Clean Energy Economy News | Online edition

Dec. 19, 2008 | Vol. 1, No. 14

In this issue

• G-NECI Advisory Board convenes first meeting
• CLEER & G-NECI win $75,000 in state matching grants for solar rebates
• Denver nonprofit offers no-interest loans for solar PV installations
• Snowmass ranchers test for wind power on ranch purchased near Brush
• Glenwood Springs boosts wind electricity purchase for 2009
• Governor’s Energy Office releases 2007-08 annual report
• Electricity, natural gas prices decline
• Events:
  • 58th annual Wintersköl celebrates dark skies
  • Build Green Live Green: Renewable Energy Forum and Expo
• Clean Energy Bits ‘n Bobs

Greetings,

This issue of Clean Energy Economy News comes a bit early in anticipation of the holidays. It includes exciting news about the formation of the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative Advisory Board, which held its first official meeting on Wednesday. The board elected Carbondale Mayor Michael Hassig as chairman and Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert as vice-chair, and set the second Wednesday of the month as their regular meeting date.

This issue also reports on $75,000 in solar matching grants awarded to CLEER and G-NECI, a conversation with Leanna Harris of Denver about her nonprofit model for no-interest loans for solar PV, a wind farm in the works by Snowmass ranchers Steve and Molly Child and Connie Harvey on their ranch near Brush, and a boost in the wind power to be purchased in 2009 by the Glenwood Springs electric utility.

Check out the Governor’s Energy Office newly released 2007-08 annual report, news about recent price drops for natural gas and electricity, and a new report about the effects of climate change on ski resorts. And don’t forget to scroll down for Clean Energy Bits ‘n Bobs.

As always, feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues. Archives of full-length stories for this and all past editions are on the CLEER website.

We wish you very happy holidays, and look forward to our continuing collaboration to advance the clean energy economy in 2009!

Heather McGregor, Editor
Clean Energy Economy News

Alice Laird, Director
Clean Energy Economy for the Region

back to top

G-NECI Advisory Board convenes first meeting

Nine-member board sets course for clean energy programs and services
from Parachute to Carbondale

Garfield New Energy Communities Advisory Board members Amelia Shelley, left, Keith Lambert, center, and Michael Hassig, right.

The Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative Advisory Board held its first official meeting Wednesday in Rifle. The nine-member board unanimously elected Carbondale Mayor Michael Hassig as chairman and Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert as vice-chair.

“I think the New Energy Communities Initiative is an ambitious plan,” said Hassig. “It’s important and critical work that needs to be done.”  Hassig said he felt honored to be elected to chair the advisory board.

“Taking on a leadership role with the direction of providing renewable and clean energy in Garfield County is an exciting prospect,” said Lambert, “and one that has long-term implications for both the energy industry and the economy. I’m pleased to be considered and selected in this position.”

The Garfield County Commissioners formed the advisory board Dec. 8 to guide the clean energy programs and services to be provided under the $1.6 million, two-year, state Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grant awarded in October. The state initiative is a partnership between DOLA and the Governor’s Energy Office. The advisory board consists of members and alternates from each of the nine partner entities.

The advisory board agreed on a regular meeting date and time — the second Wednesday of the month, from 1 to 3 p.m. — and will alternate back and forth between Glenwood Springs and Rifle. The next meeting will be Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the Garfield County Administration Building in Glenwood Springs.

On the morning of Jan. 14, the Advisory Board will also host a workshop on greening public facilities owned by the G-NECI partner entities. The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Garfield County Administration Building in Glenwood Springs.  Watch for an agenda and more details in early January.

During the meeting Wednesday, the Advisory Board and others in the room discussed steps for finalizing the grant contract between DOLA and Garfield County, developing bylaws for the advisory board, plans for staffing the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative (G-NECI), and rolling out the G-NECI programs and services.

