Nederland Energy Transition Plan
In August 2017, the Town of Nederland, Colorado passed a resolution to ensure the community-wide transition to 100% electricity supplied by renewable energy by 2025. As a part of their capstone project requirement, graduate students from the University of Colorado Boulder Masters of the Environment program began work with Nederland in March 2018. The end deliverable of this project will be a plan to operationalize Nederland’s energy commitment.
Nederland’s resolution to achieve “100% renewables” is indicative of a growing movement among municipalities across the United States. For those communities which have made policy commitments to increase their supply of renewable energy, this project also intends to better understand how advocates, energy policymakers, and the energy industry at large can leverage this trend to advance low-carbon energy goals.