Western Renewable Energy
Preview of 2011 and Highlights of 2010
5 January 2011
Happy New
Year!
This
update represents the sixth consecutive year that the Interwest
Energy Alliance has summarized key energy policy-related events of
the previous year, and this summary of 2010 illustrates how the
renewable energy industry is becoming a part of the West’s economic
lifeblood.
We
summarize some of the Western Renewable Energy
Highlights of 2010 in this update, but
first, we take a look at what 2011 might hold in store for the
West’s clean energy policy environment in Interwest's six states of
Arizona, Colorado,
Nevada, New
Mexico, Utah and
Wyoming.
Western
Energy Policies: What’s
coming up in 2011?
Here are
some prognostications we have compiled from experts from around the
West. The Interwest Energy Alliance and its partners and allies
around the West will be working on these and many other issues in
this coming year:
Arizona
-
Governor
Jan Brewer and the Arizona legislature are expected to continue to
support development of utility-scale solar as a successful economic
development tool. The state land department will continue its
efforts to identify the best state trust lands for solar development
and move to make those lands available for auction.
-
As a
result of term limits, the Arizona Corporation Commission lost one
of its strongest clean energy champions, Kris Mayes. Support for the
renewable energy standard is expected to be maintained with possible
modifications to specific provisions contained in utility
implementation plans. The Commission is expected to be generally
more conservative.
-
APS will
file a rate case this year that will include provisions to decouple
electricity sales from earnings - allowing the utility to not be
penalized for implementing energy efficiency programs.
-
It is
expected that the Goldwater Institute, a libertarian think tank,
will continue its assault to overturn the state's renewable energy
standard on the grounds that the Commission does not possess needed
authority to require the standard.
-
Transmission to support renewable energy development will continue
to be a priority in the state. Utilities will develop a transmission
plan to help export renewable energy from the state. Public
workshops on the plan are expected.
-
Salt River
Project will conduct a public process to review its Sustainable
Portfolio Standard to determine if changes are warranted. The
standard directs the utility's energy efficiency, renewable energy
and pricing programs. Although SRP's voluntary standard is modest
compared to regulated utilities, they are current exceeding it. The
utility may reduce some renewable energy programs, such as solar hot
water, and stay committed to others, such as energy efficiency and
utility-owned photovoltaic.
Colorado
-
Recognizing the economic and environmental importance of clean
energy development, Colorado’s new Governor, John Hickenlooper
(D), will continue to promote policies that foster project
development, manufacturing and a pro-active transmission buildout
to the state’s renewable-rich resource areas.
-
State
legislators of both parties will find agreement on some key policy
issues surrounding renewable energy development, particularly on
transmission-related legislation.
-
The
Public Utilities Commission will issue new transmission rules that
help address some of the shortcomings of previous rules and
implementation of existing statute.
-
Xcel
Energy (Public Service Company of Colorado) will file a new Energy
Resource Plan (quasi-IRP) with the PUC in the fall, detailing how
it plans to meet its anticipated electricity requirements through
the year 2019. This docket will provide opportunities for new
renewable resource acquisition by Xcel, which is one of the
nation’s leading utilities in renewable energy deployment.
-
Industry
will continue working collaboratively and pro-actively with
non-governmental conservation groups to advance project
construction and transmission development goals.
Nevada
-
Legislative priorities will include protecting property and sales
tax incentives achieved in 2009.
-
We will
seek to protect renewable energy projects that provide domestic
energy or export to other western states from being taxed to pay
for transmission.
-
Interwest and other renewable energy advocates will work closely
with newly elected Governor Sandoval to put policies in place that
will attract renewable developers and transmission.
-
We will
continue to seek to protect and bolster small wind, solar, and
hydroelectric demonstration programs.
-
We may
seek a clarification in Nevada law that allows for small wind and
solar projects from planning laws that could ultimately restrict
construction.
New
Mexico
-
The New
Mexico Legislature meets January 18 through March 19. It is a
60-day session. Legislation is not subject to special rules or a
Governor’s message in the 60-day session. New Mexico has a new
Governor, Susana Martinez, for the first time in 8 years. As of
early January, she had not named new Secretaries for the
Departments of Environment or Energy, Minerals, and Natural
Resources.