Grant contract: The original 11 program areas in the grant application have been condensed into a more understandable set of six program areas. These will be included in the contract between DOLA and Garfield County, which is serving as the fiscal agent, as the “scope of services.”
Residential Programs and Services
Commercial Programs and Services
Greening Government
Energy Efficient Transportation and Community Design
Renewable Energy
Long-Range Planning and Clean Energy Financing

Interim staff with the nonprofit group Clean Energy Economy for the Region (CLEER), are now working to reconfigure the program budget so it fits the six program areas. Advisory board members asked CLEER staff and DOLA representative Jack Kirtland to work out the details so a final contract could be presented at the Jan. 14 meeting. The board will review the contract, consider revisions, and would then be expected to make a recommendation to the Garfield County Commissioners for their approval of the contract.

back to top

CLEER & G-NECI win $75,000 in grants for solar rebates

$50K jump-starts solar PV rebates in Glenwood Springs,
$25K for solar hot water demonstration projects

The Governor’s Energy Office awarded $75,000 in matching grants to CLEER and the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative for rebates in 2009 for solar photovoltaic installations in Glenwood Springs and for solar hot water demonstration projects.

“These grants, coupled with local match from the City of Glenwood Springs pledged to G-NECI, will fund $50,000 in rebates for residential installations and $50,000 in rebates for commercial installations in 2009,” said Alice Laird, director of CLEER.

Up to now, customers of the Glenwood Springs Electric Department, which covers an area a bit larger than the city limits, have not been offered utility rebates for solar installations comparable to those offered by Holy Cross Energy and Xcel Energy. The only rebates available come from CORE.

“These new rebates will begin to put Glenwood Springs customers on equal footing with their neighbors. We hope to see a lot of solar panels pop up in Glenwood Springs this year,” Laird said.

CLEER and G-NECI plan to put the solar hot water grant to use for demonstration projects on public facilities in the county.

GEO’s grants to CLEER and G-NECI are among 32 community-based grant programs across the state aimed at growing installations of solar hot water and solar photovoltaic systems and the repair of orphaned hot water systems.

“Solar is a terrific long-term investment to save money at home and reduce energy costs for businesses and homeowners," said Tom Plant, director of the GEO. "Solar is a win-win-win for communities, creating clean energy jobs and providing for clean, reliable power and stable energy prices."

The Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association is administering the solar rebate program for GEO. CoSEIA is the state chapter of the national trade group of certified solar installers. To be eligible for the rebates, residential and commercial property owners must use a CoSEIA-certified installer, and systems must be installed after Feb. 2, 2009.

"With a combination of the GEO rebates and tax credits, Colorado home and business owners can save 50 to 55 percent of the upfront costs of solar hot water or PV installations. In addition to these savings, these systems can save anywhere from $250 to $500 per year in energy costs," said Plant.

Rebate applications will be accepted beginning Feb. 2, 2009. More information and application forms will be available on the CLEER website and in the next issue of the Clean Energy Economy News, to be published Jan. 12.

back to top

Denver nonprofit offers no-interest loans
for solar PV installations

Founder Leanna Harris presents Partnership for Sustainability
model at Carbondale luncheon

The idea behind Partnership for Sustainability, a Denver-based nonprofit that offers no-interest loans for solar installations, came from the inspiring work in Third World micro-credit by Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank.

At the same time Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, Leanna Harris was wondering how Colorado residents could get access to the upfront funding needed to install solar photovoltaic systems. Yunus had set up a revolving loan fund through Grameen, and Harris realized that the same simple model could work in financing clean energy.

Already at a crossroads in her professional life, Harris decided to start a nonprofit micro-credit organization that could offer loans to households, businesses and institutions for solar energy.

It was slow going at first. A lot of people she approached for funding told her to come back once she had a track record. Then Community Banks of Colorado grasped the vision and offered to match every $1 committed by donors with another $2 to capitalize the loan fund. To date, Harris has raised $1 million for the loan fund.

So far, Partnership for Sustainability has financed 10 solar installations. Most are on private homes, but PFS also worked with Hybrid Energy Group, which brought in private sector financing, to pay for a 100 kW array mounted on the roof of the Denver Museum of Science and Nature.

