The Building That Almost Wasn’t: Why Collaboration Is the Most Important Material in Sustainable Design

Great sustainable buildings are a choice that requires the right people in the room in order to realize them.

That was the throughline of a recent Mountain Towns 2030 webinar hosted by Jamie Wolf Jamie W. of OZ Architecture, who brought together engineers, energy modelers, and developers to talk candidly about what it actually takes to deliver ambitious, high-performance buildings in mountain communities. The conversation covered energy modeling, entitlement realities, infrastructure constraints, and wildfire resilience, but the deeper subject was always collaboration: who’s at the table, when they show up, and what happens when they don’t.

The Gap Between Design Intent and Real-World Performance

Mountain towns are not generic places, and they don’t respond well to generic solutions. They face seasonal occupancy swings, constrained power grids, short construction windows, high material costs, wildfire exposure, and groundwater surprises, all of which are variables that standard building codes and energy models weren’t designed to capture.

“Are we unintentionally limiting solutions by who we’re inviting into the room?” Wolf asked. It’s the question that started this whole conversation, one that emerged from a chance exchange with Aspen policy writers at the Mountain Towns 2030 Summit. One conversation led to another, and a clear pattern emerged: the gap between a building’s design intent and its real-world performance almost always lives in the handoffs, and in who was missing from the table early on.

Chris Vandal, Associate Principal at OZ Architecture, framed it this way: the most successful projects aren’t successful because of a specific technology or design direction. They succeed because the right experts found alignment from the start. OZ frequently runs multi-day “charrettes” at the outset of a project, bringing every relevant subject-matter expert into the room early on to inform decisions. This helps avoid the expensive and demoralizing experience of retrofitting both design and budget later.

Energy Modeling as a Collaboration Tool, Not Just a Compliance Box

Libby Middleton, PE, BEMP of Group 14 Engineering offered two case studies from a large condo+hotel in Steamboat Springs that illustrated what collaborative energy modeling can actually do when it goes beyond code compliance.

The first involved glazing. The design team had selected low solar heat gain coefficient glass, following the conventional wisdom that less solar heat means lower cooling loads. Reasonable in theory. But Steamboat is a heating-dominated climate, and with the right model and the right questions, the team discovered the opposite was true for this building, in this orientation, on this site. They studied five different glazing options and landed on the highest solar heat gain coefficient, the exact opposite of their anticipated selection..

The second example was about occupancy assumptions. Standard energy modeling protocols assume a building is 100% occupied year-round. That’s fine for a downtown Denver apartment but is not the same mountain condo+hotel that empties out between seasons.

During a team meeting, Wolf spoke up: “that’s not how this building is actually going to operate.” The team worked with the developer to pull real occupancy data from their portfolio, updated the model schedules, and found a 17% reduction in predicted energy use intensity (realized annually due to seasonal swings), and accurate heating and cooling load profiles. Testing an assumption led to a clearer picture of which design decisions actually moved the needle.

“Garbage in, garbage out,” Libby said. The earlier expert opinions and data  are integrated and inform the model, the less you’re guessing. And in predictive modeling, where you’re trying to understand how a building will actually perform against Colorado Building Performance Standard targets, AIA 2030 commitments, or net-zero goals, accuracy isn’t academic.

The Real Constraints Mountain Towns Face

OZ Architecture Partner, Rebecca (Becky) Stone (Rebecca Stone), AIA, NCIDQ, has worked in mountain resort communities for nearly 30 years, and brought the conversation down to earth with a series of case studies that illustrated just how interconnected mountain town development really is.

On community housing: entitlements in resort communities almost always require developers to contribute to workforce housing, sometimes by directly building it, sometimes by funding it in partnership with others. Burlingame in Aspen, Vail Health’s staff housing project, and Wintergreen in Keystone weren’t charity projects. They were the cost of doing business in a place where you can build a world-class building while ensuring there is a community there to support its operation.

On infrastructure: Becky’s team is currently working on The Stockman in Steamboat Springs, CO where they wanted to go all-electric. The local utility’s response was grounded in the reality of their operational capacity. It would necessitate a new power plant for this to be a viable option. Alterra is working on a geothermal system for the broader mountain, but it won’t be ready in time for this project’s construction timeline. The result is a building that can’t yet be what its designers want it to be, not because of any failure of ambition, but because the infrastructure simply isn’t available yet. Policy and infrastructure have to move together, or sustainability mandates just strangle development.

On wildfire: fire departments are an underappreciated early stakeholder in mountain construction. On a Snowmass Village project, the team worked with the local fire department and ultimately purchased them a new truck with the right ladder and rescue equipment to support the building type they were designing. At Deer Valley’s new East Village, the design team worked with mountain operators to cut strategic tree gaps in the runs, wide enough that a wildfire couldn’t jump them and reach the village. The Forest Service was at that table too since they own the land.

On groundwater: on a current Jackson project, geotech work revealed an environmental plume underground. The city was relieved as a developer willing to clean it up is not something you take for granted. The team turned the remediation into a foundation strategy, creating a waterproofed bathtub structure for the parking garage as they removed the contaminated soil.

