Renewable Power Comes To Colorado
Oil and gas companies want you to believe that alternative sources of power (such as wind and solar), are not cost effective. They want you to believe that renewable power will be more costly for the consumer. And, in today’s bad economy, that can be quite troubling for most of us. But now, the truth is being revealed, in Colorado of all places.
From The Washington Post…
In Colorado — a state historically known for natural gas and fights over drilling — wind and solar power are fast becoming prominent parts of the energy mix. Wind capacity has quadrupled in the past 18 months, according to Gov. Bill Ritter (D), and Xcel has become the largest provider of wind power in the nation.
The politics and economics of energy are shifting here in ways that foretell debates across the country as states create renewable-energy mandates and the federal government moves toward limiting carbon emissions. One advocate calls Colorado “ground zero” for the looming battle over energy.
. . .
Ten years ago, Xcel began offering wind-generated electricity, but it was a niche market for eco-conscious customers willing to pay extra. That changed in a significant way after 2004, when Xcel lost the referendum fight.
After legislative efforts failed, proponents of renewable energy turned to the ballot that year. The initiative, Amendment 37, required the state’s biggest utilities to generate 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. Advocates found themselves facing off against Xcel, which said it feared for its bottom line.
“We ended up opposing that amendment. In retrospect, I wish we hadn’t,” said Frank Prager, Xcel’s vice president for environmental policy.
From Daily Kos…
So we all know the conventional wisdom on energy:
renewables = expensive/unreliable/untested
fossil fuels = cheap/reliable/provenSo why then did Xcel Energy completely change course after being forced to invest in renewable energy? First and foremost, the government of Colorado gave them an incentive, allowing them to charge a small fee (about $12 a year) to be used for capital investment in renewable energy. This has raised about $37 million over 2 years, still quite small compared to the approximately $300 million in annual property tax breaks currently given to oil and gas companies in Colorado. They get an 87.5% property tax exemption currently, although this may soon be eliminated. Colorado does have other incentives for renewable energy, but I sure don’t see an 87.5% property tax break on that list.
Second, only after being forced to invest in renewable energy did Xcel realize that it made economic sense for them. Renewable energy provides a way for them to diversify their fuel supply. Solar and wind power are also convenient in terms of prediction of cost. The price of sunlight or wind will never go up, unlike the currently rising prices of natural gas and coal which are used extensively for large scale electricity generation.
From Jake Today…
Renewable energy is going to an industry that will be interesting to watch as it’s development continues. Colorado is a good state to begin with. What happens when you put together big oil, utilities, ballot initiatives, the legislature, and windmills? Oh, forgot federal subsidies and tax credits too. You have a fight over change!. Chicken little comes out screaming that the sky will fall if wind power is mandated. Well, long story short, vested interest lost, then discovered you can make money with a new approach and life as we know it did not come to an end. Maybe a few oil companies might have trouble in 50 years, but hell the oil will have run out by then.
I think this is exciting news, and not very easy for oil and gas companies to overlook. What do you think? Are you ready for some wind power in your neck of the woods? In Florida, we are expecting a lot of wind today (it’s called Hurricane Fay), and we get a bunch of sun too. How couldn’t it be better to use wind and solar power here?
