The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) met on Thursday, December 1, 2023, at 6:45 p.m. to discuss Colorado CarShare and renewable energy.

Students from the Colorado School of Mines wrapped up their Subsystem Design Project. At next month’s meeting, the creators will present their finished proposal for SAB members to discuss. If SAB finds the plan for a mobile electronic recycling center beneficial, they will keep it in mind for future implementation.

Peter Krahenbuhl from Colorado CarShare attended this month’s meeting to explain what it would look like to have EV Carsharing in Nederland. SAB was able to get many questions answered. Below is a summary of what they learned:

CarShare Q&A:

Q: What is the anticipated use for the car?

A: The car will likely be used for driving to Boulder for things such as doctor appointments and running collective errands in or out of town where neither Uber nor Lyft isn’t practical.

Q: How dependable is the availability of the car -- full charge, traffic, cleanliness, etc.?

A: Krahenbuhl stated that there have been no issues in the past. The website provides clear communication of the car’s battery status. It also allows drivers to contact Colorado CarShare in case they need to inform the next reservation of an issue, such as being stuck in traffic. If the car is left dirty, the next driver will report the condition and the driver will receive a fine.

Q: How far in advance does the car need to be reserved?

A: One can reserve the car as soon as fifteen minutes in advance if there is no conflicting reservation. The car can be booked as far as a year in advance to ensure availability.

Q: What about roadside assistance?

A: Colorado CarShare comes with insurance and roadside assistance. There is an emergency hotline that can be used if the car breaks down, has trouble starting, etc. The car must not go beyond a 400-mile radius of its home location to stay within range of the insurance.

Colorado CarShare already has a car available for Nederland, so SAB has decided to move forward in the process. They will present their pitch to the Board of Trustees in hopes of bringing EV Carsharing to town in the new year. For more information on Colorado CarShare, visit https://carshare.org/.

As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) and the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) were awarded the planning grants for the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant. The next step is deciding how to implement those funds throughout the state. Nederland submitted a few suggestions on the best way to do this, focusing on building electrification and workforce development.

SAB discussed the renewable energy gap analysis from 2022, excluding the Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), to get an estimate for 2023. The municipal gap is very small and Xcel’s Partners in Energy (PIE) is going to help audit the water facility which will hopefully close that gap. Residential renewables have nearly doubled since 2020, meaning substantial progress has been made since the pandemic. Though the commercial gap is the largest, PIE has offered to help fund outreach and partnership with Partners for a Clean Environment (PACE) to continue filling the gap.

The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board meets on the fourth Thursday of every month. December’s meeting will be on Monday, December 18, 2023, For more information go to: townofnederland.colorado.gov/ sustainability-advisory-board.