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Rico coalition outlines geothermal scoping, $200,000 grant and plans for a demonstration district
Summary
Teal Stetson Lee, founder of the Rico Geothermal Coalition, described a scoping study funded by a $100,000 grant and a second $200,000 award to design a demonstration district and drill a monitoring well; she said the feasibility phase could take 10–18 months and highlighted costs and excavation as key barriers.
Teal Stetson Lee, a Rico resident and founder of the Rico Geothermal Coalition, gave a detailed presentation on local geothermal work, describing grant awards, community survey results and next steps toward a demonstration district heating project.
"Last year, we've received our 1st grant through the Colorado Geothermal Grant Program for a $100,000 to fund our initial scoping study," Stetson Lee said. She described partnering with a subsurface engineering firm (Tavira) for 3‑D reservoir mapping, and said the coalition collected 101 survey responses with more than 64% of local respondents interested in using geothermal for heating, greenhouses, hot springs and other uses. She said the coalition received a second award of $200,000 for initial system design and a monitoring well and expects the monitoring‑well phase to fall within the current grant cycle; she estimated the feasibility/design phase could take 10–18 months.
Stetson Lee outlined a demonstration project concept — a cluster of a few buildings near a proposed well that could show immediate benefits, with the potential to scale out to neighborhoods and the town. She also warned of barriers such as upfront capital costs, plumbing retrofits and road excavation, and encouraged continued coordination with town leaders and county staff to align priorities and funding opportunities.
