It’s a gift to call Garfield County home in so many ways. Our communities are close-knit, our mountain views expansive, and our economy abundant. Another unique resource residents and businesses have is our local clean energy collaborative: Garfield Clean Energy (GCE).

The advantages of a local clean energy collaborative are numerous. Since 2012, this government collaborative has brought Garfield County communities together around common goals with a focus on direct benefits and tangible results. GCE is guided by five goals focused on energy savings in buildings, renewable energy, clean transportation, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and economic development. These goals all have targets to achieve by 2030 – and we’re hard at work to meet them.

Garfield Clean Energy embodies the phrase “stronger together.” Individually, GCE’s members would have to pull together greater resources to fund their own staff to potentially conduct more limited programs. Through collaboration, their resources go further to implement broader-reaching efforts that benefit not only their residents but the region.

Jurisdictions with larger populations or larger budgets sometimes have their own sustainability department. Garfield Clean Energy functions like a sustainability department for all of its rural members, helping them manage energy use in their buildings, ensuring their renewable energy infrastructure is functioning properly, supporting energy code implementation, developing energy action plans, and benefiting their constituents with a variety of programs that boost the economy and improve quality of life. We attend local festivals, host workforce training, and we’ve supported the installation of 28 megawatts of solar power in Garfield County.

Key community leaders through the years have been instrumental in bringing their organizations together and enabling GCE to thrive. GCE’s members include all of the municipalities in Garfield County from Parachute to Carbondale, Garfield County Government, the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, and Colorado Mountain College. Holy Cross Energy and Garfield County Libraries are affiliate members.

Energy savings in the built environment is a major pillar of GCE. For households and businesses that are experiencing high energy bills, GCE provides coaching and rebates to make their buildings more energy efficient and comfortable. Garfield County residents, businesses, and governments spend an estimated $71 million annually on their energy bills! Money saved on those bills allows funds to be used for other household expenses and pumped back into the local economy.

ReEnergize Garfield County is one of GCE’s flagship energy-savings programs. This one-stop-shop for residential energy efficiency provides thousands of dollars in rebates to the “missing middle,” households who make up to 150% of area median income (AMI). State and federal energy efficiency rebate programs only cover up to 80% AMI. ReEnergize saves Garfield County residents an estimated $84,600 annually on their energy bills. Funding for rebates through GCE just refreshed for the new year, so now is a great time to apply.

For households above the income qualification limit, GCE provides free energy coaching and information on other incentives. There are a variety of funding options that include major new rebates and tax credits available in 2025, so a little bit of advice might save you a lot of money.

The cost of doing business in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River Valleys can be a challenge. Garfield Clean Energy’s energy coaching for commercial buildings helps improve businesses’ bottom line by reducing the costs they spend on energy bills. Local utilities have rebates for a variety of energy efficiency upgrades in commercial buildings, including HVAC systems, water heaters, and lighting. GCE’s buildings specialist will come onsite for a free building walkthrough and follow up with a report.

Another example of how GCE leverages pooled resources is in our clean mobility and transportation programs. Electric vehicle grants and coaching services are provided through Clean Energy Economy for the Region (CLEER), which is contracted by GCE to manage their programs and services. CLEER provides EV coaching through state-funded contracts to 14 counties in northwest Colorado.

Between 2023 and 2024, GCE provided 90 e-bikes to income-qualified residents through a grant from the Colorado Energy Office. These bikes are making a transformative difference in mobility for their recipients. We’ve also put on BikeThere events in conjunction with Colorado’s Bike-to-Work day in June. Last year we had a lot of fun partnering with the Library District to host stations at each branch, which combined had 240 participants.

Enduring local efforts like Garfield Clean Energy empower residents, businesses, and local governments to save money and grow the economy. A model like GCE makes sense on many fronts. Learn more about how our programs can benefit you at http://www.garfieldcleanenergy.org.

Morgan Hill is associate director of CLEER (Clean Energy Economy for the Region), the nonprofit that manages the programs of Garfield Clean Energy.