Clean Energy Economy News | Online edition
May 3, 2010 | Special issue
Greetings,
Several events are stacking up, and the news won't wait until the next regular publication date of the Clean Energy Economy News later in May. This special edition shares some exciting news about clean energy events and accomplishments in our region.
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In this issue
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Gov. Ritter to sign clean energy finance bill
in Aspen on Wednesday afternoon
Gov. Bill Ritter will sign Senate Bill 100 on Wednesday afternoon in Aspen. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, allows multi-county clean energy finance districts.
The bill-signing event is set for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at The Little Nell Hotel, 675 E. Durant Ave., and everyone interested in clean energy is invited to attend.
SB 10-100 allows local improvement districts for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements to cross county boundaries and include properties in multiple counties, whether or not the counties are contiguous, if county commissioners of the affected counties agree to share district costs.
The bill also expands the definition of renewable energy improvements for clean energy districts to include solar arrays and other renewable energy systems at community locations, rather than limiting eligible systems to those installed directly on a residential or commercial building.
In related news, Gov. Ritter will be in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to share Colorado’s success at establishing a New Energy Economy. Colorado now ranks fourth in clean-energy employment, has the second-highest renewable energy standard for utilities in the nation, and has grown its clean-tech sector by double digits even in a recession.
In Washington, Gov. Ritter will deliver keynote remarks to open the Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference, provide the Environmental Defense Fund’s Board of Trustees with a blueprint of Colorado's New Energy Economy, and make a presentation at the Center for American Progress on the Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act. HB 10-1365 will convert 900 megawatts of Xcel Energy power production from coal to cleaner-burning natural gas.
More info on state clean energy legislation in the 2010 session.
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Carbondale's Crystal River Elementary selected
for EPA National Building Competition
 School will compete to “Work Off the Waste” with help from ENERGY STAR
Crystal River Elementary School in Carbondale is one of 14 buildings chosen to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Building Competition. It’s the first national competition among commercial buildings to save energy and fight climate change.
In the spirit of popular weight-loss competitions, students from Crystal River Elementary School will compete to “work off the waste” through improvements in energy efficiency, with help from EPA’s ENERGY STAR program. The building that sheds the most energy waste on a percentage basis will be recognized in October 2010 as the winner of EPA’s National Building Competition.
“Every dollar we save in energy can be turned into classroom dollars for teachers, books and computers,” said Shannon Pelland, Roaring Fork School District assistant superintendent. “ENERGY STAR makes this simple to do and the Roaring Fork School District is honored to be a part of the EPA National Building Competition. We look forward to seeing how we measure up against other buildings across the nation.”
The school energy-saving project is part of the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative, which is working to improving energy efficiency for households, businesses, local governments and schools throughout Garfield County.
The Carbondale Middle School Energy Champions celebrate the selection of their neighbording school, Crystal River Elementary, to compete in EPA's National Building Competition. The middle school students will be mentoring the elementary students on saving energy in hopes of winning the national competition. |
School-to-school energy mentoring
The Carbondale Middle School Energy Champions will be working with students and staff at Crystal River Elementary to help them save energy and win the competition. The CMS Energy Champions recently visited Bethke Elementary School in Fort Collins to learn how schools can be highly energy efficient. Now, Crystal River Elementary students are joining the Energy Champions team.
Goals for Crystal River Elementary in the EPA National Building Competition
- Improve the school’s ENERGY STAR score from the present 38 to a 52 or higher (The ENERGY STAR scale is from a low score of 1 to a high score of 100, as compared to similar types of buildings across the country.)
- Reduce energy use by 30 percent through no-cost and low-cost changes
Energy saving strategies
Investigate: Determine how mechanical systems and building controls can be optimized for energy savings
Track data: The building’s electric meter measures loads every 15 minutes, and the data is available the next day
Change habits: Remind students and faculty about good energy behavior
Communicate: Students and staff from Crystal River will share their actions and achievements on Twitter and Facebook, and through the Roaring Fork School District Energy Center website.
In the news
Glenwood Springs Post Independent, April 28, 2010
Crystal River Elementary School vies to be national energy waste-busting champ
By Judith Kohler, The Associated Press
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Garfield County included in $25 million
DOE Colorado Retrofit Ramp-Up grant
The White House announced on April 21 that a cross-state partnership of Denver, Boulder County, Garfield County and the Governor’s Energy Office will together receive $25 million in federal stimulus grants through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Retrofit Ramp-Up Initiative.
