Group: Equivalent of 13 plants needed for Colorado's 2025 energy needs
Associated Press|P. Soloman Banda|November 22, 2007
Despite Colorado's drive to develop renewable energy, the state will still need the equivalent of 13 new 350-megawatt plants to satisfy its power needs by 2025, according to a report by an independent research group with ties to the energy industry. The Colorado Energy Forum says even with additional power from wind, solar and other renewable sources, the state could need up to 4,500 megawatts of electricity 18 years from now. ..."There's probably a sense out there that people need to do something about climate change and with all the talk about renewable energy this year we're concerned that people will say, ‘Boy, I'm glad we got that taken care of,"‘ Bruce Smith, former director of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and executive director of the group said Wednesday. "Even with those (renewable energy) contributions, there's still a large amount that we've got to get yet."
Despite Colorado's drive to develop renewable energy, the state will still need the equivalent of 13 new 350-megawatt plants to satisfy its power needs by 2025, according to a report by an independent research group with ties to the energy industry. The Colorado Energy Forum says even with additional power from wind, solar and other renewable sources, the state could need up to 4,500 megawatts of electricity 18 years from now. ..."There's probably a sense out there that people need to do something about climate change and with all the talk about renewable energy this year we're concerned that people will say, ‘Boy, I'm glad we got that taken care of,"‘ Bruce Smith, former director of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and executive director of the group said Wednesday. "Even with those (renewable energy) contributions, there's still a large amount that we've got to get yet."
DENVER - Despite Colorado's drive to develop renewable energy, the state will still need the equivalent of 13 new 350-megawatt plants to satisfy its power needs by 2025, according to a report by an independent research group with ties to the energy industry.
The Colorado Energy Forum says even with additional power from wind, solar and other renewable sources, the state could need up to 4,500 megawatts of electricity 18 years from now.
The group does not advocate building new power plants and the report notes that some of the increased need could be met with conservation or energy efficiencies.
"There's probably a sense out there that people need to do something about climate change and with all the talk about renewable energy this …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]DENVER - Despite Colorado's drive to develop renewable energy, the state will still need the equivalent of 13 new 350-megawatt plants to satisfy its power needs by 2025, according to a report by an independent research group with ties to the energy industry.
The Colorado Energy Forum says even with additional power from wind, solar and other renewable sources, the state could need up to 4,500 megawatts of electricity 18 years from now.
The group does not advocate building new power plants and the report notes that some of the increased need could be met with conservation or energy efficiencies.
"There's probably a sense out there that people need to do something about climate change and with all the talk about renewable energy this year we're concerned that people will say, ‘Boy, I'm glad we got that taken care of,"‘ Bruce Smith, former director of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and executive director of the group said Wednesday. "Even with those (renewable energy) contributions, there's still a large amount that we've got to get yet."
The report examined the effect of Colorado's renewable energy standard law passed this year and signed by Gov. Bill Ritter in March requiring 20 percent of the energy provided by large utilities come from renewable sources such as wind and solar power.
The law strengthens a 2004 voter-approved renewable energy standard.
A study by the group in September 2006 estimated that Colorado would need between 3,700 megawatts and 4,900 megawatts of new electric capacity by 2025, based on forecasts that utilities submitted privately to the group.
Of the 3,300 megawatts of wind and 200 megawatts of solar energy generation that must be built to meet the new law's requirements, the report says only between 330 megawatts and 1,122 megawatts could be reliably produced because of what the group called the "intermittent nature" of the power sources.
Matt Baker, executive director of Environment Colorado, a coalition of environmental groups that provided some renewable energy figures used in the report, said Colorado Forum's electric needs estimates are high.
"We don't believe we will need that much electricity," Baker said. "We think it's totally doable to meet the (new) demand through an investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy."
One megawatt of power is generally enough energy for 1,000 households.
Colorado Forum researchers asked utilities to privately submit their energy forecasts to "ensure a robust, comprehensive study." A breakdown by individual companies was not available and Xcel Energy, the state's largest utility, referred questions to the group.
Xcel Energy spokesman Tom Henley said the company will be able to meet the renewable energy requirements.
"We're planning to meet that and our customers' needs as they arise," Henley said.
Xcel Energy gets 282 megawatts of its electricity in Colorado from wind power and plans to boost that by another 755 megawatts this year.
Some environmental groups, including Western Resource Advocates that commissioned a study on wholesale electricity provider Tri-State Generation & Transmission, say power forecasts can be way off. A report by Summit Blue Consulting LLC of Boulder found Tri-State, which sells wholesale power to electric cooperatives in four states, expected its load to increase 3.9 percent this year, but it only grew by 0.6 through August.
Tri-State spokesman Jim Van Someren said a mild spring was a factor. He added that anticipated large demands from energy development didn't materialize this year, but will later.
"The real question is how are we going to meet these growing needs, and how are we going to do it in a way that is not only affordable but that protects our climate and protects our air, land and water,"‘ said John Nielsen, program director for Western Resource Advocates, a Boulder-based environmental law and policy organization.
Smith of Colorado Energy Forum counters that everything should be on the table.
"The practical side of that, it seems that things are being taken off the table and there's not a clear appreciation of what that means," he said, adding that it appears nuclear energy and new pulverized coal plants are out of the question in Colorado.