Above: About 30 people gathered Dec. 8 for a luncheon in Carbondale Town Hall to hear Leanna Harris, executive director of Denver-based Partnership for Sustainability, explain the PFS no-interest revolving loan program. Photo by Colin Laird. Below: Leanna Harris, second from right, explains the no-interest loan funding model to David Miller, right, leader of the Alpine Bank Green Team, and to Mary Kenyon, left, president of Real Time Marketing and board member of the Mountain to Mesa Home Builders Association (M2MHBA), and Lauren Martindale, second from left, of Energy Partners Inc.

Harris explained how PFS solar loans work during a lunch presentation held Dec. 8 in Carbondale, hosted by CLEER. The PFS program ties in with an important goal of the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative to help households and businesses overcome the upfront cost barrier to making clean energy improvements.

“What makes it affordable is to not pay any more for the loan than you already pay to your utility. To make that work, it came down to a no-interest loan,” Harris said.

Borrowers pay $2,000 down, which they will get back the following year as a federal income tax credit, and about $200 in loan closing costs. Loans are set up to be paid back within 10 years, starting at an amount close to the borrower’s monthly electric bill and rising 7 percent per year. Some homeowners have accelerated payments; some low-income residents are on a longer payment plan.

To run her organization, Harris takes a one-time 10 percent deduction from every donation to the loan fund. She also charges solar installers a $200 per kilowatt fee for installations.

“They are happy to pay that fee,” Harris said of the installers. Harris is delivering customers who otherwise would have felt that a solar installation was beyond their budget.

Bankers in the luncheon audience asked Harris how she handles credit checks, depreciation, increased property value, and failing loans, while solar installer Katharine Rushton asked if PFS requires borrowers to make efficiency improvements first.

“We didn’t want our organization to be about policing,” Harris said. PFS could require an audit, she said, but it would be tough to craft a policy to govern which items on an audit report must be completed.

“We scratched all that, and we are just working on the low-hanging fruit, such as light bulbs and appliances,” Harris said. “For most of our clients, this is the 20th step for them. They are miles ahead of what would be a minimum requirement, and they’ve been waiting for years for the opportunity to afford this.”

From her own experience living with a solar photovoltaic system, she has seen that once the system is running, her family has become far more conscious of their energy use.

“It inspires you to see how low you can go. It’s a little bit backwards from the way people in the industry want to see it, but your awareness goes up. It becomes a competition with yourself,” she said.

Harris and her Partnership for Sustainability board are now working toward two goals:

• Capitalizing the revolving loan fund to $4 million. This would allow PFS to finance the installation of three to four solar systems per month.
• Expanding the reach of PFS geographically by forming chapters in other communities.

Meanwhile, CLEER is forming a technical advisory group to develop a clean energy financing program for Garfield County. The Manaus Fund has pledged $250,000 in seed funding for this loan program once the details are worked out, in hopes of driving additional investments to grow the fund.

back to top

Snowmass ranchers test for wind power
on ranch near Brush

“All these power lines go right to Brush. It’s like the nerve center.”

Snowmass cattle ranchers Steve and Molly Child and Connie Harvey bought a prairie ranch near Brush last year as a good place to winter their cows and for its potential to generate clean energy from the wind and sun.

Powerlines march across the Child-Harvey ranch toward Xcel Energy's Pawnee power plant near Brush, Colo. Photo by Scott Ely

The ranch sits just a mile south of Xcel Energy’s Pawnee power plant, a coal-fired 505-megawatt plant. Large electrical transmission lines connect Pawnee and a neighboring 250-megawatt gas-fired plant, owned by TransCanada, to Xcel’s Colorado and Wyoming grid.

“It’s in an ideal location for being where electricity needs to go,” said Steve Child. “All these power lines go right to Brush. It’s like the nerve center for electrical transmission in northeastern Colorado. There are five high voltage lines going through the ranch already. We are basically already on the grid. Other new wind farms are needing to build 80 mile long power lines to deliver their electricity to Brush.”

Earlier this year, Child investigated the feasibility of a large solar array. He and Scott Ely, owner of Sunsense, worked up a plan to install ground-mounted photovoltaic panels on 100 acres to generate 2 to 20 megawatts of power. But their proposal lost out to a large solar thermal project Xcel is pursuing in the Mojave Desert, so it’s on hold for now.