“This is great news. We are excited to join with Denver and Boulder in this statewide effort, so we can scale up energy efficiency retrofits for homes and businesses in Garfield County,” said Shelley Kaup, chair of the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative Advisory Board.
The majority of the funding available to Garfield County businesses, governments, and households through this grant will be in the form of a variety of low-interest financing tools to increase access to capital for clean energy improvements.
The Colorado grant award was one of 25 Retrofit Ramp-Up awards, using $452 million in Recovery Act funding. The Obama administration’s "Recovery through Retrofit" initiative is intended to lay the groundwork for a self-sustaining and robust home energy efficiency industry.
Staff from the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative, a collaboration of nine local governments in the county, worked with the sustainability teams for Denver and Boulder to apply for the highly competitive Retrofit Ramp-Up grant.
The goals of the program are to stimulate economic growth for the building trades in Garfield County and the Denver-Boulder area, and to increase energy savings for existing homes and buildings through energy efficiency retrofits.
“We worked for the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative to be included in this exciting Front Range - West Slope grant in order to give the building trades and communities in our area a much-needed economic boost,” said Alice Laird, director of CLEER, the nonprofit that manages the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative.
White House press release | Gov. Ritter’s press release | Boulder County press release
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Recharge Colorado sparks economic boost
for retailers, contractors
Colorado consumers reserve more than 25,000 rebates since April 19
Colorado consumers responded vigorously to the launch of Recharge Colorado, reserving more than 25,000 rebates for energy efficient appliances, water heaters, furnaces, insulation and solar electric systems.
In Eagle, Garfield and Pitkin counties, residents reserved a total of 330 rebates valued at $46,625, with clothes washers and refrigerators being the most popular items.
A limited offer rebate for solar PV systems for Glenwood Springs Electric customers is nearly sold out, with 10 of the 11 available rebates for residential installations already reserved, and two of the three rebates for commercial installations already reserved. For more information on the Glenwood Springs PV rebate offer, visit www.GarfieldCleanEnergy.org > Residential or Commercial.
 The Recharge Colorado rebates are being offered through a website, which received more than 75,000 visits in its first two weeks, and a call center that logged more than 16,000 calls since it opened April 19.
The enormous interest in rebates for energy efficient appliances, solar power and other energy upgrades created an economic spark for retailers and contractors providing energy-saving services.
"I can definitely tell you there was a surge in sales; we've had quite an increase in the amount of volume we've done," said Michael Burkes, operations manager for the Grand Junction Sears store, where shoppers flocked to purchase ENERGY STAR refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers. "I'd say we were very successful."
Though several rebate categories are now on wait-list status, many rebates are still available for items and services that can lead to significant energy savings. Rebates remain for high performance hot water heaters, insulation upgrades, furnaces, boilers, home energy audits, duct sealing, energy monitors, residential and commercial solar electricity, commercial solar thermal as well as residential and commercial small wind systems.
The public is also encouraged to visit www.rechargecolorado.com and to learn about its many features beyond rebates. The new website includes an energy action planner to create a plan to save energy in the home, an energy incentive finder, which leads Coloradans to all the local, state, utility and federal rebates and tax credits by zip code as well as listings for service providers nearby. The site also includes numerous tips for saving energy and money, as well as news items and success stories tied to the New Energy Economy.
The Recharge Colorado campaign has teamed with the four Better Business Bureaus (BBB) serving Colorado to help Coloradans connect with vendors offering energy services. Residents and business owners can use the rechargecolorado.com site to select efficiency and renewable energy measures that help them save money, then use the list provided by the BBB to select contractors who provide the needed services, creating a seamless process for consumers.
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Garfield County teachers offered
School Energy Champion scholarship
 The Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative and Solar Energy International are offering six scholarships to classroom teachers in the Roaring Fork Re-1, Garfield Re-2 and Garfield District 16 school districts for either of two educator-oriented summer classes.
The scholarship covers 100 percent of the tuition for the fully accredited graduate-level teacher training courses. Scholarship application forms must be received by Monday, May 17, 2010.
