A new report from Colorado's natural gas industry says increased use of wind energy indirectly results in raised pollution levels produced by some coal-fired power plants along the Front Range. ...Cycling operations at coal plants -- ramping them up or down in response to the wind or other issues -- causes them to run less efficiently and also interferes with emissions control equipment.

A new report from Colorado's natural gas industry says increased use of wind energy indirectly results in raised pollution levels produced by some coal-fired power plants along the Front Range.

Critics say the report, released Monday, is flawed.

The report recommends curbing the use of wind energy during the next one or two years to levels that match power output at existing natural gas-fired power plants -- and building more natural gas plants in the long term.

The report -- titled "How Less Became More: Wind, Power and Unintended Consequences in the Colorado Energy Market" -- was done by Bentek Energy LLC, an Evergreen-based consulting company, for the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, a trade group for the Rocky Mountain oil and gas industry.

The Denver Business Journal reported last month on Bentek's preliminary findings. Click here to download an executive summary of the final report.

The report... [continue via Web link]

Web link: http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/...