In late March, the Rocky Mountain Institute hosted the second annual eLab Accelerator. Described as a bootcamp for electricity innovation, the four-day intensive work session brought together 12 teams from across the country — from New Mexico to Alaska and California to New Jersey — working on new business models, energy innovation districts and new customer solutions. Together with RMI facilitators, Reos Partners and a panel of expert faculty, they sped progress on their respective efforts. This is one of their stories. How does a single streetscape project
turn into a community-wide energy independence effort? Tiny Bloomfield, Iowa, discovered the answer with the help of RMI’s eLab Accelerator. A team from Bloomfield attended the 2015 Accelerator at Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah, and its story is a surprising one with big implications for small towns across America.