Area of Focus
As a Senior Policy Advisor, Clare develops and advocates for policies that accelerate the decarbonization of Colorado’s electricity sector, with particular focus on resource planning, rate design, distributed energy resources, and the distribution system.
Background
Prior to this role with WRA, Clare was a senior energy policy advisor in the Office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency at the City and County of Denver, where she led Denver’s involvement on regulatory proceedings at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to advocate for reliable, affordable, and equitable carbon-free energy for the city’s community members. Among other initiatives, she spearheaded efforts to address Denver’s distribution grid challenges hindering building electrification, including through the design of a grid capacity study to inform the city’s advocacy in distribution system planning proceedings.
While Clare joined WRA as a senior policy advisor in late 2023, her tenure with the organization dates back to 2020, when she joined WRA as a flexible grid analyst. In this role, she developed and advocated for policies to advance decarbonization across WRA’s region, particularly focused on distributed energy resources and grid modernization. In addition to testifying in numerous proceedings related to distributed generation, demand-side management, and grid modernization, she contributed to the development of Colorado’s distribution system planning rules.
Beyond her experience in energy policy, Clare has several years of experience in energy research and consulting from working with E Source, a firm specializing in the utility industry. In her role as a senior analyst, she researched demand management programs and technologies, and she advised utilities on their demand management strategies.
Education
- Bachelor of Arts from Whitman College in Physics
- Master of Engineering from the University of California, Davis in Materials Science and Engineering
Favorite thing about the West
The sagebrush in Northern Nevada, the vistas of the Rocky Mountains, and all the wide-open spaces in-between!