Sewer Heat Recovery and the Art of Finding Common Ground

Chris Imperato, Associate Principal at AECOM, walked through the National Western Center in Denver’s sewer heat recovery system. The project took over a year of financial modeling and feasibility work before a single design drawing was made, and required buy-in from the City and County of Denver, Denver Water, Metro Wastewater, Xcel Energy, the National Western Stock Show, Colorado State University, Saunders Construction, and Centrio as plant operator.

Nobody woke up one morning and decided to build a sewer heat recovery system. It happened because every one of those organizations shared a common sustainability goal, and because the team was patient enough to find the financial and operational structures that made it work for all of them.

His advice for bridging the gap between feasibility study and built project: find partners who share a common vision, who prioritize sustainability as the driver, and seek the funding that follows when enough people are genuinely committed to the project’s success. “In mountain communities, that’s how they all stick together,” he said. “They share many common goals.”

Key Takeaways for Mountain Towns

• Bring stakeholders in before decisions are finalized. The cost of early collaboration is a charrette. The cost of late collaboration is redesign, budget overruns, and missed opportunities you can’t get back.

• Energy modeling is a design tool, not just a compliance checkbox. Collaborative, predictive modeling, informed by real occupancy data, local climate conditions, and actual operational plans,  improves energy-use predictions, significantly informing final design decisions.

• Mountain town occupancy is seasonal. Generic code assumptions about year-round full occupancy will produce inaccurate models. Push back on defaults and use real data from comparable properties.

• The power grid is a constraint, not a given. All-electric ambitions require utility conversations early. If the grid can’t support the load, the strategy has to adapt, and advocating for grid capacity upgrades is part of the work.

• Fire departments are design partners, not permit reviewers. Engage them early, understand their equipment and staffing constraints, and design (and sometimes fund) around them.

• Wildfire resilience extends beyond the building envelope. Tree gap design, site access planning, mechanical ventilation for air quality events, and coordinated land management with the Forest Service are all part of a complete approach.

• Shared goals make the impossible possible. The most ambitious projects get built when every stakeholder at the table can point to a reason it matters to them. Find that common ground first.

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Jamie Wolf is a Project Architect at  OZ Architecture and a longtime participant in the Mountain Towns 2030 community. Panelists included Rebecca (Becky) Stone and Chris Vandal of OZ Architecture, Libby Middleton of Group 14 Engineering, and Chris Imperato of AECOM.

This article is part of the Mountain Towns 2030 webinar recap series. The next webinar is part of our new Wildfire Resilience Series, beginning May 23rd – details at mt2030.org.

How Routt County Built a Roadmap for Building Electrification

For mountain communities, buildings can be a climate problem hiding in plain sight. They are where people live, work, gather, vacation, and stay warm through long winters. They are also, in many places, the largest source of local emissions.

In a recent Mountain Towns 2030 webinar, Paul Bony of the Western Resilience Center, along with John Balfe and Michael Goodrum of NORESCO, walked through how the Routt County Climate Action Collaborative developed a 30-year community-wide building electrification and decarbonization roadmap and, just as importantly, the dashboard and implementation tools to make that roadmap usable.

Starting with the Carbon Problem

Routt County, home to Steamboat Springs and the Yampa Valley, adopted its Climate Action Plan in 2020. The countywide goal is ambitious: reduce carbon emissions 78% by 2050. But unlike some communities where transportation dominates the emissions picture, buildings are Routt County’s largest source – responsible for about 48% of local emissions.

That finding gave the Climate Action Collaborative a clear mandate – if the county was going to meet its long-term climate goals, it needed a serious plan for the building sector.

The Collaborative itself is regional by design. It includes Routt County, the City of Steamboat Springs, and the towns of Oak Creek, Yampa, and Hayden, with the Western Resilience Center serving as the administrative agency. When the Colorado Energy Office released Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Routt County’s existing regional partnership made it a strong fit.

The grant helped fund three deliverables: a building electrification and decarbonization plan, a dashboard to track progress over time, and a public-facing story map to help communicate the work to residents and local leaders.

Building the Inventory from the Bottom Up

Routt County already had a countywide emissions inventory, completed by Lotus Engineering and Sustainability. But to build a building-sector roadmap, the team needed to understand what was happening inside that sector, so they built a bottom-up inventory of the county’s buildings.

The model combined Routt County assessor data with ComStock and ResStock, two National Renewable Energy Laboratory datasets that estimate building energy use by type, climate zone, and other characteristics. NORESCO filtered those datasets to Colorado Climate Zone 7 to better represent Routt County’s cold mountain climate, then matched them with local building types and fuel data.

It was not a perfect dataset – heating fuel information was incomplete in places. Building categories did not always line up cleanly. But after calibration against the county’s previous emissions inventory, NORESCO’s model came within about 1% of the overall inventory – close enough to give the Collaborative confidence that the roadmap was grounded in reality.

The deeper inventory confirmed several important things: Residential buildings make up most of the county’s building stock, and commercial buildings account for slightly more total building-sector emissions. When the team looked specifically at fossil fuel emissions from natural gas and propane, residential buildings (especially single-family homes) became the central challenge. Single-family buildings alone were responsible for roughly 45% of fossil fuel-based building emissions.

The Dashboard: Turning Targets Into Decisions

Instead of choosing a subscription software platform, the Collaborative wanted something it could own, update, and adapt. NORESCO built the dashboard in Excel, with editable inputs for retrofit quantities, grid emissions, new construction rates, and other assumptions.

