1. Strengthen Gunnison Valley’s economy, by reducing the energy dollars leaving our community;

2. Improve energy and resource efficiency in Gunnison Valley’s homes and businesses;

3. Encourage the use and development of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and alternative fuels.

ORE will accomplish these goals by working cooperatively with individuals, businesses, utilities and governments to create measurable, meaningful improvements in energy and resource consumption and cost.

In 2008 the Gunnison Valley has embarked on an Energy Action Planning Process to tackle the valley’s interrelated economic and environmental challenges, to reduce our use of costly energy sources and to replace those carbon-based fuels with more renewable, cleaner, and economically beneficial energy resources. The Office for Resource Efficiency has been commissioned to facilitate this planning process by our valley’s four local governments – Gunnison County and the municipalities of Gunnison, Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte who have all declared this an important public issue by signing the Energy Efficiency Resolution and creating the Temporary Energy Task Force in September 2007. The Energy Action Planning Process consists of a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, an Energy Summit, and the development of Energy Action Plans that will be passed and implemented by our communities.

The Energy Action Plans will be designed to provide guidance for: reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions with goals and time frames for implementation; identifying strategies for carbon offsets and sequestration; investigating local and regional opportunities for investments in renewable energy production; and promoting economic development opportunities inherent in all stages of implementing the Plans. This planning process consists of 4 different milestones.

·         Publicize the Upper Gunnison River Watershed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory

In 2007 and 2008 the four participating governments funded a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory for the Upper Gunnison River Watershed, to get a sense of our valley’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and to understand where and how our energy is used. The main authors of the inventory were ORE Board members Steve Lawlor (data collection) and George Sibley (writing and editing). After a reviewing process by the governments, the inventory was published in July 2008 and presented to the four participating governments in the end of July and beginning of August 2008.

·         Develop Initiatives through a watershed-wide Energy Summit in late summer 2008

The valley-wide Energy Summit on September 10 and 11 engaged more than 150 experts, community leaders and members to brainstorm ideas on energy use reduction. The brainstorming sessions that focused on Building, Transportation, Power Production and Sustainable Living gathered ideas striving to reduce energy costs and making our homes, businesses and governments more efficient. Implications and opportunities were discussed surrounding the Emissions Inventory Report. The ideas provide the foundation for coordinated Energy Action Plans for each of the four governments. Click here for the Energy Summit Report.

·         Work on the Development of Energy Action Plans</