December 2024 | Climate Events across Colorado

Monthly climate events, jobs, and news in the Colorado front range

There’s a lot going on in Colorado, and it shouldn’t be a secret! It’s not the biggest tech scene, but Colorado’s unique mix of research, policy, companies, mountains, and people work together to make it a major climate hub. This newsletter is an independent roundup of community-submitted climate events in the Colorado Front Range area and is not associated with any specific company or group.

🎉 Happy Holidays from Colorado Climatetech. This month is full of end-of-year events, great opportunities to meet organizations that you may have wanted to learn more about. Pop in, enjoy a free drink, and say hi!

Our spotlight 🔦 from Hannah Davis continues this month is with Ryan Schuchard, a council member for the City of Boulder with a passion for sustainability.

Events This Month

• 🏡 Monthly Green Home Tour: Dec 1, Sun

• 🏘️ Net Zero Energy Design Build Workshop : Dec 4, Wed

• ⚡️ EEBC Quarterly Members Meeting: Dec 5, Thu

• 🥞 Green Business Breakfast: Dec 5, Thu

• 🌻 Agrivoltaic Seminar Series - Operations and Maintenance of Solar Arrays: Dec 5, Thu

• 🏘️ Cracking the Code on Affordable Resilient Housing: Dec 5, Thu

• 🍻 WRISE Colorado Holiday Happy Hour: Dec 10, Tue

• 🎉 NCRES Holiday Gathering with Green Drinks & CGBG Fort Collins: Dec 10, Tue

• 🎉 Climate Advocates Happy Hour and Year End Celebration: Dec 12, Thu

• 🎁 CGBG's 2024 Annual Holiday Party: Dec 12, Thu

• 🍺 BS + Beer: Dec 17, Tue

• 🏆 Colorado Cleantech Awards Celebration: Dec 17, Tue

• 🍻 Boulder Climate Happy Hour: Dec 18, Wed

• 🎉 Metro Denver CRES Holiday Party: Dec 19, Thu

Read on for more details about this month’s upcoming events.

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Sneak Peak at the Following Month

• 🍻 Boulder Climate Happy Hour: Jan 15, Wed

• 🏢 Colorado Building Symposium: Jan 16, Thu

• 🔋 2025 Solar Power and Energy Storage Mountain West: Jan 20, Mon

• 🌻 Agrivoltaic Seminar Series - Conservation & Biodiversity: Jan 23, Thu

There will be more! These are just a few that I know about if you like to plan ahead.

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Spotlight of the Month: Ryan Schuchard

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Climate News in CO

EV adoption in Colorado is speeding up, second only to California, with >20% of 2024 new sales being a plug-in vehicle. That demand is driving more EV inventory to dealers, so this month is a great time to make the plunge before incentive dollars run out.

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Job Openings in CO

🤝 Looking to connect with professionals working in climate?

#OpenDoorClimate runs a directory of climate professionals willing to chat with green jobseekers and maintains a great list of resources for job seekers.

🔍 Looking for a climate tech job?

Our friends at ClimateTechList have created a live Colorado-specific job openings tracker. ⛰️ Check out the Colorado list! 🏔️

There were 113+ Colorado postings in Nov 2024. 🔻10% from prev month

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Planning an Event?

To avoid conflicts in the future and help your event stand out, we’ve got a special planner’s guide and dashboard with the data behind this newsletter. Contact me via email to request access using subject ‘New Planner Application’.

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Event Details

Monthly Green Home Tour

🕔 WHEN: Sunday, December 1, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

📍WHERE: See event page for details,

Tour an Energy Efficient, Xeriscaped Home in Longmont!
This lovely Longmont residence is energy efficient with an open floor plan. It is landscaped with a water efficient xeriscaped yard in the front and back. The 11 Tesla solar panels and a Tesla power wall makes it 80% efficient to power the home and EV car. The furnace and water came with the home and run on natural gas.

Net Zero Energy Design Build Workshop

🕔 WHEN: Wednesday, December 4, 2024 from 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM

📍WHERE: Construction Instruction - Ci Live, Denver, CO

Join us at the Construction Experience Center in Denver, Colorado for a two-day Net Zero Energy Design Build Workshop. This comprehensive program will equip you with the knowledge and skills to construct high-performance zero energy ready homes. 

Over two days, we will dive into the components of zero energy ready building, such as advanced wall systems, high-performance mechanical systems, and renewable energy integration. You will learn to select the most cost-effective materials and technologies to design, model, and construct homes that only use as much energy as they are able to produce over the course of each year.

EEBC Quarterly Members Meeting

🕔 WHEN: Thursday, December 5, 2024 from 7:30 AM to 10:00 AM

📍WHERE: "University of Denver, Daniels College of Business", Denver, CO

EEBC QUARTERLY MEMBERS MEETING
Syncing Beneficial Electrification Initiatives with Realities in the Field
Status of Rebate Programs and Rollouts
Update on Proposal for Xcel DSM/BE Plan

Green Business Breakfast

🕔 WHEN: Thursday, December 5, 2024 from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM

📍WHERE: Lafayette Public Library, Lafayette, CO

Has it been a while since you've connected in person with some of your fellow businesses? Do you want to hear more about what's happening with your neighbors and community regarding all things sustainability? We've undergone some major changes to the Green Business program over the past year and this is a great opportunity to learn about the new look and provide feedback for the 2025 program!
Join us to eat, connect and learn about various Green Business programs, incentives, offerings, and updates from Boulder County, Xcel Energy and local sustainability staff. If you’d prefer to attend virtually, please register for the Zoom webinar.