The dashboard allows the Collaborative to test different pathways. What happens if the electric grid reaches 80% clean energy around 2030, as Yampa Valley Electric Association’s new power supply contract is expected to do? What if the grid reaches 100% clean electricity by 2045? What if retrofit volumes grow slowly? What if they grow aggressively?

With a cleaner grid, Routt County can make major progress toward its building-sector emissions targets. But even under a 100% clean electricity scenario, natural gas and propane emissions remain – buildings still have to be retrofitted and fossil fuel heating still has to be addressed.

The dashboard also made the scale of work visible. To hit the Collaborative’s original 2030 retrofit percentage targets, the county would need to retrofit thousands of buildings per year – a pace that would be difficult in any community, and especially challenging in a rural mountain region with limited contractor capacity. The recommended pathway relaxes the near-term retrofit volume while still meeting 2030 and 2050 emissions targets, then ramps building retrofits over time.

That is the power of a good model – it does not just say “electrify buildings,” it helps leaders understand what is technically possible, what is operationally realistic, and where the gaps are.

From Plan to Programs

The 50-plus-page decarbonization plan focuses on removing fossil fuels from Routt County’s building sector. It identifies high-impact retrofit packages – including heat pumps, envelope improvements, lighting upgrades, and appliance electrification – and then pairs those measures with policy and program options that could actually drive adoption.

Three ideas stood out:

First is a HeatSmart-style campaign or energy concierge program that provides human support to residents trying to navigate audits, bids, incentives, contractors, and equipment choices. In rural communities, where contractor capacity may be limited and trust matters, that kind of peer-to-peer support can be the difference between interest and action.

Second is a “Slope Smart Homes” concept aimed at second homes and vacation properties. These homes can be large energy users and difficult to reach through standard outreach. By working with Home Owner Associations (HOAs), property managers, rental agencies, utilities, and homeowners, a mountain community can start with practical measures like smart thermostats, smart plugs, and education – then build toward deeper retrofits.

Third is an “Electrify Routt” program modeled in part on Breckenridge’s electrification work. The idea is to use local funding to close the gap between existing incentives and the actual cost of heat pump projects, especially for workforce housing and community-serving properties. One potential funding mechanism is a renewable energy mitigation program, where high-energy outdoor uses such as snowmelt systems, pools, or hot tubs either install onsite renewable energy or pay into a fund that supports public electrification projects.

Financing remains one of the biggest barriers. Paul Bony noted that the Collaborative is exploring options including micro-PACE, on-bill financing through the local electric cooperative, and leasing structures for geothermal heat pumps that may allow tax credits to be captured by the leasing entity.

The Workforce Reality

Paul put the scale plainly: the community needs roughly 10,000 heat pumps over the next 20-plus years. That means local contractors have a choice – become part of the solution, or watch the work get imported from outside the region.

A recent local “heat pump hoedown” drew 190 registrations across contractor and public sessions. Colorado Mountain College is working on heat pump apprenticeship training. The Northwest Colorado Development Council has launched the Northwest Colorado Innovation Center in Craig and hired a workforce development manager, with HVAC contractors and apprentices among its first focus areas.

That ecosystem matters because electrification is not just a technology transition – it is a workforce transition, an economic development opportunity, and a local capacity challenge.

Routt County is also taking a nuanced approach to the grid. In a cold climate with 9,500 heating degree days at 6,000 to 7,000 feet, peak demand matters, and full electrification with electric resistance backup could create serious distribution challenges. In some cases, dual-fuel systems may be more practical in the near term, while ground-source heat pumps can reduce the need for supplemental heat.

Key Takeaways for Mountain Towns

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This article is part of the Mountain Towns 2030 webinar recap series. The full webinar recording and presentation materials will be shared with registrants, and the next MT2030 webinar is scheduled for June 17 on implementing innovative sustainable building design through collaboration. Register here!

How Jackson Hole Airport is Reducing Emissions

Air travel is one of the hardest emissions problems mountain communities face. Flights are essential — for residents, emergency services, and the visitor economy that sustains these towns — and yet aviation’s carbon footprint is enormous.

In a recent Mountain Towns 2030 webinar, Jac Stelly, Environmental Manager at Jackson Hole Airport, walked through the bold and practical steps his team is taking to reduce emissions. Jackson Hole Airport is the only commercial airport situated entirely within a national park, which means every climate commitment it makes carries extra weight. The elk, the sagebrush, the night sky — all of it is part of the operating context.

Electrifying the Ground Fleet

Planes are the big emitters, but airports have far more direct control over what’s rolling around on the ground. At Jackson Hole, vehicles account for about 63% of the airport’s direct emissions portfolio.

The airport currently operates 79 vehicles — 38 diesel, 21 gas, and 20 electric. That electric number is growing. The team recently secured approval for three new Ford Lightning electric pickups, and they’ve added electric ground power units (GPUs) that plug directly into parked aircraft to run lights and air conditioning without idling the jet engines.

Stelly’s approach to selling the transition internally: lead with function, not emissions. “Range anxiety? We’ve got 28 and a half acres,” he said. At an airport, vehicles idle constantly — exactly the use case where EVs outperform combustion engines.

