recently joined the Southwest Solar Transformation Initiative, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Rooftop Solar Challenge, aimed at helping “streamline and standardize permitting, zoning, metering and connection processes—and improve finance options for residential and commercial rooftop solar systems.”

In related news, Xcel Energy will be holding a Solar Rewards training, for solar contractors, on community solar programs in Glenwood Springs the morning of May 24. Stay tuned for details.

New Loan Mechanism Helps Home and Business Owners with Energy Efficiency Loans

There’s a new, simple way for home and business owners in Garfield County who want to make energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades to their homes and offices to fund the improvements. Recently, Garfield Clean Energy, the Colorado Housing Finance Authority (CHFA), and Garfield County created the Garfield Clean Energy Credit Reserve Fund (GCECRF).

The Credit Reserve Fund helps banks offer loans to folks interested in energy upgrades by incentivizing local commercial banks with a “reserve account” that offers them some protection in the event that a borrower defaults on a loan.

“Essentially, the Credit Reserve Fund lets banks use their own underwriting criteria, but it also allows them some flexibility to pass on favorable terms to borrowers for energy work,” said Rob Morey, program manager for CLEER.

How does it work? The process is fairly simple:

Home and business owners can borrow up to $100,000 for energy upgrades and improvements through the Credit Reserve Fund. Loans supported by the fund offer favorable terms (credit score dependent) and straightforward application processes. Locally, the first bank to adopt the program was Alpine Bank.

“The Fund offers a great way for anyone interested in energy efficiency upgrades to get started and CLEER staff can still help align the customer with any available rebates,” Morey said.

For more information, contact Rob Morey at CLEER, 704-9200 or rmorey@cleanenergyeconomy.net or Kent Wilson at Alpine Bank Glenwood Springs, 384-3243, or KentWilson@alpinebank.com.

Garfield Clean Energy Credit Reserve Fund is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) through the Department of Energy's Better Buildings Neighborhood Program.

2012 Regional Trails, Biking, Walking Summit Packs in Eighty Trail Enthusiasts

Working together, the communities of the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys have the opportunity to create a major trail system that could attract thousands of tourists and considerably bolster the area’s economy. That was what some 80 participants at the 2012 Regional Trails, Biking and Walking Summit held in Glenwood Springs on April 20 concluded at the end of the full-day event.

Participants heard recently elected Basalt Mayor Jacque Whitsitt describing the region’s extensive trail systems, which run the length of the Roaring Fork Valley, cover considerable distance along the I-70 corridor, and even extend up the Crystal Valley. Built with a combination of grants, government investments, and volunteer labor, the area’s trails have collectively gotten significant attention as one of the best systems in the state. But, area trail enthusiasts hope to build more.

A number of participants said that building trails creates jobs. Several marketing professionals spoke about how the Pitkin, Garfield, and Eagle county area’s trails draw many visitors. “That trails system … can be a driver to your area,” said Linda Hill a marketing consultant from Edwards, noting that attracting more tourists generates sales tax revenues that can, in turn, be used to build more trails. “You're giving these people a wonderful experience.”

The all-day summit was sponsored by Garfield Clean Energy, organized by CLEER, and co-sponsored by various organizations and businesses based in Pitkin, Garfield, and Eagle counties. In the end, participants—many of whom are passionate about trails—agreed to continue working together to develop trails, and increase funding for them.

“If you build it they will come,” said Lisa Langer, vice president of tourism marketing for the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association, quoting a famous line from the movie Field of Dreams. “But we need to work out how to get them [tourists] to recognize what we have here.”

To see CLEER’s video of Governor Hickenlooper’s opening address for the summit, click here.

Efficiency and Alternative Fuels for Fleets Workshop Draws a (Big) Crowd
By Mike Ogburn/CLEER

On Friday April 13, 60 people attended a regional workshop put on by Garfield Clean Energy and the Governor’s Energy Office on efficiency and alternative fuels for fleets. This conference is where the rubber meets the road for regional energy goals that include cutting petroleum use by 25 percent by 2020 as a means to a stronger, more resilient, and more energy-secure economy.

The economic benefits to be gained from cutting petroleum use by all vehicles in the region are clear. The annual transportation spending in Garfield County by all citizens and businesses and governments was $120 million dollars in 2009. Because the U.S. imports roughly 50 percent of its oil, this means our local economy sent approximately $60 million abroad to purchase oil.

At the conference, public and private fleet managers learned about practical methods and proven technologies to cut energy use in existing fleets. Local fleets are proving these methods work just as well in the mountains, with fleets like Eagle County successfully cutting petroleum use 30 percent while saving $150,000 annually through better fleet management and better vehicles. Since government members of Garfield Clean Energy spent $1.5 million on vehicle fuel in 2009, meeting the 25 percent regional target represents an estimated annual savings to taxpayers of $375,000.

To read more of this story, click here.

Case Study: Rifle Church Sees the Light with New Lamps, Ballasts, and Solar Photovoltaic Power

Members of Rifle’s Seventh Day Adventist Church are literally seeing a new kind of light after upgrading their light fixtures with modern, energy-efficient technology. Seeking to save money on their utility bills, church board members contacted Garfield Clean Energy and signed up for the Garfield Clean Energy Challenge. As a participant in that program, they received Energy Coaching services, which helped them get lined up with a free lighting audit from Franklin Energy, who implement Xcel Energy’s Small Business Lighting program. They also took advantage of a low-cost full-building audit that Xcel Energy provides its customers. The two reports indicated the church could significantly reduce its power consumption by turning down the thermostat and installing more efficient lighting….

To read more of this case study, click here.

To read more case studies, click here.