Now Child is pursuing wind energy. In October, engineering students from Colorado State University erected a 30-meter anemometer test tower, or “met tower,” near the ranch house. It will be in place for a full year, measuring daily wind velocity and directional patterns, to determine how much power a household-sized wind turbine could generate there. It’s the first met tower installed in Morgan County.

Colorado State University mechanical engineering students take a break for a photo after erecting a 30-meter wind anemometer test tower on the Child-Harvey ranch near Brush, on Oct. 4. They are, from left, Daniel Fink, Todd MacDonald, Adam Hutchinson, Nick Wagner, Chris Record, Jake Renquist and Markus Lutz. Ranch owner Steve Child of Snowmass is at right. Photo by Michael Kostrzewa.

CSU’s Wind Application Center and the Governor’s Energy Office offer the free anemometer loan program. Landowners who are interested in pursuing household-scale wind power can apply for a free one-year “met tower” installation. The program is measuring wind capacity at 14 sites in Colorado, building a database of wind potential throughout Colorado.

After downloading software from the Anemometer Loan Program website, Child can track the wind readings at the Brush ranch from his home in Snowmass.

“We only have one month of data so far. In October, the wind blew 10 to 30 mph for 50 percent of the time. If the 30-meter tower proves a positive wind load, Child would put up a small household-scale turbine grid-tied to the Morgan County Rural Electric Association. The 30-meter tower, however, is close to the ranch house, and not on the optimum wind site on the 8,850-acre ranch.

So Child is talking with two large-scale wind power developers about a separate wind study of the potential for a utility-scale installation of turbines on the ranch.

“Big turbines kick in at 7 to 8 mph, so if we had big turbines on that site, they would have been turning more than half the time. To produce maximum electricity, the wind needs to be up around 17 mph,” Child said.

“A full study would have a 60-meter tower with anemometers at four different heights on the tower, and it would be up for one to two years,” Child said. “If the numbers are promising after one year, then they would leave it up for second year and start engineering for the turbines.”

He is weighing the options of a standard arrangement with one company to lease wind rights and receive an annual lease payment, or a community based project with another company that would bring in Child and other Morgan County residents as investors. He has applied for a special use permit for the second tower, and hopes to have it installed in February.

If it goes forward, the wind farm on the Child-Harvey ranch would be the first for Morgan County.

“I don’t think a wind farm would bother people. There are a lot of power lines, and the power plant really sticks up and dominates the landscape,” Child said. “The picture I want to see is a 100-acre solar farm and wind turbines, with the coal plant in the background.”

back to top

Glenwood Springs boosts wind electricity purchase

Clean energy to provide 15 percent of city utility’s electricity in 2009

Starting Jan. 1, the Glenwood Springs Electric Department will be buying more wind-generated electricity from its wholesale supplier, Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN).

In 2007, the city-owned utility bought 9.7 million kilowatt-hours of wind power from MEAN. Public Works Director Robin Millyard has negotiated an increased purchase of 16 million kWh for 2009. That will raise the share of wind-generated electricity in the city’s power portfolio from the present 7 percent to the new rate of 11 percent. The city also purchases about 4 percent of its electricity from hydroelectric dams in western Colorado operated by the Western Area Power Administration.

The added cost to purchase wind-generated electricity is estimated to be $42,000, less than 1 percent of the city’s total annual cost for purchased electricity. The city will be paying MEAN a wholesale rate of 4.6 cents per kWh for wind power compared to a rate of 3.9 cents a kWh for coal-fired power, according to Millyard.

Millyard said he expects the city utility to sell a total of 140 million kWh in 2009, an increase of 2 percent over 2007.

back to top

Governor's Energy Office
releases 2007-08 annual report

The Governor's Energy Office released its first annual report on Dec. 2 for fiscal year 2007-08, listing its success in making measurable gains for clean energy.

“The programs at GEO have advanced many renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, businesses and installations statewide," said Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. “I am proud of the GEO's many successes in building the New Energy Economy for Colorado, bringing its benefits to homeowners, businesses, and governments."     
    
