Celebrate solar
Dear Editor:
On July 1, at 3 p.m., we’ll be hosting the ribbon cutting for the Colorado Rocky Mountain School/Aspen Skiing Company solar array, a 150-kilowatt system on a half-acre of ranch land in Carbondale.
The event, which will take place in the field in front of the array, will feature speakers Governor Bill Ritter and Senator Ken Salazar, as well as music, food, beer, tours of the new system and a small energy expo, and is open to the whole community. Please come!
We’d like to thank the many people and entities that made this project happen: The Garfield County Commissioners and planner Fred Jarman moved quickly to change land-use codes to allow this project to happen in the first place. Their move put them in a leadership position nationally on solar-friendly zoning. The town of Carbondale, in particular Mayor Michael Hassig, Randy Udall at CORE and Joanie Matranga (now with the Governor’s Energy Office), were the original driving force behind the project and did enormous amounts of legwork to make it viable. CORE’s Gary Goodson and Lauren Martindale also helped. Xcel energy, in particular Pam Newell, agreed to buy the power and helped with financing in crucial ways. Scott Ely and his remarkable crew at Sunsense took on this large and complex effort and did a beautiful job. This solar array, which for a time will be the largest on the Western Slope, represents the sort of vision and collaboration that will define sustainability over the next century. We hope you’ll come help us celebrate that vision on July 1.
Jeff Leahy and Joe White
Colorado Rocky Mountain School
Carbondale
Matt Jones and Auden Schendler
Aspen Skiing Company
Aspen
