Gov. Jared Polis stopped in Eagle and Edwards on Friday to complete a 74-year state gubernatorial tradition and look to the future by celebrating the potential of geothermal energy.

Geothermal potential

The governor’s first stop was the Eagle County campus in Eagle where he met with the county commissioners and staff to celebrate a new geothermal project.

The county was recently awarded $250,000 from Colorado’s Geothermal Energy Grant Program. In the first round of funding from this program, the state distributed over $7.7 million in funding for 35 projects across the state.

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The projects include the installation of geothermal heat pumps in buildings, research and development of interconnected geothermal systems between buildings (thermal energy networks), as well as tests of geothermal resources for zero-emissions electricity generation.

“When I was chair of the Western Governors Association, my initiative was geothermal energy — heat beneath our feet,” Polis said. “And we want to practice what we preach here in Colorado, we want to lead on this stuff, right? It’s not just for the hot springs. We love the hot springs, but there’s a lot more to geothermal.”

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The town of Vail also received $250,000 in funding from the grant, which will go toward an “ambient temperature loop sink/source evaluation study” as it contemplates the use of geothermal in its Civic Area and to replace its natural gas-fueled snowmelt system.

The grant program will have a second round of funding for similar projects, but Polis also touted future tax credits for geothermal as well on Friday. Around $35 million in merit-based tax credits will be given to eligible applicants for the development and production of geothermal electricity.

Eagle County is planning to use its funds to support the building of a geothermal system to replace its existing gas boiler system. The county intends to create a geo-exchange system for its five-building campus in Eagle.

Building out the system will be an extensive process, said Jesse Meryhew, Eagle County’s facilities director.

“We should see definitely significant savings and as well as be able to avoid peak rates with electrical because we can just basically be on cruise control once we get it up and going,” he said.

Visiting the boiler room at the county government building on Friday, Polis took out his phone to record a video with all three county commissioners and Dave Munk with Holy Cross Energy.

“With the state investment and the investment as well in Eagle County, they’re going to replace their boilers with geothermal heating and cooling for the entire campus here for Eagle County employees,” Polis remarked. “It’ll save Eagle County taxpayers money and they won’t need the boilers anymore. Instead, we’re going to have a very efficient geothermal system.”

“The state is excited to invest alongside Eagle County in helping to make this a reality,” Polis added.

In addition to the boiler room, the group made stops around the county campus, looking at the adjacent field where the future boreholes will be drilled for the system, as well as looking at a test borehole, before visiting adjacent properties.

“There’s real potential for a network here,” Polis remarked, hearing about how the county hopes the geothermal system could serve the greater community in the future.

When a system includes mixed uses for geothermal, that’s where the renewable energy source gets “super efficient,” said Kate Kirkman, the county’s climate programs coordinator.

For example, the county’s initial geothermal system will be used for its five-building campus, the majority of which are office buildings used from about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

However, “when you add on houses that are using it in the morning or in the evenings through the night and into the morning, you then have this super consistent draw on the system,” Kirkman said.

Geothermal energy is quickly rising as a low-cost renewable energy source. The county began investigating the program in late 2022, seeing it as a way to save money and meet its climate action goals.

“Essentially what you have is a bunch of boreholes in the earth that go down about 500 feet. What we do is pipe them so a pipe goes down to the bottom of the hole, makes a U-bend and comes all the way to the top,” Meryhew explained. “Then, what we do is circulate fluid through those holes. And then essentially, that fluid goes back into the building to a heat pump and that heat pump is used to cool and heat the building.”

While the county is still in the process of designing its geothermal system, Meryhew estimates it could cost between $7 million and $8 million and at least two years to complete.

“We are thrilled to invest $250,000 with you guys to make this a reality. This will be a showcase for everybody,” Polis said.

Polis 12th governor to sign New Castle man’s hat

After leaving Eagle, Polis made his way to Edwards where he made his final stop of a whirlwind signing tour around the state in which the governor signed into law 519 pieces of legislation. But instead of signing a bill, he signed a Stetson.

The hat belongs to John Harcourt, of New Castle. Polis became the 12th Colorado governor to sign the hat, encouraging Harcourt and his son, Troy Harcourt, to keep up the tradition.

“Someday, maybe we can display this at History Colorado in some sort of exhibition,” Polis said.

Harcourt received the hat from his father, Charles Harcourt, who was also known as John.

“There used to be a special train chartered by the editor of The Denver Post in the ’50s, and all the dignitaries from the state got to ride on the train, and that was one of the special moments, every year, for him to do that,” Harcourt said of his father.

Harcourt’s father was the president of the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants in the 1950s when he used to receive the annual invite. He died in 1967; John Harcourt was 20 years old at the time.

“The hat stayed in the family, my sister got three signatures, and I’ve got four more,” Harcourt said.

After Harcourt reached out to Polis, the governor suggested the visit at an ice cream shop in Edwards, a town he also visited in May of 2023 to sign Senate Bill 23-174, “Access To Certain Behavioral Health Services.”

Perla Chavez of Avon, a worker at Sundae in Edwards, served Polis an ice cream cone.

“They told us yesterday he was coming,” said manager Jessica Manuel.

“He got salted cookies and cream,” Manuel added. “It’s our most popular flavor.”