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Fort Collins, Colorado Aims High for ‘Net Zero’ Energy Goal

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Talk about an ambitious energy goal — and true community effort.

Four years after now outgoing Colorado Governor Bill Ritter helped announce a new report suggesting that a homegrown renewable energy industry could add $1.9 billion to the state’s economy, a Colorado city is taking aim at setting a world energy record.

Fort Collins, Colorado in the northern portion of the Centennial State — just 57 miles from Denver — has embarked on a project called FortZED with the goal of becoming the world’s largest active net-zero energy district in the world. The project, which began back in 2007, and consists of community awareness campaigns about energy use and smart grid development within the city. Most recently, the state’s Renewable and Distributed Systems Integration (RDSI) program has given the city’s effort an extra jolt, as it’s meant to trim overall energy consumption and gain more energy from renewable sources.

Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins, Colorado, the fifth-most populated city in the state, aims to become the world’s largest active net-zero district.

“Net-zero energy” means the area would produce as much energy as it consumes. The key phrase in the state’s goal is largest active net-zero district in the world. Its goal, while difficult to achieve in any part of the country, would be much easier to reach in a rural, underpopulated area. But Fort Collins is the fifth-most populated city in Colorado. It’s also a large college town, as it houses Colorado State University (CSU). Overall, the district holds 7,200 home and business electric utility customers combined.

But so far, the city’s economy is proving to be a major contributor in reaching the net-zero energy goal. CSU, for example, has its own net-zero energy goal. To that end, CSU has installed four separate solar energy systems on its campus, with its most recent coming in July 2010 in the form of a 132-kilowatt (KW) solar array atop a parking garage.

Even breweries in the area have joined the cause. New Belgium Brewery, in addition to its 200-kW solar energy systemhas installed smart-grid technology that will reduce the brewery’s energy consumption when the local electric grid is being heavily used. Another energy campaign, called “take it to zero,” challenges homeowners to reduce their energy consumption in a number of ways — and also promotes the purchase of shares in a nearby community solar energy garden.

Achieving net-zero status won’t be easy, but it can be done if the entire community continues to strive toward the goal. To see what else Fort Collins is doing to achieve net-zero status, visit the FortZED website.

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