The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Fenerty not yet convinced of benefits
By Mark Reaman
With a 6-1 vote, the Crested Butte council voted Monday to set a public hearing on June 2 for an ordinance that would finalize the 30-year lease of some town-owned Avalanche Park property near Baxter Gulch to be used for a solar array. Councilmember Anna Fenerty voted against the motion.
The ordinance would approve the lease for six acres on the 71-acre parcel between town and the Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) enabling the construction and operation of a 1.62-megawatt solar farm. While not always the sunniest of spots given its proximity to Gibson’s Ridge, experts say its location near a GCEA substation makes it feasible. The project has been in the works since 2020 and will be operated by Outshine Energy and be called the Oh Be Joyful community solar array.
Crested Butte has signed on for so-called Renewable Energy Credits (REC) to help offset 100% of its municipal electricity use. According to a staff memo to council, “at full subscription, the town would offset approximately 800 metric tons of CO2 annually, about 44% of municipal emissions…providing a cost-effective means of advancing the town’s carbon reduction goals.”
There will be no payment to the town from the GCEA to lease the property. Recent GCEA estimates project a recurring annual premium of at least $33,803 for REC subscriptions from town to offset full municipal electricity usage. The staff memo says that is an increase over previous projections and reflects rising energy costs, town’s ongoing transition away from natural gas toward electricity and finalized REC pricing. The staff report shows that CB electricity expenditures went from $140,266 in 2022 to $173,105 in 2024. “The REC subscription represents an approximately 19.5% increase over 2024 energy costs,” the report states.
The action of setting the lease ordinance for public hearing was originally on the town’s consent agenda but Fenerty asked for it to be removed for further discussion. She said she felt such an important item should be discussed more than on the consent agenda. “It is worthy of a vote and I will be voting no,” she said.
When asked why, she said she hasn’t “been thoroughly convinced of the benefits of the project. There is not much land left up here, especially public land and there are opportunity costs associated with it. I am not convinced this is the best use of that land.”
Town manager Dara MacDonald said there are limited uses of the property for any kind of structures due to avalanche concerns.
“I think it would be problematic this deep into the years-long process to suddenly inform our partners that we have decided to no longer collaborate on this project,” commented mayor Ian Billick.
The council voted to set the public hearing on the lease agreement for the council’s June 2 meeting where further discussion will be held. Physical work on the site is expected to begin this summer.
