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Jerry Smith, president of Pagosa Verde,
talks about his plans for harnessing geothermal
energy while sitting next to a town hot spring.
(Courtesy Isaiah Branch-Boyle/Durango Herald)
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Dark green ponderosa pines and the steam from Pagosa Springs’ geothermal pools provided the backdrop for a gathering of about 70 people from across the state to talk about renewable-energy development in the state’s rural mountain towns.
“What we need in Colorado is a base load economy (that provides) year-round jobs,” said Jerome Smith, who is working to bring a geothermal power generation project to Pagosa Springs.
Local geothermal power generation would also benefit the local economy through jobs creation and would add a different source of power to the mix, which creates a more secure and outage-resistant system, Smith said.