Routt County is facing a historic energy transition. Xcel Energy, the operator of the Hayden Generating Station, is going through a Public Utilities Commission (PUC) process to determine the future of the Hayden Station. One of the conversations inherent in this process involves what type of energy generation will occur at Hayden Station upon its retirement from coal.

Earlier this month, Routt County and the Town of Hayden began to lay out the challenge in an guest column editorial emphasizing the need for a just transition — a long-term solution that generates property tax revenues, retains local jobs on-site, and fulfills the commitments local governments have made to climate action. While there are varying options for the station’s energy future, we have an opportunity to advocate for just transition solutions that do no economic harm and work long-term for our community.

Some of the options being considered, including gas, do not seem viable. Consumer preference, state policies, and the volatile cost of gas, combined with Xcel’s own admission that a new gas plant would be unusable by 2040 or 2050, put us right back into the same energy transition conundrum in the near future.

Routt County needs a longer-term solution than soon-to-be-obsolete gas. We also have concerns about nuclear energy at this site due to the heavy baggage of local and lifecycle pollution — including waste storage, safety risks, and long-term environmental impacts. This technology isn’t the right fit for Routt County today. We should prioritize solutions that better reflect our community’s values.

Routt County is not alone in this complicated energy transition. We are one of three priority transitioning coal communities in Xcel’s current case. We are unique, however, because unlike other coal communities we have relatively high geothermal activity- it’s the heat beneath our feet.

As we write this, we are awaiting a response from Xcel about the options they are considering for clean, affordable and reliable energy production on-site. In their briefing testimony, they mention geothermal energy. We see this as a concept that has merit.

Thanks to continuously emerging technology, geothermal is used efficiently to generate electricity and store energy. The same resource is already integrated into our local economy for uses such as recreational hot springs and powering buildings. Colorado Mountain College was one of the earlier pioneers of this technology locally. Community leaders like the Yampa Valley Community Foundation included it in their recent office construction and, just last week, the Town of Hayden’s Town Council approved its use for its promising business park adjacent to the Yampa Valley Regional Airport.

What we know is this: we must stand together for a locally generated renewable energy resource at Hayden Station. In their settlement with Tri-State, our neighbors to the west in Moffat County had a specific preference for a specific type of resource. Thanks to their advocacy, they were able to secure that preference. We must remember that while energy generation at the Hayden Station is local, that energy is transmitted elsewhere, leaving Routt County residents to bear the cost of any negative impacts without the benefit of local generation.

Lastly, we must consider the challenge of replacing the nearly $5million dollars a year that local coal activities currently generate in tax revenue for essential services in our community. It will be difficult to repurpose the Hayden Station and reinvest in it quickly enough to fully recover those revenues. We are advocating for reinvestment in the Station that increases the power output and the Station’s assessed value, as long as long as the energy generated is clean.

As Xcel continues its planning process, we urge the utility to work with us on a solution that retains high-paying jobs on-site, rather than closing up shop and causing well-established workers and their families to move to other Xcel operations out of the area. This is an opportunity for us to work together to transition Routt County towards the cleanest life-cycle energy generation possible and lean in to emerging technologies that are appropriate for our region. Our community requires a long-term solution to both our local economic needs and Xcel’s power generation needs. Geothermal seems to be the obvious choice. It’s the heat beneath our feet.

Sonja Macys is the chair for the Routt County Board of County Commissioners. Ryan Banks is the mayor of the Town of Hayden.