For heavier equipment, fully electric alternatives are still emerging – butJackson Hole isn’t waiting. They jumped from 300 gallons of renewable diesel in 2024 to roughly 7,000 gallons in 2025. No retrofit required — just drop it in and reduce tailpipe emissions now. Their neighbors at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort are running a 50% summer blend, proof that scaling is doable. Grants and partnerships are crucial in electrifying heavy-duty vehicles. The airport has active grants in progress for two electric fuel trucks and one electric compact loader. They are also partnering with Kodiak Technologies with hopes of demoing a fully electric snowplow.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel

For the planes themselves, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is the most actionable near-term solution. Made from non-petroleum feedstocks like recycled vegetable oils and agricultural byproducts, SAF cuts lifecycle emissions by 60–70% compared to conventional jet fuel.

Jackson Hole ran its first SAF batch in 2019. The goal now is on-site availability as a standard offering within the next year or two. Aspen has already done it, leveraging a community of private flyers willing to pay a green premium. Jackson Hole, with its high proportion of general aviation traffic, is well-positioned to follow.

Buildings: Geothermal and Dark Sky

Buildings account for roughly 30% of the airport’s emissions. For heating and cooling, Jackson Hole has leaned into geothermal — three systems across the terminal, a hangar, and the new administration building. The economics are strong: the federal Section 48 tax credit can return 30% of initial investment within about 18 months, and it has remained stable across administrations. For mountain towns near geothermal activity — which is most of them — this is an underutilized opportunity.

On lighting, Jackson Hole became the first airport in the world to earn Dark Sky certification. Parking lot lights dim to 30% at night and rise only when motion triggers them. The results benefit wildlife, stargazers, and the electric bill simultaneously.

Renewable Electricity: The Multiplier

Jackson Hole Airport currently purchases 100% renewable electricity through its local utility — and that single decision reshapes their entire emissions picture. Without it, electricity would represent 70% of their footprint and their total emissions would jump by nearly 300%.

“Our greatest opportunity in emissions reductions is the investment in renewable electricity generation,” Jac said. Locking in clean power — whether through purchase agreements, on-site solar, or utility advocacy — is the foundation everything else is built on.

Key Takeaways for Mountain Towns

• Lead with function. Framing EV and electrification projects around reliability and operational savings wins over skeptics faster than emissions arguments alone.

• Renewable diesel is available now. No retrofit, no delay — a meaningful emissions cut for heavy fleets while full electrification catches up.

• Geothermal is underutilized. For mountain communities near geothermal activity, the Section 48 tax credit makes the economics compelling right now.

• Clean electricity is the multiplier. Every electrification investment delivers its full benefit only when powered by renewable energy — utility partnerships matter as much as the technology itself.

• Airports are climate platforms. Millions of visitors pass through mountain airports each year. What they see modeled there travels home with them.

• Share the momentum. Jackson Hole’s progress accelerated through peer learning — with Aspen on SAF, with Jackson Hole Mountain Resort on renewable diesel, with Dallas and Vancouver on fleet transitions. The network is the strategy.

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Jac Stelly is Environmental Manager at Jackson Hole Airport and a participant in the Mountain Towns 2030 program.

This article is part of the Mountain Towns 2030 webinar recap series. Check out upcoming webinars at mt2030.org/events

Powering Resilience: How Innovative Energy Storage is Strengthening Mountain Towns and Ski Areas

At the Mountain Towns 2030 Climate Summit in Breckenridge, CO, energy experts explored how advanced battery and inertial-based systems are helping mountain communities and ski areas secure clean, reliable power amid growing climate uncertainty.

The Challenge in Mountain Communities: Climate Risks and Energy Vulnerabilities

Mountain towns are deeply connected to surrounding high-elevation landscapes that serve as headwaters for critical watersheds. But that same geography also makes them vulnerable. Wildfires, heavy snowstorms, and fallen trees increasingly disrupt power lines, threatening safety, economic activity, and daily life.

At the same time, rising electricity costs—driven largely by maintaining poles and wires—are putting pressure on residents and businesses.

Ski resorts and hospitality operators, which anchor many mountain economies, rely on consistent power to operate lifts, lodges, and infrastructure. As demand response events become more frequent, these businesses need flexible solutions that can stabilize energy use without compromising operations.

Building Resilience Through Advanced Energy Storage Solutions

Energy storage is emerging as a key solution.

Michael Thomas , founder of Cleanview and the newsletter Distilled, noted the dramatic drop in lithium-ion battery costs—from about $1,200 per kilowatt-hour in 2010 to roughly $100—unlocking new opportunities for local energy resilience and decarbonization.

Brent Hill, Managing Partner at Origin Ventures, emphasized the growing urgency. With AI and data center expansion driving demand, “we expect the next decade to look like an increase of 35 to 80 gigawatts of power,” he said.

Chris Klima of Torus introduced a hybrid system combining flywheel technology with lithium iron phosphate batteries. Designed for subtransmission and distribution systems, it is particularly well suited to mountain towns and ski areas.

Flywheels store energy kinetically by spinning a rotor in a vacuum, enabling rapid response and grid stabilization. “The flywheel is able to store energy  via an inertial-based storage device and provide clean power,” Klima explained. Combined with batteries, the system delivers both short bursts and longer-duration energy support.

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Michael Thomas, Chris Klima, and Brent Hill at the Mountain Towns 2030 Summit in Breckenridge

Real-World Applications: Mountain Towns and Ski Resorts Leading the Way

These technologies are already being deployed.

