insight
Laurie is a Senior Writer/Editor for Rocky Mountain Institute.
Background
Laurie has over 20 years of experience in renewable energy technologies. Prior to joining RMI, Laurie was the International Program Manager for Solar Energy International (SEI), where she organized renewable energy trainings around the world. She also wrote articles for environmental magazines and was green building editor for Home Power magazine.
Laurie has extensive experience working on and documenting rural electrification renewable energy projects throughout Latin America. She spent a year installing solar rural electrification systems in repatriated refugee communities in El Salvador with an organization she cofounded called Solar Community Projects, and spent a year working on solar water distillation at the Engineering University in Managua, Nicaragua. Laurie has also led renewable energy and energy efficiency tours of Cuba with Eco-Cuba Network since 1996. Laurie currently serves as an advisory board member to Remote Energy, a nonprofit organization serving as a technical/teaching arm for organizations that are working on international clean energy programs.
Education
M.Sc., Energy Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
BA, Mathematics, Colorado College
Awards: Phi Beta Kappa, National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow
Location
Basalt, CO
Why I Love Working At RMI
“The best thing about working at RMI is knowing that I am part of transforming the energy system and creating a better future for not only my son but all the children on the planet.”
Authored Works
Outlet Blog Post
Solar Under Storm: Designing Hurricane-Resilient PV Systems
The 2017 hurricane season was one of the most active in history. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria brought widespread destruction throughout the Caribbean. In addition to the emotional toll these severe storms had on people in the region, the disruption of critical infrastructure left many communities without basic services…
Outlet Blog Post
Top Ten Clean Energy Developments of 2017
Sure 2017 had its mishaps (and we’re not just talking about the La La Land/Moonlight fiasco). But it also had some great moments. From the “We Are Still In” movement to record-low solar prices, 2017 was a great year for clean energy. Here we highlight our top ten…
Outlet Blog Post
A Resilient and Cost-Effective Energy Future for Puerto Rico
Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused extraordinary damage to Puerto Rico, especially to the electrical grid. Approximately half of Puerto Ricans were still without power over two months after the storms, leading to the longest sustained outage in the history of the United States by far. Renewable and distributed energy…
Outlet Blog Post
Organic Valley Goes 100% Renewable through Community Solar
Almost 30 years ago, seven organic farmers from the U.S. Midwest, unhappy with the state of American agriculture, decided to band together and form a cooperative to continue farming sustainably. Today, the Organic Valley agricultural cooperative, headquartered in La Farge, Wisconsin, is made up of over 2,000 farmers in…
Outlet Blog Post
Making Transit Apps Work for All
Planning your commute, deciding which bus to catch, and identifying which service is running late at night can all be done at the touch of a button in your favorite transit app. But there’s a lot of information and work that goes on behind that button. And the more coordinated…
Outlet Blog Post
The Importance of Distribution-Scale Solar for Grid Resilience
When Hurricanes Harvey and Irma blew through the southern United States, they left millions without power. During such natural disasters, access to electricity is more critical than ever, allowing hospitals to run medical equipment, letting people charge phones and computers to communicate with the outside world, and powering lifesaving…
Outlet Blog Post
An Award-Winning Efficiency Program in Fort Collins, Colorado
Like other forward-thinking cities, Fort Collins—a city of 167,500 located in northern Colorado—had a goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. However, following a Rocky Mountain Institute e–Lab design charrette, the city decided to see if it could push that goal up 20 years. RMI’s Stepping…
Outlet Blog Post
35 Years of Bold Steps in the Clean Energy Race: Part 3
As RMI celebrates our 35th anniversary as a nonprofit organization, we are in a very exciting, but also very critical, time in our race to a clean energy future. We recently held a web discussion, 35 Bold Ideas to Win the Clean Energy Race, with RMI CEO Jules Kortenhorst and…
Outlet Blog Post
35 Years of Bold Steps in the Clean Energy Race: Part 2
As RMI celebrates our 35th anniversary as a nonprofit organization, we are in a very exciting, but also very critical, time in our race to a clean energy future. We recently held a web discussion, 35 Bold Ideas to Win the Clean Energy Race, with RMI CEO Jules Kortenhorst and…