Originally published December 1 2005
Colorado consumers glad for alternative energy developments
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A citizen initiative on the 2004 ballot called Amendment 37 has put Colorado near the top on the list of states currently moving into alternative energy development, and consumers feel relieved at this prospect with the current price of fossil fuels.
When utility companies in Colorado made the argument against state-mandated wind power, they argued that the market would drive development in this state.
Little did they realize this scenario would play itself out within months of the passage of Amendment 37, which requires larger utilities in Colorado to reach benchmarks of renewable energy sources in the next 10 years.
Those customers who were first into the market for wind-generated electricity are also seeing the benefits of using a resource that isn't tied to the vagaries of the petroleum market.
Loveland and Longmont's power supplier, the Platte River Power Authority, was the first in the region to offer a wind program, and their share in the Medicine Bow Wind Project in southeast Wyoming allows them to market electricity from wind at competitive prices to their coal-fired electricity.
While wind energy comprises only 2 percent of the authority's electricity resources, that percentage will grow as the alternatives to alternative energy --- namely coal and natural gas --- undergo national pricing because of increased distribution systems.
As noted by power officials, Colorado wind generation is limited by the fact that on the summer's hottest days, when electricity demand for air conditioners is highest, the wind is less likely to blow.
Conventional sources of energy will still be the predominant suppliers of power to handle those peak times.
Also, there is an environmental cost to be paid by wind energy, as each year hundreds of birds are claimed by the giant rotors.
But in the long run, voters who gave a nudge to the energy market last November were probably right.
Colorado may be on its way to a future where electricity prices won't solely be dictated by what a fossil fuel commodity trader in the East has to say.
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