Lynne Greene is looking for countywide support of the semi-final draft of an Energy Action Plan that includes pursuing renewables as a way to curb traditional energy use. Proposed guidelines in Xcel Energy's 2012 Renewable Energy Standard Compliance Plan may make that goal more viable.

After meeting with all the Summit County municipalities, Lynne Greene with High Country Conservation Center said she's gathered enough feedback to create a semi-final draft of the county's Energy Action Plan that's ready for review.

The goal now is to have each town and the county government sign off on a letter supporting the plan by mid-July. Letters have already been received from Frisco and Dillon, and Greene meets with the Breckenridge and Silverthorne town councils in July.

As for Silverthorne, whose officials have been somewhat reluctant to support a “living document,” Greene said, “I think we might be able to work something out with them. We weren't sure for awhile.”

The Energy Action Plan outlines countywide strategies for energy, including strategies relating to energy efficiency, renewable energy, the built environment, transportation and waste reduction.

Greene said it's a living document because “as technologies evolve and new, green opportunities open up, we'll use what we can to accomplish what we can.”

Several elements of the plan are already moving forward, Greene said, such as getting small businesses on board with energy reduction efforts. But once the letters are signed, the task force will get moving on really pushing the objectives forward.

Solar garden

Greene is particularly excited about the possibility of a solar garden in Summit County, which pursues the plan's renewable energy goals.

“I think it could be really good here in Summit County,” she said. “The sun is good and it could be feasible.”

On May 13, Xcel Energy filed its revised Renewable Energy Standard Compliance Plan with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, with a new element.

New to the plan is “Solar Rewards Community,” a solar garden program that responds to Colorado House Bill 10-1342, passed in last year's session. The bill allows customers unable to have roof-top installations to purchase shares in or subscribe to community solar installations not on their premises.

Xcel Energy spokesman Mark Stutz said nothing is set in stone yet, as the Public Utilities Commission still needs to finish setting rules on the bill, which are expected in September or October. The bill calls for some utilities to acquire up to 6 megawatts of solar capacity each year for three years. The Public Utilities Commission is tasked with establishing buy-back guidelines for after the three-year compliance period.

Xcel would purchase the output from customers, Stutz said, and the bill outlines the specifics for buy-back from solar gardens: They must be 500 kilowatts or less. The bill requires purchases to reflect energy prices offered by the utility.

Bringing solar gardens into the conversation about energy mix enables folks like Greene to get thinking about how to make it happen in their communities. Greene said a Summit County garden would need about 2.5 acres to produce about 500 kilowatts of energy. Ideally, it would be built on flat, south-facing, open land with a low lease price. It would also ideally have an anchor tenant, such as a ski area, to purchase a large portion up front and slowly scale back as subscribers come on board.

“Summit County is a great place (for solar) because it's closer to the sun so it has higher solar insolation,” said Katja Riise of Breckenridge's Innovative Energy, explaining that there's less atmospheric interference with thinner air density. However, the trick is removing snow from the panels in winter.

As for the feasibility of a solar garden in Summit County, though, everything is in flux, Riise said.

“We just don't know yet” because the guidelines aren't official, rebates haven't been issued and a funding mechanism hasn't been set, she said.