-
There
are 12 new House members, 11 Republican and 1 Democrat. Overall,
Democrats hold a 37-33 majority in the House of Representatives.
One Republican seat is open due to the fact that Keith Gardner was
appointed Chief of Staff by Governor Martinez. Governor Martinez
will appoint his replacement prior to the session.
-
The
Senate was not up for re-election and Democrats hold a 27-15
majority in the Senate. One Republican seat is open due to the
fact that Senator Dianna Duran was elected Secretary of State.
Governor Martinez will appoint her replacement prior to the
session.
-
PNM and
other entities may introduce legislation or move through
regulation to repeal or roll back New Mexico’s Renewable Portfolio
Standard. No legislation has been introduced or circulated as of
yet, but there has been talk about the potential move amongst
legislators and regulators at the New Mexico Public Regulations
Commission (PRC).
-
The New
Mexico Government Restructuring Tax Force has recommended
legislation to restructure the PRC. This is unlikely to impact the
PRC’s regulatory function over utilities, but the Legislature is
looking to curtail the PRC’s power, so anything is possible.
-
The New
Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA) is a
relatively new entity that has struggled in its infancy. A Task
Force created by the Legislature that instructed RETA to study
transmission routes and wind corridors has recently completed its
findings. There is some speculation that the new entity will be
considered for consolidation or elimination. Governor Martinez has
her own task force that is looking into consolidation as well that
hasn’t released its findings yet.
-
The
State of New Mexico is facing a potential budget shortfall of $400
million. The interim Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy
Committee spent several months reviewing all of the state’s
incentives. Several of the tax incentives beneficial to large-
scale wind and solar projects including the advanced energy tax
credit, the production tax credit, and the alternative energy tax
credit have been mentioned amongst some legislators as being too
generous. The new Administration is unlikely to target these
outright, but some legislative proposals are likely to be
introduced.
Utah
-
Governor
Herbert’s 10-year Energy Plan for Utah: Governor Herbert will be
releasing the 10-year energy plan for Utah around January 26 2011,
which will include a number of policy and regulatory recommendations
for Utah to consider. This plan will be used to influence and
guide energy policy in Utah over the next several years, so it is
imperative that the renewable energy industry remain engaged with
key legislators and the Governor to ensure progress on the renewable
energy front. Numerous renewable energy industry and advocacy
representatives served on several subcommittees as part of the
Governor’s Energy Initiative.
-
Renewable
Energy Tariff: Rocky Mountain Power may be introducing a ‘renewable
energy tariff’ bill to enable customers supportive of renewable
energy to buy into certain projects No draft legislation or more
explicit content of this bill has been revealed at this juncture.
-
Defense of
Net Metering (a foundational policy for renewable energy): Efforts
may be afoot to undermine Utah’s current net metering statute and
gut important provisions in the bill, despite the progress that has
been made on this front in 2008 and 2009. The renewable energy
industry will likely be playing defense during the 2011 session to
ensure that important policies, such as net metering, are not
undone.
-
Review of
Utility Solar Incentive: The Public Service Commission is currently
reviewing Rocky Mountain Power’s solar incentive pilot program,
providing an opportunity for the solar industry and other
stakeholders to provide input and recommend expansion of the program
to drive greater solar PV development in Utah.
-
PacifiCorp
Integrated Resource Plan: This ongoing stakeholder process provides
an important opportunity for industry and interested entities to
provide input on issues affecting PacifiCorp’s resource procurement
decisions for the next several years, including wind integration
costs, cost of renewable energy resources, transmission constraints
and expansion, and distributed renewable energy resources.
Wyoming
-
Debate
on taxation issues surrounding wind energy installations: There
will be at least two bills attempting to create a fairer and more
equitable tax system for wind projects in Wyoming.
-
Transmission development issues: The transmission locating process
across federal lands is time-consuming and full of roadblocks, and
efforts will continue to streamline this process in a timely and
environmentally responsible manner.
