Aspen’s Open Space and Trails Board unanimously gave its blessing Thursday to a city plan to drill a test well in a gravel parking lot across from Herron Park off Neale Avenue to see if the potential exists for a geothermal energy project.
Lauren McDonell, environmental initiatives program manager for the city of Aspen, explained the plan to four board members before their vote and said that geothermal energy could be another way for the community to reduce its carbon footprint.
“If we’re sitting on top of a clean, renewable, carbon-free source of energy, I think we have a responsibility to explore it,” she said. “It could help us decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, and help us address climate change in Aspen. So it’s kind of an exciting opportunity.”
The meeting included a public hearing, but no one from the audience spoke for or against the project. A community meeting was held Monday evening at Herron Park, where about a dozen neighbors posed questions about the impact of the test well on the area, McDonell said.
Read the rest of this report at The Aspen Times.
