Colorado Working Landscapes

Colorado Working Landscapes is a coalition of agricultural, environmental, and business interests with a mission to advance rural economic development opportunities through community-based energy development. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. This mission will be accomplished by pursuing four goals.

1. Develop viable business models that enhance rural economic development by keeping energy dollars in the local community. Some of our main focus areas include:

• Small Hydro
• Community Solar
• Forest Biomass Utilization
• Community Wind
• Energy Efficiency

Our current primary projects include:

• San Luis Valley AgEnergy Initiative
  • Community solar gardens
  • Biomass
  • Small hydro

• Rural Co-op Outreach Initiative
• Cooperative Sun
• Forest biomass utilization, particularly in response to beetle kill-afflicted forest lands
• Improving WindSource program

2. Establish and advance a public policy agenda in support of distributed generation, demand-side management, and rural economic development

• Establish and maintain appropriate “utility incentives” for community-based energy development
• Devise and seek adoption of “public incentives” that support projects with substantial societal benefits.

This goal recognizes that certain technologies will require taxpayer support in addition to support from the two percent “ratepayer cap”.

3. Engage rural electric cooperatives along with rural elected officials and business interests to identify economic development opportunities associated with community-based energy development.

4. Secure sustainable funding in support of the above.