-
Continue
ongoing work with state and federal agencies on wildlife issues
affecting wind energy development: Stakeholders in Wyoming will
continue to assess the efficacy of the wind energy development
guidelines adopted in 2010 that were designed to give landowners a
greater role in the siting and permitting process.
Region-wide
-
The RTEP
[Regional Transmission Expansion Planning] process will kick into
high gear in 2011 as the Scenario Planning Steering Group and the
State and Provincial Steering Committee being fleshing out
scenarios for region-wide transmission expansion in the western
grid.
-
The
Western Governors’ Association (WGA) will continue its ongoing
involvement in fostering clean energy development throughout the
West, particularly as the Western Governors’ Wildlife Council
meets to consider how best to accommodate wildlife concerns as
they relate to increased energy development.
Western Renewable Energy Highlights of
2010
Here is a
snapshot view of some of the key developments in 2010 that helped
shape the policy environment for clean, renewable energy
technologies as we head into 2011.
This
summary does not begin to fully represent the work that the
Interwest Energy Alliance and many other groups conducted throughout
the West in 2010, but it does help illustrate the breadth and depth
of activity that took place in the past year.
Contents:
Western
states elect new governors, regulators and other key officials in
2010
Three
western governors retire:
Regional Transmission Expansion Planning project kicks off
State
legislatures pass clean energy legislation:
Wildlife: working together, industry and conservationists develop
landmark BMPs
Integration cost issues play key role in 2010
Green
jobs provide bright spot in West’s economy
Western
states elect new governors, regulators and other key officials in
2010
—New
officeholders bring track record of support for renewable energy
policies
From newly
elected governors to regulatory commissioners, officeholders elected
in the 2010 elections expressed significant levels of support for
clean, renewable energy policies, and Interwest looks forward to
working with these new elected officials, along with officials
already in office, to advance shared development goals that will
benefit the West’s economy and environment.
Immediately after the election results were finalized, Interwest
circulated a
snapshot view of election winners and their views on renewable
energy policies in all six of our states of Arizona, Colorado,
Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
Three
western governors retire
—Govs.
Ritter, Richardson and Freudenthal leave imprint on West’s energy
infrastructure
Three key
western governors retired in 2010: Colorado’s Bill Ritter, New
Mexico’s Bill Richardson and Wyoming’s Dave Freudenthal, all
Democrats. Each governor was instrumental in transforming the West’s
energy policy landscape:
 Dave
Freudenthal, Wyoming: In 2004, Gov. Freudenthal signed legislation
into law creating the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority (WIA), a
quasi-governmental instrumentality with a $1 billion bonding
authority whose mission is to “diversify and expand the state’s
economy through improvements in Wyoming’s electric transmission
infrastructure to facilitate the consumption of Wyoming energy in
the form of wind, natural gas, coal and nuclear, where applicable.”
WIA can participate in planning, financing, constructing,
developing, acquiring, maintaining and operating electric
transmission facilities and their supporting infrastructure. Passage
of this law showed that Wyoming recognized its wealth of energy
resources and the critically important need for transmission
facilities to deliver these resources to markets around the West.
Bill
Richardson, New Mexico: A longtime proponent of renewable energy
since his days in Congress and as U.S. Secretary of Energy during
the Clinton Administration, Gov. Richardson convened the
North
American Energy Summit in Albuquerque in April 2004. Together with
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richardson spearheaded what
became a multi-year effort by the Western Governors’ Association (WGA)
to focus attention on the West’s wealth of clean and inexhaustible
energy resources. This led to important WGA initiatives including
the Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee, the Western
Renewable Energy Zones and the Western Governors' Wildlife Council. Within New Mexico, Richardson advanced key policies
such as the state’s Renewable Energy Standard, transmission
development and other policies that have helped position the Land of
Enchantment as a world leader in renewable energy generation and
component manufacturing.
