APRIL 2018
Lotus continues to build solutions that address local and national sustainability challenges. This spring we are excited to support communities through the U.S. DOE Solar in Your Community Challenge, expand our efficiency program in the Gunnison Valley, launch new GHG emissions inventories, and grow our team!
Supporting local communities to build their solar capacity
Lotus is a consulting partner to the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar in Your Community Challenge, a call to action for innovative leaders across the country to team up and create projects and programs that will build local capacity to support community solar, with a focus on serving low and moderate income (LMI) households.
We love supporting projects that are good for the environment and the community living in it, so this partnership is a perfect fit for the Lotus team! Lotus is currently assisting teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Michigan by helping to guide program development and tell the story of these inspiring projects.
Each of the teams we are supporting has a unique approach to the development of community solar projects, tailored for the communities they are serving. In New Hampshire, Lotus is supporting the development of program guidelines that will encourage and support LMI families to participate in community solar projects. In Michigan, we will help identify and implement strategies for integrating energy efficiency programs into solar project portfolios.
We are honored to support such creative leaders that are making a difference in their local communities. To learn more about these projects, please contact us and we would be happy to share more information.
CARE Program now available to Gunnison County residents
The Colorado Affordable Residential Energy (CARE) program was officially launched in March, making energy efficiency assessments and retrofits accessible for low to moderate income families in the Gunnison Valley. CARE, which is funded through generous grants from Energy Outreach Colorado and the local utilities, provides free energy assessments and qualified retrofits through the Gunnison Valley Home Energy Advancement Team (GV-HEAT), which Lotus administers alongside the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority. Through GV-HEAT, Valley residents can be connected to services that will allow them to better understand their home energy use, learn more efficient behavior, and receive rebates and grants towards qualifying efficiency upgrades.
Lotus Featured in Sierra Club's video series
As part of their recent series on women-owned businesses in the sustainability field, the Colorado Sierra Club recently invited Hillary Dobos and Emily Artale of Lotus to share the story of our company and the impact that one individual can make. Click here to be directed to the full video!
More Mountain Communities are launching Greenhouse Gas Inventories
Lotus was recently hired by the City of Aspen and Summit County to complete their 2017 greenhouse gas inventories. We are excited to support these communities in their continual efforts to be sustainability leaders! Lotus will be completing the inventories to the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories (GPC) standard, which sets rigorous guidelines for the documentation and sharing of emissions data in order to ensure that communities can have comparable inventories year-to-year and across geographic regions for reference.
The Lotus Team is Growing!
Lotus recently hired Julia Ferguson to find sustainability solutions for Lotus's diverse clients. Julia has worked with Lotus since August of last year on a contractual basis, and is excited to join the team full-time. 'Working on a team that is so dedicated to finding the most innovative, effective, and meaningful sustainability solutions is inspiring,' says Ferguson, 'I can't wait to keep serving our communities in Colorado and beyond!' Julia joins the team as a Senior Associate for Lotus; she has previously worked as Sustainability Coordinator for Adams County Government and Program Manager for the Cleveland Botanical Garden.
We've Moved!
Lotus recently moved offices to Steno in Denver. If you'd like to come visit us in person, please direct your GPS to 1627 Vine Street, Denver, CO 80206! We'd love to meet with you in our new space.