In Utah’s Wasatch Front, Torus has partnered with ski resorts and communities to integrate storage with solar and existing infrastructure. At Woodward Park City, systems are improving solar utilization and backup capacity. At Snowbird, the Torus system will support tram operations by smoothing power fluctuations and stabilizing the grid.

Energy storage also reduces costs by addressing peak demand charges. “There’s usually one event that’s 40 or 50 percent higher than any other event in the whole month,” Hill said. “Our job is to shave that off.”

By reducing peak loads, storage systems lower strain on infrastructure and help avoid costly upgrades that drive long-term rate increases.

Safety and Sustainability: Addressing Community Concerns

Concerns around battery safety and environmental impact remain, especially given high-profile battery fires and lithium mining challenges.

Torus has focused on safety through rigorous testing and built-in fire suppression systems. Klima emphasized the company’s approach: “We are pro-regulation… making sure the safety factors are there.”

On sustainability, the company is reducing reliance on lithium by increasing the role of flywheels, which are primarily made of recyclable steel. “Our flywheel is 95 percent recyclable… and it lasts for 25 years,” Klima noted.

Technical Advantages and Maintenance

Internal-based, or flywheel systems offer high efficiency—around 88 to 91 percent—and long service life with minimal maintenance. The rotor spins in a vacuum and is magnetically levitated, reducing friction and wear.

Torus typically retains ownership of deployed systems, managing them remotely with 24/7 monitoring. This model shifts costs from upfront capital investment to ongoing operational expenses, making adoption more accessible for communities and resorts.

Collaboration and Policy: Driving the Energy Transition Together

The panel emphasized that technology alone is not enough—collaboration and communication are essential.

Hill highlighted the importance of storytelling and public perception: “where policymakers can really help is… telling all the success stories versus the failures.”

Mountain communities, utilities, and private partners all have a role to play in advancing deployment. Strong partnerships can accelerate adoption, build trust, and align climate goals with economic resilience.

Key Takeaways for Mountain Towns

Join us this year at the Mountain Towns 2030 Summit in Sun Valley

How Mountain Towns and Utilities Can Shape a Sustainable Energy Future

Mountain towns face unique challenges when it comes to energy and climate resilience. Physical geography places many ski areas and mountain towns at the headwaters of critical watersheds, where forest health, wildfire risk, and water quality intersect. Energy infrastructure must not only meet the demands of residents and visitors but also accommodate extreme weather and seasonal fluctuations.

A key challenge is balancing the need for reliable energy with the imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A session at the 2025 Mountain Towns 2030 Climate Summit in Breckenridge, Colorado delved into how local governments can leverage the current regulatory environment to get utilities to do more around energy solutions and infrastructure resilience.

Featuring insights from sustainability leaders and legal experts involved in the Mountain Energy Project—a landmark Colorado utility proceeding—the discussion highlighted practical strategies, coalition-building, and regulatory engagement as tools for mountain communities to shape their energy future.

The Challenge in Mountain Communities: Navigating Energy Infrastructure and Climate Risks

In Summit County, Colorado and surrounding communities served by Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy), a forecasted peak hour natural gas supply shortfall on the coldest winter days spurred the Mountain Energy Project. This utility proposal aimed to address potential gas shortages without resorting to costly and carbon-intensive conventional pipeline expansions.

As Jessica Burley , Sustainability and Parking Manager for Breckenridge, explained, “The application filed by Public Service sought to avoid a $300 million investment in a new natural gas pipeline through a plan that included non-pipeline alternatives—measures that can defer, reduce or eliminate the need for new gas infrastructure by reducing demand.”

These non-pipeline alternatives (NPA) include electrification programs, building envelope improvements, and demand response initiatives. The Mountain Energy Project showcased how mountain communities can play an active role in shaping such plans to align with local climate goals, affordability concerns, and resilience needs.

Building Coalitions: The Power of Collective Local Voices

Engaging with complex utility regulatory proceedings requires resources and expertise that can challenge individual mountain towns. The Mountain Community Coalition, formed by the towns of Breckenridge, Silverthorne, Frisco, Dillon, Blue River, and Keystone, and Summit County government exemplifies the power of collaboration.

Pooling resources allowed the coalition to hire technical experts from Synapse Energy Economics and legal counsel from Kaplan Kirsch, enabling deep analysis and effective intervention in the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) process. The coalition’s unified voice amplified local priorities, including:

As Sarah Judkins , attorney at Kaplan Kirschand representative of the coalition, noted, “We were able to negotiate a downsize of the proposed LNG (liquid natural gas) supplemental supply facility, reducing project costs and environmental impact. We also secured commitments for an electric heat pump pilot program to help overcome affordability barriers.”

This collaborative approach not only strengthened local influence but also contributed to a comprehensive settlement agreement supported by most parties involved, demonstrating how diverse stakeholders can find common ground.

Understanding Regulatory Engagement: The Public Utilities Commission as a Climate Lever

Many mountain town residents and leaders may be unfamiliar with the pivotal role public utilities commissions play in energy planning and climate outcomes. Mike Foote , Founder and Principal Attorney at Foote Environmental Law & Policy, LLC, described PUCs as “some of the most powerful state agencies that nobody has heard of.”

