People power may soon help meet state's energy needs

www.rockymountainnews.com/
Friday, March 7, 2008

Farmer Jim Lenz has often thought of harnessing the strong gusts that blow over his 8,500- acre family farm in northeast Colorado, straddling the border with Nebraska. His farm has the money, labor and the will to build a wind-power project. But he didn't know what to do with the excess electricity - whether he would be able to sell the power back to the grid.

Lenz's dilemma was resolved Thursday when the Colorado legislature passed a bill allowing homeowners and businesses to be paid a fair rate for excess electricity produced by their own solar, wind or geothermal systems. House Bill 1160 has been sent to Gov. Bill Ritter, who likely will sign it in the coming days. "This is good news," Lenz said Thursday. "A wind-power project could save us $10,000 in electricity costs each year."

Bill sponsors Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, and Rep. Judy Solano, D-Brighton, said the bill, called the Homegrown Renewable Power Act, will spur renewable-energy investments - especially in solar - by homeowners and businesses. "This rewards Coloradans who are taking a step in the right direction to make our state a cleaner, healthier place to live by ensuring that solar energy is more affordable and accessible," Shaffer said.

The bill also will make it easier and more cost-effective for a utility to meet its peak power demand. Instead of paying the higher cost of energy bought from power plants at peak times, a utility will be able to buy excess energy from homes or businesses. Conservationists hailed the bill as an important step in fighting global warming while decreasing the nation's energy independence. "In the next decade, we could have a half-million solar roofs helping to power Colorado," said Pam Kiely, legislative director for Environment Colorado.

Lenz is trying to figure out what size wind turbine would best fit the needs of his family farm. He'd like to start a project soon but doesn't know whether he can secure a turbine this year. He attended a wind energy meeting in Wray on Monday, expecting to see 30 people, but 120 showed up. "There were people I knew from Akron, Holyoke and Sterling, but many others I didn't know who came from a distance," Lenz said.

chakrabartyg@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2976