Taking Ideas Seriously: Solar
When I moved to Grand County, a land trust board member gave me the lay of the land:
Summit County is Eagle fifteen years ago. Grand is Summit fifteen years ago. Jackson is Grand fifteen years ago.
A lot has happened in the last decade to change how people use resort communities. Grand County still has a ways to go before “turning into” Summit, but we are following in their footsteps by relying too heavily on tourism and failing to plan far enough ahead.
In April, the Sky-Hi News reported that Grand was the only resort county in the region to see a population increase from 2020 to 2025. Pitkin, Eagle, and Summit saw drops due to high construction costs and an inflated cost of living, classic symptoms of a bloated tourism market and unchecked development. While building in those counties is limited by terrain and zoning, Grand County remains relatively open. As Commissioner George was quoted in the article:
We are not hemmed in that way, there is still a fair amount of space available.
We do need more housing units, as recent assessments show (2018 and 2022). Yet in that April article, our county commissioners did not seem concerned about how suburban sprawl might disrupt our scenic views or impact our tourism industry.
At last Tuesday’s meeting, however, they were very concerned about our scenic views regarding solar energy development. The commissioners insisted that blocks of solar panels for commercial use would look unattractive to visitors, threatening our tourism economy.
This was during a workshop intended to help county staff draft rules for energy and industrial development, including solar, wind, oil & gas, and data centers. The discussion on oil & gas and data centers, unlikely but possible options for Grand County, was brief and overall positive. Meanwhile, the discussion on renewable energy, a very real option with known benefits, was filled with jokes about “dirty green energy” and electric vehicles, and misinformed claims about heat production and land degradation around solar farms. Solar farms and agriculture can even be used together.
Commercial solar development is an investment in our future. While it is development and will require resources to build and maintain, the long-term return is significant. Solar can help secure local energy independence, build grid resiliency, and establish a stable, sustainable funding source for the county. We need an economy that isn't tied to the seasonal whims of the tourism market. As we saw in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic and the East Troublesome Fire, and just this past winter with low snowfall and our ongoing drought, we cannot rely on tourism forever.
Make no mistake: tourism is vital to Grand County. From ski slopes and town festivals to our vast tracts of public land and winding rivers, it generates the bulk of our sales tax dollars, attracts millions of visitors, and provides livelihoods for hundreds of residents and seasonal workers. Many local organizations and nonprofits work tirelessly to support this sector.
But tourism alone is not a sustainable long-term economic strategy. An old ranch boss of mine liked to describe tourism markets as “people paying each other to do each other’s laundry.” Eventually, people realize they can wash their own clothes, and the market stalls. Without diverse revenue streams entering our community, we risk facing the same economic stagnation and population drops as our neighboring counties.
Over the last few months, I’ve spoken with neighbors and community members across the county about the issues they care most about. Building a strong, resilient, and diversified local economy comes up in nearly every conversation.
If our commissioners truly prioritized tourism, they would back it up with proactive leadership: allocating dedicated funding for trail construction and maintenance, supporting smart housing development, promoting regional transit, and ensuring tourism dollars directly benefit the people who live here year-round as well as making sure we have economic security against the ebb and flow of tourism. Instead, they are using tourism as an excuse to dismiss real ideas for local energy production and economic growth.
Solar development isn’t a silver bullet, but it is a serious idea with strong potential.
As commissioner, I will treat this role with the intention it deserves. I will evaluate every opportunity with curiosity, creativity, and a genuine commitment to Grand County’s future. I have no party line and no private business interests: I am an unaffiliated and independent member of this community, and I am dedicated to serving this community today and for many years to come.
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Jackson, A., Doubleday, K., Staie, B., Perna, A., Sabraw, M., Voss, L., Alvarez, A., Kominek, B., and Macknick, J. (2024). County Land-Use Regulations for Solar Energy Development in Colorado. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/TP-6A20-88556. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy24osti/88556.pdf