In Colorado, investor-owned utilities like Xcel Energy must file plans—including electric resource plans, transportation electrification plans, and rate cases—with the PUC. The commission reviews these filings, considers input from intervening parties such as local governments and consumer groups, and ultimately decides on approvals and conditions.

Importantly, local governments can intervene as parties in these proceedings, enabling them to:

However, intervention requires staff capacity, legal expertise, and financial investment. The Mountain Community Coalition’s effort cost approximately $250,000, shared among members based on greenhouse gas emissions contributions. As Burley explained, “We would not have been able to participate and engage at the level that we did without Synapse and their expertise.”

Local governments interested in regulatory engagement must weigh these resource considerations and may find coalitions essential to pooling expertise and sharing costs.

Beyond Utilities: Other Regulatory Spaces for Climate Action

While the PUC is central to energy infrastructure decisions, mountain towns can also influence climate resilience through other regulatory forums.

As Foote noted, “Local governments have had an effective voice to make sure income-qualified and disproportionately impacted communities get their fair share of electrification infrastructure.”

Key Takeaways for Mountain Towns

Mountain towns across the West face intertwined challenges of climate change, energy transition, and infrastructure resilience. The Mountain Energy Project and the Mountain Community Coalition’s experience offer valuable lessons and actionable steps:

Mountain communities hold a unique position at the confluence of natural resources and economic opportunity. By collaborating with utilities and regulators, they can help shape an energy future that is cleaner, more resilient, and equitable. As Judkins reflected, “This is the future of gas planning as we try to move off natural gas and toward electrification. We want this to be a success story here that others can follow.”

The path forward requires commitment, expertise, and partnership—but as the Mountain Community Coalition shows, it is possible to turn complex regulatory processes into opportunities for local climate leadership and lasting impact.

For mountain towns seeking to get involved, the first step is to connect with peers in neighboring communities and regional climate coalitions, identify upcoming utility filings or regulatory actions, and consider how local voices and expertise can influence decisions that affect their shared environment and future.

Harnessing the Heat Beneath Our Feet: How Geothermal Energy is Powering Mountain Towns’ Climate Future

One of the most exciting clean energy technologies with the potential to impact the future of mountain towns is geothermal energy, which has been embraced by both political parties as a practical and high-impact opportunity for towns on the front lines of climate change.

At the Mountain Towns 2030 Climate Summit in Breckenridge, CO, a diverse panel of experts gathered to explore the role of geothermal energy in decarbonizing mountain communities, calling it a “breakthrough point” for the technology. 

From municipal leaders and engineers to financiers and state energy officials, their conversations highlighted practical pathways, financing tools, and ongoing collaborations that are making geothermal a key piece of the climate puzzle for mountain towns.

The Challenge in Mountain Communities: Decarbonization and Resilience

Mountain towns often face volatile energy costs, limited infrastructure, and regulatory hurdles that complicate climate action. As Luke Cartin, lands and sustainability lead for Park City Municipal, explained, “If you just look at the variability of natural gas pricing, it is nutty. It is all over the place.” This unpredictability creates both economic risk and barriers to long-term planning for sustainable energy systems.

At the same time, these communities must maintain reliable heating and cooling year-round in harsh mountain climates. Conventional systems can be inefficient or reliant on fossil fuels, producing greenhouse gas emissions that worsen climate change. The need to “de-risk” energy—making it more stable, affordable, and clean—has never been clearer.

Geothermal energy offers a compelling solution. Unlike air source heat pumps that lose efficiency in cold temperatures, geothermal systems leverage the earth’s stable underground temperatures. This creates highly efficient heating and cooling with less energy input. Moreover, geothermal can be integrated into thermal energy networks that share heat and cooling loads among buildings, maximizing efficiency.

“Imagine if you had a bunch of buildings that all had their solar array, but they were not inner tied at all and they’re all trying to balance their own heating and cooling,” Cartin explained. 

“That’d be a pretty insane grid. The nice thing with these thermal energy networks is the goal of saying, we have heat over here, we have a heating need over here. How can we share those things?”

Building Unlikely Alliances: Partnerships That Power Progress

Scaling geothermal from concept to community-wide implementation requires collaboration across sectors—local governments, utilities, financiers, engineers, and residents. The panelists emphasized that these partnerships are not only necessary but also create surprising alignments between environmental and financial goals.

Alexandra Iseman, managing director at D.A. Davidson, described the nonpartisan appeal of geothermal projects: “You don’t have to choose between saving the polar bears and making a good investment. Honestly, you can do both. These systems offer what you’re looking for… They help you solve the solutions.”

Creative financing models are critical to making geothermal projects viable. The federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for geothermal, extended through 2032, provides substantial support. 

Iseman explained how both public and private entities can leverage these incentives: “For governmental entities, utility districts, and nonprofits, there are direct pay options that return 30 to 50 percent of project costs as cash once the project is placed into service. Private owners can monetize tax credits by selling them to tax credit buyers, recovering much of their investment upfront.”

There are also state incentives available to accelerate geothermal. For example, Colorado’s Energy Office launched a $12 million geothermal program under the “Heat Beneath Our Feet” initiative. Bryce Carter, the program’s manager, shared encouraging results: “We’ve awarded over 60 projects, from studies to buildouts, including in Eagle County and at Colorado Mesa University. We’re seeing hundreds of millions in incentives over the next decade to support heat pumps and geothermal systems.”