Bill
Ritter, Colorado: Elected in the 2006 election with a strong mandate
to create a “New Energy Economy,” Gov. Ritter fulfilled this
campaign pledge and signed no fewer than 57 bills into law dealing
with every facet of leveraging the many benefits that clean energy
provides. From transmission expansion to the Renewable Energy
Standard, from a Climate Action Plan to community-based renewable
project initiatives, Ritter’s tireless work has made Colorado an
international leader in the clean energy industry. One of the final
bills that Ritter signed into law during his tenure was the landmark
Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act which, over the next several years, will
transition several old and inefficient coal-fired power plants from
to cleaner sources of fuel.
Regional Transmission Expansion Planning project kicks off
In March
2010, the Scenario Planning Steering Group (SPSG) was created to
provide strategic guidance to the Western Electricity Coordinating
Council’s (WECC) Transmission Expansion Planning Policy Committee
(TEPPC) on:
-
scenarios to be modeled in transmission planning studies
-
the
modeling tools to be used, and
-
key
assumptions to be used in creating and reviewing the scenarios.
The
scenarios created and/or recommended by the SPSG will assist TEPPC
in its evaluation of long-term regional transmission capacity needs
in the Western Interconnection by providing a comprehensive set of
plausible future load, resource, and policy states. The scenarios
and subsequent analysis will form a comprehensive package of
stakeholder-vetted, regional planning models, data, and transmission
plans for the Western Interconnection.
The SPSG
activities are part of the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Regional
Transmission Expansion Planning (RTEP) project.
Pro-active
transmission planning and development is critical for the success of
wind energy development in the West, and the SPSG’s goal is to
facilitate stakeholder involvement, and to reach out to groups not
traditionally involved in transmission planning in the Western
Interconnect. This group has representatives from other renewable
technology sectors, as well as conservation groups, consumer
advocates, state and provincial representatives and other
constituencies.
Interwest’s Craig Cox serves as the SPSG’s wind technology advocate
and invites ongoing stakeholder comments and perspectives on this
planning process that will help advance the further development of
renewable energy markets throughout the West.
State and
Provincial Steering Committee
Working in
very close coordination with the SPSG, and also conducted through the DOE
RTEP project, states and provinces in the Western Interconnection
have formed a committee of representatives of Governors, Premiers
and public utility commissioners to provide input in regional
transmission planning and analysis in the interconnection. The
State-Provincial Steering Committee consists of appointees from each
state and province in the Western Interconnection. The Western
States' Water Council and the Western Governors' Wildlife Council
are ex-officio members of the Committee. The SPSC has three tasks:
-
Providing input into regional transmission planning;
-
Improving the efficient use of the existing grid; and
-
Enabling
the integrating of large amounts of variable generation
State
legislatures pass clean energy legislation
Interwest’s legislative efforts focused on four states in 2010:
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Here is a summary of key
legislation that passed in each of these states during the 2010
legislative sessions.
Colorado
Transmission tieline taxation (HB 1431): ensuring that tielines
for renewable energy projects that go online after January 1, 2012
will be taxed at rates roughly equivalent to those of conventional
energy generation facilities. Since renewable energy projects are
typically located farther from the transmission grid than most
conventional energy projects, these clean renewable energy projects
faced the prospect of significantly higher property tax bills due to
their inherently longer transmission “tielines,” or “extension
cords” linking these projects to the grid. Therefore, as a matter of
equity, the statute was amended to confirm the legislature’s intent
related to taxation of tie-lines to be considered as part of the
non-renewable facility cost comparison.
Replacing coal with gas generation (HB 1365): The Clean
Air-Clean Jobs Act requires Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy to
sharply reduce pollutants by retiring, retrofitting or repowering
Front Range coal-fired power plants by the end of 2017 and replacing
them with facilities fueled by natural gas and other lower- or
non-emitting energy sourcess
Increasing Renewable Energy Standard to 30% by 2020 (HB 1001):
The legislature passed, and Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law,
legislation creating the nation’s second-highest renewable energy
standard for investor-owned utilities: 30% by 2020. This legislation
also requires that three percent of these utilities’ entire
portfolios be generation from distributed generation resources.
Increasing transparency in governance of rural electric cooperatives
(HB 1098): This legislation helps increase accountability through
transparency in governance of rural electric cooperatives to their
member-owners.