The report includes information on the efforts of GEO over the past year to:

• Create and implement residential energy efficiency programs, such as ENERGY STAR New Homes and Insulate Colorado, and increase the delivery of critical energy-efficiency upgrades to low-income families.
• Assist mountain communities in mitigating pine-beetle kill with wood heating projects.
• Establish a first-ever statewide solar rebate program, delivered in partnership with local governments and community groups.
• Promote energy conservation and Demand Side Management programs to electric utilities.
• Support development of geothermal, small hydro and wind projects.
• Reduce costs and resources used by the state vehicle fleet.
• Encourage energy performance contracting and high performance design to save energy costs for local governments. 

"More than ever, we need to continue to encourage clean, modern energy development and energy efficiency in Colorado,” said Tom Plant, director of the GEO. “It provides reliable, affordable power to increase our energy security, protects our environment, and brings good jobs and much needed savings for our state during this economic downturn."

The annual report is available at the GEO website for viewing or downloading.

back to top

Electricity, natural gas prices decline

Nuclear power plant proposed for Emery County, Utah

Energy prices are falling as the recession takes hold of the U.S. economy. Although prices spiked upward over the summer months, natural gas prices fell in November, yielding lower costs for electricity and home heating. Xcel is cutting the price of electricity by 13 percent starting Jan. 1. SourceGas cut its commodity rate for natural gas by 22 percent — although it’s still twice as high as last winter’s rate.

Meanwhile, the Daily Sentinel reports that Transition Power Development has filed a federal application to build a nuclear power plant in Emery County, Utah, west of Green River.

In the news
Daily Sentinel, Dec. 12, 2008
Electric bills expected to fall

Daily Sentinel, Nov. 29, 2008
Nuclear plant on horizon in Green River

back to top

Events:

58th annual Wintersköl celebrates dark skies

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) Portrait by Justus Sustermans More information at The Galileo Project hosted by Rice University

Interactive star-gazing and astronomy lecture celebrate Galileo and the telescope

Harvard University astronomer David Aguilar will be in Aspen for Wintersköl, presenting a lecture and an interactive star-gazing experience to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of the telescope.

The Wintersköl theme, Powder Days & Stellar Nights, draws its inspiration from the United Nations International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA09).

Aguilar will preset a free astronomy lecture and exhibition of original space art on Thursday, Jan. 8, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., at the Aspen Institute.

He will host an interactive telescope viewing experience on Saturday, Jan. 10, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Wagner Park.

Both events are free and open to all.

Wintersköl runs from Jan. 8 to 11, and is produced by the Aspen Chamber Resort Association. More information and a full Wintersköl schedule of events: (970) 925-1940 or www.aspenchamber.org.

back to top

Save the date
Build Green Live Green:
Renewable Energy Forum and Expo

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009
Place: Two Rivers Convention Center, Grand Junction

Xcel Energy will host a full day of events and conversation about the sustainability initiatives that are moving Western Colorado communities into a new energy economy. The forum will feature Randy Udall of Carbondale, former director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) and one of the nation's leading activists in promoting energy sustainability.

Co-sponsored by Mesa State College, the City of Grand Junction, Mesa County and Mesa County School District 51
More information and expo table reservations:
Kevin Wodlinger, (970) 623-8500 or kevin.wodlinger@cumulus.com

back to top

Clean Energy Bits ‘n Bobs

The Glenwood Springs Recycling Center will be open longer hours starting Jan. 6, says manager Brandon Champion. The new hours will be 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Champion is also talking with cosmetics manufacturer Aveda on a plan to collect plastic bottle caps for recycling …

If you are interested in tracking Boulder County’s progress on its opt-in ClimateSmart Loan Program, a clean energy financing district approved by voters in November, check out the loan program resource page on the Boulder County website …

If you missed Søren Hermansen, the Danish wind power and clean energy leader, when he visited Aspen and Glenwood Springs in late October, you can catch a radio interview with him on the Cross Currents show on KAJX Aspen Public Radio > Wind Power. Also, copies of the 38-minute Danish documentary, A rather (un)common island, are available from CLEER for $15. Send your request to info@cleanenergyeconomy.net.

back to top