These programs also focus on building knowledge and trust—key ingredients in an emerging market. “You move at the speed of trust in communities,” Carter explained. “We’re working with partners to form a Colorado geothermal council to bring stakeholders together and close gaps around utilities, incentives, and regulations.”

From Ideas to Action: Engineering the Future of Thermal Energy Networks

While the concept of geothermal can sound complex, the technical approach is grounded in proven engineering practices. Matt Garlick, CEO of the Grey Edge Group, shared how his firm guides clients through a phased process to ensure success while mitigating risk.

The journey begins with a Phase One study to identify potential thermal energy sources and loads—whether from groundwater, wastewater heat, snowmaking systems, or other resources. Phase Two refines this data to understand energy demands and resource capacities. Then comes pre-design and coalition building, followed by engineering design led by certified geothermal professionals.

Garlick emphasized the importance of doing it right the first time: “There are some things you can’t afford to do wrong the first time. Once you pop that hole, … there’s no going back. You’re committed.” He added that commissioning agents, especially those with a Certified Geothermal Inspector certifications, are critical to ensure that systems perform as designed, maximizing carbon reductions and financial returns over the long term.

Real-world examples illustrate these principles in action. Park City’s new water treatment plant uses ambient-temperature water from a nearby mine shaft as a heat source. By extracting less than a tenth of a degree of heat from the water, the system is able to efficiently warm the building. This project demonstrates how even very small temperature differences can be harnessed effectively.

Scaling Up Mountain Towns’ Geothermal Future

The panelists are optimistic that geothermal energy can play a transformative role in mountain towns’ climate strategies. With pilot projects demonstrating feasibility, financial incentives lowering upfront costs, and collaborative efforts building expertise and trust, the pathway is clear.

As Park City’s Cartin put it, “It seems like it’s at a breakthrough point. It’s exciting to be jumping out of the very high level study and coming down an elevation to look at the next one.”

Iseman summarized the broader appeal: “Whatever your municipality or organization values—carbon reduction, sustainable energy, resiliency, or making a good investment—these systems offer it.”

Carter encouraged mountain towns to tap into available resources and join ongoing conversations: “It’s a really exciting time. Things are heating up in Colorado, and we’re here to be a resource as you navigate this emerging market.”

Key Takeaways for Mountain Towns

Mountain towns looking to explore geothermal energy can take several practical steps to advance projects and build resilience:

The path to decarbonizing mountain towns is complex, but geothermal energy offers a clean, stable, and scalable solution grounded in local resources. By working together across sectors and leveraging available tools and expertise, mountain communities can harness the heat beneath their feet to power a resilient, sustainable future.

How Jackson, Wyoming built a ‘culture of sustainability’ – saving money and reducing pollution

The goal was simple, but the challenge was significant: cut energy use by 10%, reducing pollution and costs for the town and its residents.

But when leaders in Jackson, Wyoming set out to tackle this ambitious goal, it wasn’t just about hitting a number – it was about changing the culture and creating a foundation of collaboration, trust, and innovation that has positioned the mountain town for the future.

At the recent Mountain Towns 2030 Summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, leaders from the Town of Jackson, Teton County, and Lower Valley Energy shared their groundbreaking journey of collaboration to achieve ambitious energy conservation goals, exploring how partnerships between local governments, utilities, and communities can align climate policies with actionable solutions. The efforts of Energy Conservation Works (ECW) – a collaboration between Jackson, Teton County, and Lower Valley Energy – serves as a practical example for other mountain towns addressing climate change challenges.

Executive Director Melissa Turley began by recounting the origins of EWC, which emerged from the Town of Jackson’s ambitious 10×10 Initiative in 2006. The goal was simple yet challenging: reduce the Town and County’s energy use by 10% from 2006 levels by 2010.

“The cheapest kilowatt hour is the one that isn’t used,” Turley emphasized, highlighting their commitment to conservation over consumption.

This early success was the product of collaboration among government entities and Lower Valley Energy, which provided technical expertise and operational support. ECW became formalized through a Town & County Joint Powers Agreement, creating a permanent structure for cooperative action.

“The creation of ECW wasn’t just about reducing energy use—it was about setting the stage for lasting collaboration and innovation,” Turley explained.

The panel highlighted several flagship programs that exemplify ECW’s impact on sustainability in the region:

1. Residential and Commercial Loan Program

James P. O’Brien , Board Chair for ECW and Partner at Baker McKenzie, explained how ECW’s loan program makes energy upgrades accessible to residents and businesses. Offering low-interest loans (1.5%) up to $40,000, the program is administered through Lower Valley Energy’s billing system, allowing participants to repay loans directly on their utility bills.

Projects funded through the program include:

“By embedding loan payments into utility bills, we’ve made it easier than ever for people to invest in energy efficiency,” O’Brien said.

2. Community Solar Project

Turley shared details about ECW’s 1-megawatt solar array, a flagship initiative that pairs renewable energy generation with battery storage. The project prioritizes equitable access, reserving subscriptions for low-income households at significantly discounted rates.

Funding sources include:

“This solar project not only reduces emissions but ensures that clean energy is accessible to everyone in our community,” Turley said.

