STEPPING UP: BENEFITS AND COST OF ACCELERATING FORT COLLINS' ENERGY AND CLIMATE GOALS

The report proposes an 'accelerated scenario' for Fort Collins to reach an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030, twenty years ahead of its original 2050 target. This path involves reducing building energy use by 31%, achieving a carbon-neutral electricity system, and reducing transportation energy use by 48%. The analysis indicates that while this requires higher upfront capital, it would result in a net present value benefit of $260 million by 2030 and $2.0 billion by 2050 compared to business-as-usual. Key strategies include the deployment of distributed solar PV, increased wind capacity, smart growth urban planning, and the adoption of electric vehicles.

• Fort Collins can achieve an approximate 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030, which is two decades ahead of its existing 2050 target.
• In the buildings sector, energy use could be reduced by 31% compared to business as usual by 2030, resulting in a net benefit of $140 million in avoided utility bills.
• The city can achieve a carbon-neutral electricity system by 2030, with approximately 25% of the supply provided by distributed resources and wind generation capacity increasing by about 230 megawatts to provide 45% of the total supply.
• Transportation energy use could be reduced by 48% from business as usual by 2030, which would save the community $480 million in fuel costs and avoided vehicle maintenance.
• The accelerated scenario is projected to provide a net present value benefit of $260 million by 2030 and $2.0 billion by 2050 compared to a business-as-usual scenario.
• Shifting investment from distant fossil fuel resources to local efficiency and renewable assets would generate an additional 400–500 jobs within Fort Collins between 2013 and 2030.
• The total present value cost of the accelerated electricity scenario would be 19% higher than business as usual through 2030, but would be 14% lower by 2050 due to reduced fuel costs and carbon price exposure.
• To meet electricity efficiency goals, the community would need to achieve annual efficiency savings of 2.4%, which is higher than the current target of 1.5%.

APA

Chan, C., Hansen, L., Newcomb, J., Rucks, G., & Agenbroad, J. (2014). STEPPING UP: BENEFITS AND COST OF ACCELERATING FORT COLLINS' ENERGY AND CLIMATE GOALS. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_80FortCollinsReport-WEB_2014-02.pdf

Chicago

Chan, Coreina, Lena Hansen, James Newcomb, Greg Rucks, and Josh Agenbroad. STEPPING UP: BENEFITS AND COST OF ACCELERATING FORT COLLINS' ENERGY AND CLIMATE GOALS. RMI, 2014. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_80FortCollinsReport-WEB_2014-02.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chan |first1=Coreina |last2=Hansen |first2=Lena |last3=Newcomb |first3=James |last4=Rucks |first4=Greg |last5=Agenbroad |first5=Josh |title=STEPPING UP: BENEFITS AND COST OF ACCELERATING FORT COLLINS' ENERGY AND CLIMATE GOALS |publisher=RMI |date=January 2014 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_80FortCollinsReport-WEB_2014-02.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chan2014stepping, author = {Chan, Coreina and Hansen, Lena and Newcomb, James and Rucks, Greg and Agenbroad, Josh}, title = {{STEPPING UP: BENEFITS AND COST OF ACCELERATING FORT COLLINS' ENERGY AND CLIMATE GOALS}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2014}, month = jan, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_80FortCollinsReport-WEB_2014-02.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }