Reno, NV (Updated December 8, 2024) – Thanks to a boost from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energizing Rural Communities Prize (ERCP), Washoe County, the Gerlach General Improvement District and other partners are pursuing projects that will help the town of Gerlach reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save residents money on energy bills, and be more resilient in the face of heat, cold, power outages and other climate impacts.
The ERCP helped bring the following intelligence and resources to inform the community’s next steps:
Energy and Emissions Audit. Team member nZero completed an energy audit of the town, calculating the use of electricity to provide light and air conditioning; propane and wood to provide heat; and gasoline and diesel fuel to provide transportation. nZero also calculated the emissions created by these activities (1,873.9 mtCO2e for the year 2022 – see Figure 3) and provided recommendations for Gerlach to reduce energy use and emissions across sectors.
Emissions Reductions Opportunities for Gerlach. This document includes recommendations from nZero based on the Energy and Emissions Audit above.
Geothermal District Heating Microgrid. This feasibility study from the 1980s suggests geothermal energy could be used to heat (and cool) the buildings in town. Maps of the microgrid.
Caption: Preliminary schematics for a geothermal district heating microgrid from a feasibility study commissioned in the 1980s. The source and injection wells have been completed. We did not communicate with anyone involved with the project at the time, but project is rumored to have been discontinued due to cost concerns. If only we had spent the money then, we would have saved Gerlachians thousands in energy bills.
Conceptual Plan for Solar Microgrid. The University of Nevada Reno, Water Innovation Institute provided this technical assessment to pursue a solar microgrid, which could provide electricity for the town.
Financing Options for a Climate-Resilient Gerlach. Produced by the Nevada Clean Energy Fund, this suite of recommendations will help the Gerlach GID, Washoe County and other partners pursue financing to achieve the recommendations above.
What’s Next?
Washoe County, the GGID and partners will pursue funding and technical assistance to deploy the solutions identified above.
But first…
In numerous public conversations, people made it clear they were afraid that exploiting geothermal resources too much could result in negative outcomes for the community, specifically subsidence of the ground under Gerlach’s buildings, contamination of the town’s water supply, and noise. This feedback has led to the additional goals of conducting a Geothermal Feasibility Study to assess the potential risks of geothermal development and completing a Community Benefits Plan.
Original Post – August, 2023
The Prize challenged individuals and organizations to develop partnership plans or innovative financing strategies to help rural or remote communities improve their energy systems and advance clean energy demonstration projects. Team Climate-Resilient Gerlach will receive $100,000 to support the following team to help Gerlach reduce their community-wide greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero* by 2050:
- Washoe County
- Gerlach Citizen Advisory Board and General Improvement District
- Nevada Energy
- Nevada Clean Energy Fund
- UNR Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
- nZero
- Burning Man Project
Gerlach has a population of 130 and is roughly 100 miles north of the Reno/Sparks metropolitan area. This is an introductory video the team submitted as part of the Prize application process.
“Washoe County is committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, both in county operations and community wide,” said Brian Beffort, Washoe County’s Sustainability Manager. “To achieve these reductions, every community in the county will have to find ways to reduce their energy use and find cleaner forms of energy. This prize brings Nevada’s best expertise to address Gerlach’s unique opportunities and challenges in meeting this goal.”
Over the next 10 months, the team will complete the following activities:
- Conduct an inventory of the energy used by every residential and commercial building in town.
- Evaluate the potential of renewable energy resources in Gerlach. The town is blessed with abundant wind, sun and geothermal resources.
- Hold public listening sessions in Gerlach to hear from residents what they want and need for their energy future.
- Design a system that can combine renewable energy generation and storage to meet the town’s needs in the future, even in the worst weather conditions.
- Develop a financing plan that will help pay for the technology necessary to meet the goals.
In the summer of 2024, the Team will be eligible to compete for an additional round of funding to help implement the plan.
Here are statements from all Team partners:
“The Gerlach General Improvement District is thrilled to have been selected as a recipient of the Energizing Rural Communities Prize,” said Russell Bierle, Gerlach’s Public Works Supervisor. “Gerlach suffers from frequent, prolonged power outages during extreme weather, both in winter and summer. In the winter, these outages often coincide with road closures that prevent us from finding shelter elsewhere. The energy generation and storage technologies made possible by this grant promise to equip our old west frontier town for the realities of the future to come. As an isolated desert community with an unreliable power supply, we hope this grant will be the first step toward clean, abundant, secure energy. Not just for Gerlach, but for every dusty old town too stubborn to die out.”
“The Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department at the University of Nevada, Reno is excited to be a part of ‘Team Climate-Resilient Gerlach’ to envision and design a pathway to net-zero carbon emission for Gerlach,” said CEE Research Scientist Laura Haak. “The CEE Department has expertise in sustainable infrastructure including water, wastewater, transportation, and alternative energy technologies. We will help design and develop a resilient and sustainable frontier community in Gerlach, Nevada examining existing infrastructure, local resources, and energy requirements. Our contributions include development of a scalable model for Gerlach that integrates resource availability, energy storage requirements, consumption patterns, and interactions with land, water, and other resources.”
“NV Energy is proud to be a partner in this effort to provide Gerlach with a path to achieve net zero carbon emissions while helping advance Washoe County’s carbon reduction goals,” said Marie Steele, Vice President of Integrated Energy Services at NV Energy. “We look forward to collaborating and innovating with all of our partners to continue moving forward with this project.”
“Innovative energy partnerships like this can unlock significant benefits for Nevada’s rural communities, from energy and climate resilience, to cost savings, to job opportunities,” said Kirsten Stasio, CEO of Nevada Clean Energy Fund. “NCEF is excited to be a part of this collaborative effort to support the community of Gerlach.”
“As Washoe County continues working toward net-zero emissions, this prize represents a remarkable new chapter for Gerlach, as the community looks to better understand its environmental impact and address renewable energy concerns,” said Josh Griffin, Co-Founder and Chief Policy Officer of nZero. “With our real-time, 24/7 carbon management and emissions tracking, nZero is prepared to help Gerlach evaluate its current energy use and achieve long-term climate goals as well as greater reporting transparency with the larger community. Nevada remains a leading state in the fight against climate change, and our work with Gerlach will only help to support its sustainable future.”
“Gerlach has high potential as a demonstration town for renewable energy and sustainable practices,” said Marnee Benson, Burning Man’s Director of Government Affairs. “Burning Man is uniquely equipped to help tap that potential by offering space and expertise, and a world class network of innovators. Together we can find new ways to electrify rural areas in the high desert and beyond.”
“What’s most exciting about this is that the solutions we develop for Gerlach will be applicable elsewhere in Nevada, across the country, and around the world,” said Beffort. “If Gerlach can do this, so can the rest of us.”
To learn more about Team Climate-Resilient Gerlach or any of Washoe County’s sustainability efforts, contact Brian Beffort at bbeffort@washoecounty.gov.
*Net-zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere by oceans and forests for example.