Creation Covenant Alliance

Transitioning Garfield County from Oil to Geothermal Energy

Levi Doty transitioned from oil and gas to geothermal, finding stability in a changing energy landscape in Colorado.
What would it take to achieve an equitable transition to clean energy in Garfield County?

As Renewable Energy Gains Momentum, Garfield County Faces Economic Transition Challenges

In Garfield County, Colorado, the shift towards renewable energy is posing significant economic challenges for a community historically reliant on the oil and gas sector. As climate change impacts become more pronounced, local residents and officials are grappling with how to transition from fossil fuels without disrupting the economic fabric that supports public services, including schools and libraries.

Efforts are underway by state officials and local organizations to facilitate a fair transition to clean energy, aiming to diversify the regional economy and secure new employment opportunities for those whose jobs may be affected. Levi Doty, who began his career in oil and gas at 19, exemplifies this transition. “My uncle told me they were paying $28 an hour to start. And I said, ‘Where do I sign up?’” Doty recalled. After nearly two decades in the industry, Doty shifted to geothermal energy, now working for PanTerra Energy.


Levi Doty, who works as a geothermal driller for the Colorado-based company PanTerra Energy, stands in front of his truck in Glenwood Springs after finishing up a geothermal job at a private residence in Aspen. Before switching to geothermal, Doty worked in oil and gas fields in Texas and southern New Mexico for 18 years. Credit: Eleanor Bennett/Aspen Journalism and Aspen Public Radio

Garfield County’s economy, once bolstered by a thriving oil and gas sector, has seen a decline in these jobs from approximately 3,000 in 2008 to under 1,000 today, according to a Garfield County Economic Update. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reports a current quarterly average of 430 jobs in this sector.

The downturn in oil and gas has led to a reassessment of Garfield County’s economic landscape. Government, construction, and retail trade are now among the top industries, while “mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction” ranks 12th, as per the county’s 2024 budget.

Wade Buchanan, head of Colorado’s Office of Just Transition, is at the forefront of aiding communities in this economic shift. The office, established in 2019, originally focused on coal but may expand its efforts to oil and gas sectors. Buchanan highlights the pride and challenges workers face: “They’ve kept the lights on, they have fueled our prosperity for decades and now they’re told that they need to make this major sacrifice. Not all of them are bought into it, and not all of them, frankly, trust the state government.”

A recent report from the Colorado Fiscal Institute reveals community concerns about job quality during this transition. Many echo Doty’s sentiment of ensuring support for workers shifting to new careers.


A geothermal drilling rig sits at a testing site outside the Third Street Center in Carbondale on Nov. 17, 2023. Local nonprofit CLEER received an initial grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct the test drilling last fall, and now hopes to secure additional funding to create a new energy district that would use geothermal to heat and cool a group of buildings in town. Credit: Eleanor Bennett/Aspen Journalism and Aspen Public Radio

Projects such as the geothermal initiative in Carbondale, supported by Clean Energy Economy for the Region (CLEER), aim to provide sustainable energy solutions and job opportunities. Although a major grant was not secured, project leaders like Alice Laird remain optimistic about securing alternative funding.

Laird emphasizes the importance of rethinking fiscal policies to accommodate this energy transition: “It would be very challenging to take solar energy and geothermal and change our tax policy so that it would generate the same amount of revenue as the oil and gas industry.”


CLEER Executive Director, Alice Laird, stands at the entrance to the Third Street Center in Carbondale on Dec. 6. The nonprofit center, where CLEER and about two dozen other organizations are located, already gets its electricity from solar panels on its roof, but CLEER hopes to heat the building with geothermal energy in the future. Credit: Eleanor Bennett/Aspen Journalism and Aspen Public Radio

Buchanan and Laird concur on the necessity of diversifying economies to mitigate over-dependence on any single industry. Buchanan’s team is actively assisting communities in identifying new revenue streams and job opportunities. “There’s one family up in Moffat County that is starting a geothermal business, and we’ve been able to be a significant assistance to them in terms of making connections and helping with some training and resources,” he noted.

For Doty, the transition to geothermal energy represents both a personal and professional evolution. He values the potential of geothermal to offer environmentally friendly energy solutions: “You’re using Mother Nature to help you, but it’s not destroying Mother Nature. You’re putting it right back to the state that you came into it on.”

This story was produced through a social justice reporting collaboration between Aspen Journalism and Aspen Public Radio. It’s also the final segment in Aspen Public Radio’s three-part series, “Finding a Fix: Investigating Local Solutions to Big Climate Challenges.” The series is supported by a grant from the Aspen Skiing Company’s Environment Foundation.

Original Story at aspenjournalism.org

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