Local governments have plenty of ideas regarding energy efficiency, but Environmental Resource Center Interim Director Lisa Huttinger said the valley needs a catalyst to bring the ideas into reality.
"Ideas are good," she said, "but now we need some action."
That goal is the driving force behind the center's efforts to bring together representatives from local governments, conservation groups, power companies and even the Idaho National Laboratory to come up with a vision—and a plan—for the region's energy future.
The representatives will work with New Energy Cities, an energy-efficiency consulting firm from Seattle that specializes in developing energy plans for communities like the Wood River Valley.
The firm was hired when former Director Craig Barry and several center board members saw it at a community energy conference. Huttinger said they were impressed with the way New Energy Cities worked with communities to turn visions into solutions for energy problems.
"We're talking about people who have worked in really progressive cities to develop energy plans," she said. "What [Barry and the board members] were seeing were ways smaller rural communities were coming up with these creative energy solutions."
However, Huttinger said she knows that the valley is not always receptive to outside consultants. Center board member Werner Morawitz said during a county meeting on Tuesday that even he was not convinced initially.
"Generally, I'm a little skeptical of consultants," he said, but added that his mind was changed during a conference call with city staff at Jackson, Wyo., who hired the firm to develop an energy plan there.
Blaine County Commissioner Angenie McCleary said she was on the call as well, and was "impressed" with Jackson's plan.
But Jackson isn't Sun Valley, a fact that Huttinger said the consultants are well aware of.
To prepare for the summit, they've been studying the region for months, reading the paper every week, studying the area and gauging its political climate.
"They're trying to figure out our home," Huttinger said. "These folks have spent so much time on the ground that I don't see that as a hurdle."
Huttinger added that Jackson Hole faces some of the same challenges as the Wood River Valley does, with many local governments condensed within a small area. While Sun Valley has carried out retrofits on city buildings and the county has made efforts to cut down on its carbon emissions via a four-day workweek, Huttinger said the region can do more if it comes together.
"It hasn't been all about installing [high-efficiency] light bulbs, but it's been the easier retrofits," she said. "We can take that commitment to energy efficiency and deepen it."
The firm will descend on Sun Valley at the end of April, meeting with more than 50 representatives from city governments, Blaine and Camas counties, the Idaho National Laboratory, Power Engineers, Mountain Rides and conservation-minded nonprofit organizations in a two-day workshop.
When all is said and done, it will have developed specific actions that the parties can take to change the valley's energy use.
"That's what makes this unique," Huttinger said, adding that few consultants give plans with very specific, detailed ways regions can improve as New Energy Cities does. "It's looking at more than making sure our windows don't leak. That's important, but there are bigger things you can do."
The cost of the plan is steep—$48,000. The summit is funded partly by private donors as well as the Ketchum Community Development Corp. and the city of Hailey. The ERC also gained almost $5,000 as part of a county-administered federal grant. Known as the Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant, the money comes from the Department of Energy and is meant to promote reduction of fossil fuels and other clean energy projects.
Money spent now might lead to savings later, however. Huttinger said energy efficiency can actually lead to economic development, a major goal of a number of valley organizations.
"Every dollar that our local government doesn't have to spend on energy can be spent on other things," she said.
Public input will be actively encouraged when the plan is released around mid-summer.
"It's important to bring this back to the community," Huttinger said. "We want the community's support, and it serves us well to have that backing."
Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com
