The Green Choice program through Yampa Valley Electric Association is a hot topic amid Steamboat Springs City Council discussions about energy source requirements for snowmelt systems, yet 234 residential customers and 30 commercial customers already take advantage of the option.

Through Green Choice, YVEA customers can chose to offset the nonrenewable energy portion of the local power mix, which is currently 45% renewable, by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs. Those certificates offered through YVEA come from non-carbon power issued through Xcel Energy, Upper Yampa Conservancy District’s hydro-electric dam at Stagecoach Reservoir and Western Area Power Administration, according to Carly Davidson, YVEA spokesperson.

“Because a REC is proof that the energy was produced without fossil fuels, as RECs are retired, the demand for renewable projects grows,” Davidson said.

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The 2022 YVEA power mix shows 39% wind, 3% solar and 3% hydro for renewable sources as well as 29% natural gas and 26% coal for nonrenewable fossil fuel sources. That means Green Choice customers can pay a small amount per kilowatt hour used per month to instead use renewable energy to offset 55% nonrenewable energy. For a small, all-electric-powered home in Routt County, for example, that extra monthly fee can range from $2-$8.

Green Choice is an easy, attainable renewable energy program that allows community members to set renewable portfolio goals, according to the Green Choice website.

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“Not everyone can afford or is able to install solar at their home or business, and we are proud of this program as a solution for our members to go carbon-free,” Davidson said.

The number of residential member purchased RECs retired from 2019-2022 was 828. Green Choice for commercial customers was added in 2021, and 3,700 certificates were retired during the past two years. Every REC retired equates to 1,000 kilowatt hours, Davidson said.

Alpine Bank in Steamboat is one of those 30 commercial customers of Green Choice.

“Not only does this program align with our environmental policy, it helps create more demand for renewable power generation,” said Andrew Zaback, senior vice president at the Steamboat branch.

YVEA aggregates the Green Choice REC purchases and retires those certificates annually. That means the REC is taken out of circulation, can no longer be sold and thus belongs to the entity that claimed it toward their renewable energy content, Davidson said.

During the 2023 YVEA annual member survey, the co-op asked members about the importance of having renewable energy in the power mix. That survey showed that 48% of members say renewable energy in the YVEA portfolio is either moderately, very or extremely important to them.

Sarah Jones, director of social responsibility at Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp., spoke at Tuesday’s City Council meeting during the snowmelt energy source discussions and is an advocate of the Green Choice option. However, Steamboat Resort does not purchase RECs due to the elevated requirement for the certificates in California, where Steamboat Resort’s parent company, Alterra Mountain Co., owns two resorts, Jones said.

“Green Choice is great for residential and commercial,” Jones said. “Ski corp is looking at other opportunities for direct renewable energy instead of RECs to support new renewable energy projects to the market. We are looking at options locally, and Alterra also is looking at options.”

Jones said the certified renewable energy credits are part of a “very regulated market.” The spectrum of RECs available varies as some may support a long-completed solar array, for example, while others may help fund a new wind farm proposed for construction.

In November, Steamboat Resort in conjunction with the city initiated studies with two consulting companies to explore renewable energy options for the snowmelt system for the forthcoming Gondola Transit Center redevelopment, Jones said. Results from the studies are expected in early 2024.

The consultant companies include Page Southerland Page that has an office in Denver and is working on an energy master plan for Brown Ranch as well as Sage Geosystems headquartered in Houston. The feasibility study by Page will explore shallow geothermal and waste energy options for non-carbon snowmelt systems that would be located on site. The high-level study by Sage will explore deep geothermal options for non-carbon electricity that does not have to be located on site, Jones said.

The studies will help Alterra and Steamboat Resort move forward to meet the company goals for 2030 that include 100% renewable electricity, carbon neutrality and a reduction of carbon emissions by more than 50%, Jones said.

The social responsibility director said the current studies do not directly relate to the natural gas-powered snowmelt system that is already in use at Gondola Square at the resort base. However, that existing system could be retrofitted in the future to be powered by electricity from renewable energy sources as technology allows.