Jon Hougland , Chief Financial Officer for Lower Valley Energy, highlighted the unique strengths of Lower Valley Energy’s cooperative model, which prioritizes community needs over profits. This structure has allowed Lower Valley Energy to implement tailored solutions like:

“Our cooperative model isn’t just a business structure—it’s a philosophy that aligns perfectly with the goals of ECW,” he explained.

Former Jackson, WY Mayor Mark Barron reflected on the leadership principles that made ECW’s early initiatives successful. From the outset, building trust between local governments, the utility, and the community was a top priority.

“It wasn’t just about cutting energy use,” he said. “It was about creating a culture of sustainability that people could believe in.”

Jackson Town Council Member Jonathan Schechter emphasized that partnerships thrive when grounded in shared values and clear communication. He identified five guiding principles for successful collaboration:

  1. Passion: Engage individuals deeply committed to climate action.
  2. People: Leverage local expertise to drive innovation and problem-solving.
  3. Focus: Maintain a shared vision to align diverse stakeholders.
  4. Trust: Build relationships that can withstand differing priorities.
  5. Flexibility: Adapt to new challenges and opportunities as they arise.

“Sustainability isn’t static—it’s about evolving to meet the needs of our community while keeping our values at the core,” he said.

The panel also addressed key challenges ECW faces as it continues to grow:

“We’ve learned that success comes from listening as much as leading,” Turley said. “Community input is invaluable.”

For towns seeking to replicate ECW’s success, the panel offered actionable insights:

  1. Conduct Energy Audits: Identify inefficiencies to set data-driven priorities.
  2. Build Strong Partnerships: Engage governments, utilities, nonprofits, and residents in a shared vision.
  3. Diversify Funding Sources: Combine grants, tax measures, and private investments to maximize impact.
  4. Embed Equity in Programs: Ensure initiatives serve all community members, particularly those with fewer resources.

“The principles of collaboration and trust apply everywhere. Every community has the potential to lead in sustainability,” O’Brien said.

Energy Conservation Works demonstrates how partnerships between local governments, utilities, and residents can achieve transformative climate solutions. By fostering trust, collaboration, and innovation, Jackson has created a replicable framework for addressing energy challenges in mountain towns and beyond.

“Our story shows that small towns can achieve big things when they work together. It’s a model of what’s possible with trust and shared purpose,” Barrons said.

Watch the full seminar here

Innovative new tool helps leaders predict the impact of climate solutions through data-driven decision making

A cutting-edge modeling tool from MIT offers the opportunity to predict the potential impact of specific climate actions, empowering leaders to better prioritize – and communicate – their plans to address a warming climate.

At the Mountain Town 2030 Climate Solutions Summit in Jackson, WY, Bethany Patten, Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and Executive Director of the MIT Climate Policy Center, showcased the En-ROADS Climate Policy Simulator, designed to engage stakeholders—from policymakers to local communities—in crafting and visualizing impactful climate actions.

Speaking to leaders from dozens of mountain towns across America, Patten emphasized the growing cost of climate inaction, citing staggering numbers: since 1980, the U.S. has faced over 400 major weather events, costing a cumulative $2.6 trillion. As communities face rising economic and social pressures from climate impacts, the need for tools that facilitate data-driven decision-making has never been more urgent.

The simulator, co-developed by MIT and the non-profit think tank Climate Interactive, helps users visualize the outcomes of various climate strategies, empowering them to prioritize actions based on evidence and shared goals.

“We have this mental mindset around, if we do work on climate, it’s going to be so costly, or we’re going to lose money,” she said. “I want you to think about and challenge your assumptions about what investments in climate can really look like – it’s actually possible to actually create value out of what we do.”

Patten highlighted several unique aspects of the simulator:

Climate Interactive offers a free, self-guided training course on how to use the simulator here – and Patten stressed that “it’s really for everyone.”

One of the key themes of the session was “multi-solving”—a concept where climate solutions address multiple societal challenges simultaneously. Patten illustrated this with a story from Asheville, North Carolina, where solar panels and battery systems installed for clean energy also provided critical backup power during a hurricane, preventing severe flood damage to a local home.

“This multi-solving concept can really drive us to be more creative in our solutions,” she explained, adding that in the North Carolina example, “We dream of an investment payback time of a few months, and for this family, the investment paid back through avoided costs in just a couple of days.”

This example highlights how investments in climate adaptation can deliver immediate and unexpected benefits beyond emission reductions.

Patten stressed that the En-ROADS tool is deliberately nonpartisan, enabling constructive discussions across ideological divides. It has been used in settings ranging from Congress to elementary schools, reflecting its flexibility and universal appeal.

“We’ll speak to anyone who wants to have a reasonable conversation about climate,” she said.

The simulator’s ability to model co-benefits—such as reduced air pollution, economic growth, and improved public health—makes it particularly effective for demonstrating how climate policies can align with broader community values.

Patten highlighted examples of successful local initiatives, including:

Patten encouraged participants to think beyond individual actions and explore opportunities for collaboration. She emphasized the importance of policy ecosystems, where businesses, local governments, and civil society work together to amplify their impact.

The session underscored that while no single policy will solve the climate crisis, collective action, informed by data and grounded in community values, can drive meaningful progress. By leveraging tools like En-ROADS, communities can craft climate strategies that are not only effective but also equitable and inclusive.

Full talk from Mountain Towns 2030: