In a bedroom community on the outskirts of Denver, CO in the midst of a rolling hills filled with sprawl lies a 25 acre development that is rejecting those ideas and building for the future. The project is called GEOS. It aims to be the US’s first Fossil Fuel Free Community. From their website,

“Combine untapped energy of the Earth, the power of the bright Colorado Sun, and all the comforts of a highly livable home. A Geos home is part of an architecturally distinctive pedestrian neighborhood. It is a setting for greater social and personal interaction, and it recognizes the fantastic yet fragile environment around us. Behind these big ideas is a creative combination of proven home building technologies that have been time tested in Europe over many years. Geosolar technology will help to eliminate future energy costs for homeowners and supports a community without a need for fossil fuels. Geos residents live immersed in the environment through a network of plazas, parks and trails. Smart water use and ingenious landscaping are only two of the ways Geos helps make a big difference for our very small planet.”

This project is integrating many concepts that we’ve written about before into one. From active and passive solar design to walkable neighborhoods and underground solar sequestration.

From the Ecogeek article that got me excited about this,

Called Geos, the 25-acre area will have 250 homes from smaller 850 square feet to mansion-sized 3,500+ square feet placed in four neighborhoods. While that’s a whole lot of houses, they’ll be keeping a whopping 40% of the area as green space. Using active and passive solar energy for daytime heating and electricity, the homes will be placed and constructed to maximize sun exposure, with rooftops housing PV panels. Excess power is stored in the grid. For un-sunny days, winter heating, and summer cooling, geothermal energy will be used.

So Alex, you might be thinking, why do you keep writing on ChannelBV about housing developments that are a) not in Buena Vista and b) that make you sound like a marketing shill? Well, I struggle with this too. The point I’m trying to make is that around the country (and not too far from our idealic home in the mountains) people are making remarkable new choices and I think that it needs to be celebrated and talked about. Take these guys; They are building a subdivision that from day 1 will have no utility bills; That doesn’t require natural gas for heat; That localize business near housing obviating our dependence on cars, highways and oil; And they’re doing it for a reasonable amount of money. These are new, young ideas that need our support. They are ideas that, under other economic and environmental circumstances would be required not just new and exciting. This story made the rounds on the Blogosphere well before it crossed my plate and I am grateful to the other bloggers who found this fascinating enough to share as well.

See what you think. I think we are seeing portions of the future, right here right now and I’m glad that these ideas are being explored and supported in our own community as well as a few hours to the north.

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