Archuleta County is well known for being a progressive leader in exploring alternative energy.
The efforts of Renewable Forest Energy LLC — a company planning a “gasification” power plant — continue to move forward. The biomass project will use wood chips left over from thinning area forests to create energy.
Also an attempt to harness additional alternative energy, Solarize Archuleta County is working to formulate a community-wide solar campaign with help from the nonprofit Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency.
Aiming to blend geothermal potential with available solar opportunities, the Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership (GGP) was formed in January 2009 to harness both renewable solar and geothermal energy for growing safe, affordable food for local people.
The GGP’s vision is to create a center of renewable energy and agriculture by constructing three geodesic greenhouse domes, each with its own purpose — educational, commercial and communal.
The GGP isn’t the only group exploring our local energy options, as a government-controlled entity, Pagosa Area Geothermal Water and Power Authority (PAGWPA), has received funding from Colorado Department of Local Affairs to explore alternative uses of our geothermal resource through a public-private partnership with Pagosa Verde, a local geothermal energy company.
The full version of this story is available in the print edition and e-edition of the Pagosa Springs SUN. Subscribe today by calling (970)264-2100 or click here.