New
Mexico
-
Creating an advanced energy tax deduction and corresponding
changes to the gross receipts and compensating tax deductions
(HB 261/277 and SB 201/202)
-
Clarifying third party power purchase agreements (HB 181/SB
190)
Utah
-
Renewable Energy Financing Provisions (HB0145S02) allows Utah
not-for-profit groups, local governments, and other non-taxable
entities to take advantage of third-party financing (PPAs) and
available tax incentives for renewable energy. This legislation
clarifies that certain third-party financing arrangements are
exempt from regulation by the Utah Public Service Commission.
These arrangements are permitted in ten other states across the
country;
-
Revolving Loan Fund for Certain Energy Efficient Projects
Amendments (HB318) allows Utah's Energy Efficiency Fund, a
zero interest revolving loan fund, to be used for energy
efficiency projects in buildings owned by political subdivisions
(i.e. cities, counties, and towns) in addition to school
districts.
-
Intangible property amendments (SB125) expands the definition
of intangible property for property tax purposes to include
renewable energy tax credits and incentives.
-
Renewable Energy Modifications (SB104) includes certain
compressed air energy storage technology (derived from renewable
energy resources, such as wind or solar) as a renewable energy
source, eligible for consideration for the State Renewable Energy
Development Incentives and to count towards Utah’s 20% Renewable
Energy Standard Goal (S.B. 202, passed 2008). This bill is
structured to avoid double counting of renewable energy
certificates.
-
Political Subdivision Facility Energy Efficiency (HB116)
clarifies ambiguity about the use of energy savings agreements by
Utah political subdivisions, and provides guidance to political
subdivisions about energy savings agreements.
Wyoming
HB 72
Regulation of wind energy facilities: Requires permitting by
County Commissioners and establishes minimum standards and financial
assurance for wind energy facilities also provides for Counties to
refer a permit to the Industrial Siting Council under certain
circumstances. Makes conforming amendments to the Industrial Siting
Act
HB 79
Eminent Domain wind power collector lines: Places a one year
moratorium on the use of condemnation for collector lines associated
with commercial wind facilities. Also extends for one year, the wind
task force to study this issue and come up with recommendations.
HB 101
Taxation of electricity generated from wind: Places a $1.00/MWh
tax on electricity generated from wind. Goes into effect Jan. 1,
2012. Facility must have three-year generating history before tax is
levied. Distribution is 60% to county where facility is located -
40% to state general fund.
HB 111
Electric Transmission consideration of regional issues: Expands
PSC authority to allow regulatory commissions in neighboring states
to meet in conjunction for fact finding, etc. on regional
transmission projects.
SF 66
Industrial Siting amendments: Companion bill to HB 72, this is
the second bill from the wind task force expanding the role of the
Industrial Siting Council to include wind projects of 30 or more
turbines. Dropped transmission threshold to 160kV from 500kV but
left project dollar criteria amount alone.
How can we develop markets further in
the West?
—Interwest points out that renewable energy needs legislative and
policy certainty
The renewable energy industry has
invested billions of dollars in western states in recent years and
is poised to continue making significant new investments in states
around the West. The industry’s recent investments in an otherwise
bleak economy show how policy certainty can facilitate such large
private-sector investments. Two key policy drivers revolve around
transmission and tax certainty:
Transmission is perhaps the most important enabler of new power
generation from wind, large-scale solar and geothermal energy
resources. Transmission investments represent just 10-20% of the
total cost of energy, meaning that a billion-dollar investment in
new transmission capacity could leverage up to ten billion dollars
in new, economically beneficial, clean energy project development.
Transmission takes considerably longer to build than new renewable
energy projects, which is why state, regional and federal
governments and entities are actively seeking to advance new
transmission development to spur further renewable energy
development. This is a key area where state policies can, and must,
be calibrated properly to benefit state economies through new
transmission investments.
Tax
certainty must be provided for the renewable energy industry, as
with conventional energy industries, in order to achieve the kind of
steady, sustained growth that will create substantial new growth in
jobs, company investments and infrastructure improvements that the
renewable energy industry can make possible. This means that state
tax policies should not change abruptly, putting new renewable
investments and infrastructure improvements in jeopardy.