Agrivoltaic Seminar Series - Operations and Maintenance of Solar Arrays

🕔 WHEN: Thursday, December 5, 2024 from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM

📍WHERE: Lory Student Center CSU, Fort Collins, CO

Society often sees the glamor and idealism of the building of a new edifice or novel structure or solar array. We rarely see or hear from those who keep those structures, or here solar arrays, operational for long-term benefit. These heroes of the solar industry that fix solar arrays when equipment breaks down and troubleshoots issues with new technologies will join us to share the challenges and opportunities of their profession.

Cracking the Code on Affordable Resilient Housing

🕔 WHEN: Thursday, December 5, 2024 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

📍WHERE: Jefferson Unitarian Church, Golden, CO

The US is struggling to build enough homes, and what it builds is rarely ‘green'. Our construction industry is stuck in the past and largely ignores modern building science practices which have long been successfully applied elsewhere.
Rick Tallman offers both the big picture as well as insights into two projects aiming to change that, and change it at scale. One project used a modular approach to erect a net zero residential high-rise in Seattle, the other, Shibusa Systems, creates a process to build low cost single homes in record time.

WRISE Colorado Holiday Happy Hour

🕔 WHEN: Tuesday, December 10, 2024 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM

📍WHERE: New Terrain Brewing Company, Golden, CO

Rock your best holiday sweater—ugly, sparkly, or downright fabulous—and come ready to celebrate! Enjoy free drinks, tasty bites, and great company. Don’t miss out on the fun—be sure to register!

NCRES Holiday Gathering with Green Drinks & CGBG Fort Collins

🕔 WHEN: Tuesday, December 10, 2024 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

📍WHERE: Obstacle Brewing and Grill, Fort Collins, CO

Join us for a Holiday Gathering at Obstacle Brewing & Grill with our friends at Green Drinks and Colorado Green Building Guild (CGBG) Fort Collins Chapter.

Don't miss this opportunity to informally engage with a diverse array of local sustainability enthusiasts, experts, and activists and we celebrate the Holidays and prepare for the new year!

Climate Advocates Happy Hour and Year End Celebration

🕔 WHEN: Thursday, December 12, 2024 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM

📍WHERE: Table Public House, Denver, CO

In place of our formal monthly meeting this month, we’re hosting a special gathering to celebrate a productive year of climate advocacy. Join us for an evening of connection, reflection, and inspiration as we look ahead to 2025!

Let’s celebrate our collective achievements, build community, and explore opportunities to make a difference in the coming year. This casual, fun event is a great chance to learn about CCL and connect with other Denverites who share a passion for addressing the climate crisis.

CGBG's 2024 Annual Holiday Party

🕔 WHEN: Thursday, December 12, 2024 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

📍WHERE: Alpen High Performance Products, Louisville, CO

This year, we're excited to gather at the home of CGBG Annual Sponsors: Alpen High Performance Products, in Louisville. We're here to reminisce over the past year and announce the 2024 Annual Award Nominees!
Plenty of food and drink will be provided, we just ask that you PLEASE RSVP to get an accurate headcount for the event.

BS + Beer

🕔 WHEN: Tuesday, December 17, 2024 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM

📍WHERE: Tradecraft Industries, Denver, CO

Join BS + Beer for their annual Company Swag gift exchange.  Guest to be announced!

Colorado Cleantech Awards Celebration

🕔 WHEN: Tuesday, December 17, 2024 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

📍WHERE: Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO

The Cleantech Awards Celebration brings the cleantech community together to honor the creativity, innovation, and dedication to a cleaner energy future put forth by Colorado’s entrepreneurs, educators, corporate innovators, volunteers and policymakers.
- Celebrate Innovation: Join leaders in the cleantech space as we honor Colorado’s most innovative and impactful cleantech companies, entrepreneurs, and industry champions.
- Connect with top executives, investors, and policymakers: Meet the A-List trailblazers who are shaping the future of sustainable technology in Colorado and beyond.
- Support Local Sustainability Efforts: Celebrate the growth of Colorado’s cleantech ecosystem and promote sustainable development initiatives that benefit both the environment and the economy.
- Recognition and Visibility: Highlight your organization and build visibility among peers, potential collaborators, and investors.

Boulder Climate Happy Hour

🕔 WHEN: Wednesday, December 18, 2024 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM

📍WHERE: Rayback Collective, Boulder, CO

​Boulder is full of interesting people working on solutions to the climate crisis. Our goal is to bring people with diverse backgrounds together to share ideas, connect, and learn from one another. Join us for a drink and casual gathering.

Metro Denver CRES Holiday Party

🕔 WHEN: Thursday, December 19, 2024 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

📍WHERE: Odell Brewing Five Points Brewhouse, Denver, CO

Join the Metro Denver Chapter of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society (MD CRES) for our annual Holiday Party at O'Dell's Brewhouse in Five Points!
Let's raise a glass to a fantastic year of programming and connect with fellow renewable energy enthusiasts.

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Want to make sure you don’t miss anything? There are a few ways to stay in the loop.

1. Follow Colorado Climatetech on LinkedIn to see the latest on new events

2. Subscribe to this newsletter for monthly summary emails

Want to contribute or share through the newsletter? I’m looking for collaborators to work on news, spotlights, and more. If you’re interested, email me!

For now, I hope you will share this with a friend. Or better yet, join a local upcoming event!

Cheers,
William Greenbohl