Durango, CO

Position Title: Summer 2025 Four Corners Energy, Climate and Sustainability Internship

Organization: San Juan Citizens Alliance

Location: Durango, CO

Position Overview:  San Juan Citizens Alliance supports mentoring and providing experiential education for the next generation of conservation advocates. We offer compensated real-world experience to students considering a career in environmental advocacy, through eight-week internships focusing on several of our core program areas each summer.

The Four Corners region is undertaking a generational transition from burning fossil fuels to renewable energy. One coal plant (San Juan Generating Station) retired in 2022 and demolished in 2024, with several large solar projects hundreds of megawatts in size under construction. The Four Corners Power Plant is projected to be retired in 2031 and represents the last large coal-fired power plant in the immediate area. SJCA’s goal is to aid a just and equitable transition in the region that focuses on clean renewable energy and rejects greenwashed extractive energy. Across the state line in Colorado, SJCA is working to push our rural electric co-op towards renewable electricity, and challenging our county and city to increase local sustainability work. Regionally, SJCA’s energy team is committed to reducing methane emissions, promoting local and community-first oil and gas regulations, addressing orphaned wells, and ensuring adequate community engagement and consultation happens across all types of energy development.

The 2025 Energy Intern will assist SJCA staff on an array of project-based research and advocacy work. Projects are decided based on the interns’ relevant experience and interest. Examples of 2024’s internship projects include a Four Corners Energy Transition Story timeline, a comparative research paper on county level climate action, and an advocacy document encouraging the City of Durango to adopt stricter building codes to reduce local GHG emissions.

Potential projects for Summer 2025 may include:

• Research and advocacy challenging region’s designation as a carbon capture/carbon sequestration hub;
• Research and advocacy for community engagement and responsible solar siting in Colorado;
• Inventory, description and mapping of solar facilities planned, constructed and/or operational throughout Four Corners region
• Research and advocacy for updating Durango’s utility billing structure to reduce water and trash consumption.

Start/End Dates: expected starting date in June 2025

Salary/Pay: Interns are compensated $6,000 based on an anticipated to a 40 hour/week for 8-9 weeks commitment.

Application Deadline: March 3, 2025

How to Apply: Email your cover letter and resume to info@sanjuancitizens.org by March 3rd, 2025. Applications will be reviewed and interviews will be held in March, with an expected starting date in June 2025. Please reach out with any questions.