Wildlife: working together, industry and conservationists develop
landmark BMPs
Working
together in an ongoing, collaborative manner throughout 2010,
leading companies in the wind energy industry joined leading
conservation groups under the aegis of the
Colorado Renewables
Conservation Collaborative (CRCC) to develop Best Management
Practices (BMPs) wildlife, native ecosystems and landscapes in
Colorado.
 By
December, CRCC participants successfully developed BMPs for
migratory birds, playa lakes, intact landscapes (fragmentation),
greater prairie chickens, lesser prairie chickens, sharp-tailed
grouse, mountain plover, raptors, bats, rare plants, burrowing owls,
and wetlands. These species, systems, and habitats are the natural
attributes that CRCC determined to be most at risk relative to wind
energy development in eastern Colorado. The BMPs were developed to
abate those risks.
These BMPs
represent the consensus reached through much hard work and dialogue
on the parts of each organization and individual who participated
in, or supported, CRCC. They are also the result of the commitment
the members of CRCC made to each other and to the goal of making
Colorado a place where wind energy and wildlife could both thrive.
The BMPs
also build on the CRCC’s spring 2010 success in revising the
Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Environmental Impacts
rule. The rule creates an expectation that wind energy developers
will act in good faith to avoid, minimize, and/or mitigate for
impacts to important species and habitats. The BMPs are the basis
for how to do that.
Together,
the PUC rule and the BMPs provide Colorado with a “business-viable
and conservation-credible” framework for developing wind resources
in sensitive and biologically important landscapes.
This
innovative, collaborative approach represents possibly the nation’s
first such set of comprehensive BMPs developed on a voluntary basis,
and demonstrates that the energy industry can work successfully with
the conservationist community to achieve mutually important goals
Integration cost issues play key role in 2010
PacifiCorp IRP
The
Interwest Energy Alliance focused on integration issues in much of
its work in 2010, particularly in regulatory dockets involving
PacifiCorp’s IRP and Xcel Energy’s resource acquisition process. In
PacifiCorp’s IRP, Interwest has an established track record at the
Wyoming PSC for support of economic modeling of generation
alternatives in the IRP as it relates to and planning of the Energy
Gateway transmission lines, accurate wind integration costs, and
appropriate cost assumptions for renewables.
Interwest
and others challenged the wind integration study issued with the
2008 IRP. As a result PacifiCorp agreed to retain the Brattle Group,
and in a settlement agreement with Interwest agreed to consult with
Michael Milligan, Ph.D. from NREL to determine more accurate
assessments of actual wind integration costs. PacifiCorp issued a
draft of its Wind Integration Study to be included in the 2011 IRP
in the fall of 2010. Interwest and others have pointed out
significant technical errors in the wind integration study which
resulted in 3-year levelized wind integration costs of $9.70 with
1,833 MW wind penetration.
Western
Wind and Solar Integration Study
The final
report of the Western Wind and Solar Integration Study was released
in May. Prepared for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory by GE
Energy, this report shows how 30% wind and 5% solar can feasibly be
integrated into the Westconnect footprint.
Among the
key findings from this report are:
-
35%
renewable energy penetration is operationally feasible provided
significant changes to current operating practice are made,
including balancing area cooperation and sub-hourly economic
dispatch.
-
The 30%
case reduced annual operating costs by 40% or $20 billion ($17
billion in 2009$) and CO2 emissions by 25% across WECC, assuming
$9.50/MBTU gas. At a $3.50/MBTU gas price, operating costs were
reduced by 25% and CO2 by 45%.
-
Using
state-of-the-art wind and solar forecasts in day-ahead unit
commitment is essential and would reduce annual WECC operating
costs by up to $5 billion ($4 billion in 2009$) or $12-20/MWh
($10-17/MWh in 2009$) of renewable energy, compared to ignoring
renewables in the unit commitment process. Perfect forecasts would
reduce annual costs by another $500 million ($425 million in
2009$) or $1-2/MWh ($0.9-$1.7/MWh in 2009$) of renewable energy.
