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Garfield County partners win
$1.6 million clean energy grant award
On Oct. 14, Gov. Bill Ritter awarded a $1.6 million grant to a partnership of local governments and nonprofits in Garfield County as part of the state’s New Energy Communities Initiative.
The award to the Garfield partnership was the largest of 14 grant awards announced during the Colorado New Energy Economy Conference in Denver. The grant recipients from around the state will divide $10 million in state energy impact funds offered by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and the Governor’s Energy Office, using the funds to advance a clean energy economy at the local and regional level.
Read Gov. Ritter's press release, which includes descriptions of all 14 grant awards.
“These communities view sustainability as part of their future. They are integrating these efforts to build a new energy economy,” said Gov. Ritter, addressing a crowd of 800 gathered for the conference.
“This grant coming to our six towns and cities shows that the new energy economy is viable not just in the West, not just in Colorado, but right here in Garfield County,” said New Castle Trustee Greg Russi, one of the community leaders who helped shape the Garfield grant proposal.
“Garfield County has been a leader in conventional energy production, and now with the $1.6 million grant we can become one of the leaders in energy efficiency and be sustainable. The community projects we have planned will be visible for all residents to see and learn,” said Parachute Trustee Judi Hayward, who also worked on the grant project.
“We’re delighted that our region is receiving this major investment in clean energy, and know that it will result in measureable energy cost savings for local governments, households, and businesses. The grant will also serve as a catalyst to spur even greater clean energy improvements and investments over the long term,” said Alice Hubbard Laird, director of Clean Energy Economy for the Region (CLEER), the nonprofit that coordinated the Garfield grant application effort.
“This grant will further the cause of alternative energy in the heart of an extractive natural resource industry,” said Rifle Mayor Keith Lambert, who appeared on a panel during the conference. “The nature of this grant will begin to bring huge focus to alternative energies, and we are overjoyed that the CLEER model has been recognized.”
CLEER brought together elected officials and staff from the six municipalities, the county government, the library district and other collaborators to jointly apply for the funding and to work together on clean energy programs, services and investments.
The proposal offers programs over the next one to three years to boost energy efficiency in new and existing public buildings and install solar photovoltaic arrays in every community as part of a Garfield 1 Megawatt campaign. It also includes energy efficiency and renewable energy programs for homes and small businesses, code work aimed at improving the energy efficiency of new homes and neighborhoods, development of clean energy financing, and measures to track energy savings.
The Garfield partners are CLEER, Parachute, Rifle, Silt, New Castle, Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Garfield County and the Garfield County Public Library District.
Other participating entities include Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, Roaring Fork School District, Garfield Re-2 School District, Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association, Holy Cross Energy, Xcel Energy, Solar Energy International, Rifle Downtown Development Authority, Rifle Lodging Tax Board, Sustainability Center of the Rockies, Sonoran Institute and Manaus Fund.
Together, the partners and collaborators pledged $506,000 in local cash match and more than $1.2 million in in-kind match for 2009, contingent on final budget approvals. As part of the proposal, $250,000 was proposed as seed funding for a clean energy investment fund.
Next steps
The Garfield New Energy Communities working group, which met through the summer to shape the proposal, will reconvene Oct. 23 to plan the next steps in delivering the clean energy programs and services to Garfield County residents and businesses.
The Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative proposes these clean energy projects:
Greening Public Facilities: Energy audits and efficiency upgrades for buildings owned by partner governments.
Renewable Energy Demonstration Projects: Solar photovoltaic installations on public buildings in every community.
LED Lighting: A demonstration retrofit of street lights with high-efficiency bulbs in downtown Rifle.
Small Commercial Audits and Retrofits: Technical assistance and incentives for commercial property owners to make energy efficiency upgrades.
Residential Solar: Rebates for installation of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal systems on homes.
Insulate Colorado: Rebates for weatherization upgrades of homes.
Energy Star New Construction: Education and training for the construction industry, building officials and real estate agents on the Energy Star home energy rating system.
Greening Government: Systems to measure present energy use and track progress over time.
Model Codes: Technical assistance in creating and adopting building and development codes that maximize energy efficiency and transportation options.
Education: Renewable energy training for K-12 teachers, and scholarships for county residents to attend Solar Energy International courses.
Transportation: Programs and education to promote sustainable transportation in communities and through the valley.
Clean Energy Financing: Development of a local clean energy loan fund.
Projects within the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative will last from one to three years. The effort will be governed by a council of representatives from each of the partner governments, with guidance from local experts in the fields of energy, transportation and banking.
The partner governments have pledged cash match amounts for 2009, contingent on final approval of their 2009 budgets. Although projects will continue into 2010 and 2011 if this grant is awarded, local governments can only commit local match for one year at a time. For the most part, local match funds will be spent for projects in that community.
Some of the governments have also pledged in-kind match. Garfield County’s in-kind match covers the work of its staff in serving as the fiscal agent for the grant and energy efficiency projects planned for 2009-2010. In-kind match from Rifle, New Castle and Glenwood Springs recognizes energy efficiency projects planned in 2009 for city-owned facilities that fit into the framework of the New Energy Communities Initiative.
| |
2009 cash match |
2009 in-kind match |
| Garfield County |
$200,000 |
$575,000 |
| Parachute |
$5,000 |
|
| Rifle |
$20,000 |
$390,000 |
| Silt |
$1,000 |
|
| New Castle |
$4,000 |
$50,000 |
| Glenwood Springs |
$200,000 |
$250,000 |
| Carbondale |
$30,000 |
|
| Garfield Library District |
$20,000 |
|
| Total |
$480,000 |
$1,265,000 |
Other participating entities have made a variety of financial pledges to strengthen the Garfield grant request. They include:
Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA): $20,000 cash match for transportation-related programs, contingent on final budget approval.
Holy Cross Energy: $135,000 in 2009 and $148,500 in 2010 in energy efficiency and renewable energy rebates and services to its customers within Garfield County, through its WE CARE program. This pledge is contingent on final budget approvals.
Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association: $17,500 per year in in-kind services, including outreach to its 700 business members and complimentary booth space at Strawberry Days and other chamber events.
Manaus Fund: $250,000 investment for clean energy loans, contingent on the grant being received and the overall investment fund developed with the advice of bankers and clean energy experts.
Sonoran Institute: $20,000 in-kind to provide technical assistance to elected officials and staff in jurisdictions interested in adopting model codes.
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