Renewable Energy for Educators 101: Hands-On Energy Education for Your Classroom
June 22 to 25, 2010, Carbondale. 2 credits
Advanced Renewable Energy for Educators 201: Bigger Hands-On Projects
June 28 to 30, 2010, Carbondale. 1.5 credits
More info
Download the application form: as a Word document | as a PDF
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Garfield County Commissioners to hold clean energy financing work session on Tuesday
The Garfield County Commissioners will hold a work session May 4 to discuss steps and options for offering property assessed clean energy financing to Garfield County residents.
The meeting, open to the public, is set for 8 to 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 4, at the Garfield County Administration Building, 108 8th St. in Glenwood Springs.
Acting on the recommendation of the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative Advisory Board (G-NECI), the county commissioners have been considering the formation of an opt-in clean energy financing district in Garfield County.
In a nutshell, the financing district model allows residential and commercial property owners to borrow from a fund to make energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades to their property. They pay back the debt as an extra line on their annual property tax bill over a 15- to 20-year period. Only those property owners who borrow from the fund pay the added tax.
The financing district can be created by resolution by the county commissioners, and there are a variety of ways to establish the funding pool.
This opt-in financing district arrangement is called Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing, or PACE Financing. The financing mechanism has been enabled in 13 states, starting with Colorado and California, and voters in 19 more states will decide whether to enact the mechanism in elections this year.
Colorado Senate Bill 100, which has passed the state Legislature and awaits the governor’s signature, would allow multiple counties, whether they are neighbors or not, to collaborate on a joint bond issue. Pooled bond issues among small-population counties can improve the overall credit rating and result in lower interest rates for borrowers.
Another bill, House Bill 1328, creates an independent, statewide residential PACE program and authorizes up to $800 million in bonds. The bill has passed the House and the Senate.
Learn more about PACE financing: GarfieldCleanEnergy.org.
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 Garfield Clean Energy hosts booth at EnCana Energy Expo
Garfield Clean Energy will be hosting a booth at the EnCana Energy Expo on Wednesday at the County Fairgrounds Arena in Rifle. The Expo is open to high school students in the morning, and then to the public from noon to 5 p.m.
The booth will feature the interactive lighting display built for Garfield Clean Energy by George Austin-Martin, a giveaway of 100 2-bulb packs of energy efficient light bulbs donated by Xcel Energy, and a live tour of the Garfield Clean Energy website.
Many thanks to Jim Rada and Garfield County staffers who provided the booth space and backdrop panels so we can have a professional showing.
Admission to the Expo is free, so come on by and learn about all the energy industries at work in Garfield County.
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 EPA ENERGY STAR Homes webinars
How to Sell ENERGY STAR Qualified Homes
Wednesday, May 5, 2010, Noon to 1 p.m.
Register
Learn the basics of what makes a home ENERGY STAR qualified, how to tell your energy efficiency story to potential customers, and tried-and-true sales strategies employed by successful ENERGY STAR homebuilders. This session is designed for homebuilders who are new to ENERGY STAR and those who work with them.
ENERGY STAR New Homes – Introduction for Builders
Wednesday, May 19, 2010, Noon to 1 p.m.
Register
Learn how ENERGY STAR can help homebuilders eliminate competition from existing homes, compete more effectively against other builders, and reduce risk. Builders who join this session will learn how they can use ENERGY STAR to build better homes and sell them more effectively, in addition to how they can get started with ENERGY STAR.
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 Alliance for Sustainable Colorado
Regional Sustainability Roundtable
Wednesday, May 26
12:30 to 4 p.m.
Garfield Re-2 School District Learning Opportunities Center
839 Whiteriver Ave., Rifle
Free: please RSVP
The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado is conducting a series of eight roundtables around Colorado in 2010 to bring together leaders from nonprofits, businesses, government and educational institutions to share key issues and challenges, as well as best practices and lessons learned related to sustainability.
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 Garfield Clean Energy now on Facebook
Garfield Clean Energy now has a page on Facebook, and it has already gathered 35 fans. Jump in the action to get updates via Facebook about Garfield Clean Energy activities. Just search for “Garfield Clean Energy” and the page will pop up. If you are already on Facebook, click here.
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EPA creates web site to track BP oil spill
 WASHINGTON – As part of the ongoing federal response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (seen in white box in the satellite photo at right), EPA established a website of Friday to inform the public about the spill’s impact on the environment and the health of nearby residents.
The website will contain data from EPA’s ongoing air monitoring along with other information about the agency’s activities in the region. Visit www.epa.gov/bpspill
Additional information on the broader response from the U.S. Coast Guard and other responding agencies is available at www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com
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