-
It is
more cost-effective to have demand response address the 89 hours
of contingency reserve shortfalls rather than increase spin for
8760 hours of the year. Demand response can save up to $600M/yr
($510M/yr in 2009$) in operating costs versus committing
additional spinning reserves.
-
Increased renewable energy penetration slightly increases use of
existing storage, but additional storage was not found to be
needed.
Tri-State public participation meetings culminate with filing of
resource plan
Following
a landmark settlement agreement with Western Resource Advocates in
late 2009, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association followed
up with a series of public participation meetings in 2010
culminating in filing a plan with the Colorado Public Utilities
Commission in November. This plan, similar to an IRP, provides an
assessment of Tri-State’s existing resource mix and electric sales
forecast, and discusses various alternatives for meeting the future
system needs of its 44 member cooperatives.
As
Tri-State points out, the
resource plan “identifies a six-year
resource acquisition period in which Tri-State could add new
generation resources. In order to meet its member cooperatives’
renewable portfolio mandates and further diversify its generation
portfolio, Tri-State will need to acquire additional renewable
resources in the next three to four years. These resources are in
addition to the new renewable resources from the 51-megawatt Kit
Carson Windpower Project near Burlington, Colo., and the 30-megawatt
Cimarron Solar photovoltaic project in northeastern New Mexico, as
well as renewable energy projects developed locally by Tri-State’s
member cooperatives.”
Clean
energy advocates that took part in this process, including the
Interwest Energy Alliance, applauded Tri-State’s public
participation process and believe it is a big step forward in
ensuring stakeholder involvement in the critical issue of developing
power generation resources. Its plan, as filed with the PUC, is much
more comprehensive than any past such plans. Now, advocates hope to
see this process continued so that Tri-State’s resource decisions
will be made in a transparent, accountable manner in every case.
Green
jobs provide bright spot in West’s economy
The
renewable energy industry has located new power generation projects
and manufacturing facilities in every western state in recent years.
A combination of renewable resources and state policies tends to
drive the location of power generation facilities, while
manufacturing facilities tend to locate in states that have been
pro-active in their public policy support for renewable energy. In
2009 and 2010, numerous new power projects and manufacturing
facilities were announced –and built– throughout the West.
This 13
July 2010
press release from Vestas provides a snapshot illustration
of how the renewable energy industry has become an engine of job
creation in an otherwise lackluster economic climate:
Vestas bolsters Colorado economy:
1,000 jobs created, hiring more local workers
July 13, 2010: Vestas is investing
upwards of $1 billion to build four factories in North America and
adding research and development to Colorado’s growing clean-energy
sector. The three Colorado factories, which comprise Vestas’
current manufacturing base in North America, will serve the
growing wind-energy industry in the U.S., as well as export
product to Canada and Mexico. A fourth manufacturing facility, a
blade factory in Brighton, is expected to begin operations in
2011.
Vestas, the world’s leader in
producing high-tech wind power systems, has already created more
than 1,000 highly skilled manufacturing jobs to meet growing
production needs at its three Colorado factories. Vestas’ blade
factory in Windsor, tower factory in Pueblo and nacelle factory in
Brighton have been hiring to fill a variety of new jobs to prepare
for several recently announced orders.
“Vestas is employing people in many
desirable jobs ranging from engineering to welding to painting,”
said Anthony Knopp, vice president for Vestas Towers America. “We
have taken advantage of the downturn to hire a number of highly
skilled employees who have been turned loose from other industries
such as the industrial products and construction fields. We’ve
hired all functions related to tower building including steel
fabricators, finishers, welders, assemblers and maintenance
personnel.”
The
Interwest Energy Alliance represents leading companies in the
utility-scale wind and solar energy industries, bringing these
rapidly growing clean-energy industries together with leading
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the states of Arizona,
Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Working together,
leading industry companies and NGOs collaborate on win-win public
policy approaches to new project development, transmission and
manufacturing facilities throughout the West.
Properly
structured public policies have played a vital role in the
successful development of every major modern industry, and this is
equally true with the renewable energy industry. With proper state
public policy frameworks, wind, solar and other modern renewable
energy industries will continue to grow and provide important
benefits to state governments and local communities alike.
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