Tracking
Public Policy for Colorado's Renewable
Energy Harvest Network
From Colorado
Working Landscapes, February 24, 2004, Volume 1,
Issue 5
This newsletter supports the Colorado Renewable
Energy Coalition's Rural Initiative by bringing
information to rural constituencies during
Colorado's 2004 Legislative Session. If you would
like to be added to the distribution list or taken
off please send an email to
frank@workinglandscapes.com.
Minnesota expert energizes movement toward
renewable energy cooperatives and adoption of the
Renewable Energy Standard (HB 1273).
"The
Minnesota Renewable Energy Standard is the best
public policy decision we have ever made,"
claimed Jim Nichols, a former state senator and
commissioner of agriculture. He spoke to nearly
400 persons attending the February 19th Colorado
Agricultural Outlook Forum by highlighting the
Minnesota experience since adopting a renewable
energy standard 10 years ago. Since then, 500
wind turbines have been constructed with a rural
investment of $500 million without an increase
in electric rates.
"Rural
Colorado has built a powerful coalition that we
didn't have in Minnesota," Nichols continued,
"but your efforts will only pay off if you can
persuade the Legislature to adopt HB 1273." The
legislation would create a market within a
utility industry that has been slow to embrace
renewable energy. Xcel Energy has endorsed HB
1273 while the Colorado Rural Electric
Association remains opposed.
Minnesota
is a national leader in the development of wind
cooperatives under the leadership of Nichols.
He detailed his experience during the Colorado
Agricultural Outlook Forum and to members of an
emerging Task Force (see following story).
______________________________________________________
RMFU forming a Renewable Cooperative
Development Task Force to support locally owned
energy projects.
Farmers are very familiar with the idea
of marketing value-added products to
consumers...but not at the speed of light. And
yet, that is exactly what happens with "combines
in the sky," as Jim Nichols likes to call the wind
turbines on his Minnesota farm. The 1.5 MW
turbine he and his brother financed and
operate add value to their local wind resource and
distribute energy to 3 million electric customers
at the speed of light. They have a 25-year
agreement with Xcel Energy to purchase the power
and expect to receive $30,000 net income per year
for the first 20 years and over $100,000 annually
after that. Nichols contrasted his project with
landowners that host wind turbines in exchange for
lease payments. "Income is less but so is the
investment in time, money and risk," Nichols
said.
Nichols believes Colorado wind conditions and
energy prices are similar to those in Minnesota.
"Step one is to secure a renewable energy market
with the adoption of HB 1273" Nichols advised.
"With that law in place, you can secure a power
purchase agreement. Then you need to work on
access (transmission) issues." He was consulting
with a diverse group of rural leaders, energy
executives, financial experts and government
officials on steps necessary to secure local
ownership of wind farms. The Wray community in
Yuma County is actively investigating local
ownership options while other areas represented in
the meeting (Kit Carson, Lincoln, Phillips, and
Baca Counties) are just beginning their
investigation.
Over 20
individuals attending the meeting agreed to work
with the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Cooperative
Development Center to create business models
tailored to the needs of individual communities.
Karen Hyde, Director of Purchased Power for Xcel
and Ron Lehr, Western Representative for the
American Wind Energy Association offered their
support to the group. Participants were
encouraged to attend the Colorado Wind and
Distributed Energy Conference on April 13-14 (see
details below) to further understanding of project
development. For information on Task Force
activities, contact John Covert at
SaveAgLand@aol.com
or by phone at 303-399-4456.
_____________________________________________________
Renewable Energy Cooperatives Bill (SB
168) passes Senate while the Renewable Energy
Standard Bill (HB 1273) moves from the House to
the Senate Local Government Committee.
With a vote
of 22-10 SB 168 concerning renewable
energy cooperatives passed the Senate with three
amendments on Wednesday, February 18. The
official vote tally can be viewed at the end of
this Newsletter. The bill now moves to the House
where it will be sponsored by Speaker Spradley.
HB 1273
concerning a Renewable Energy Standard will be
heard in the Senate Local Government Committee on
Tuesday afternoon, February 24th. Committee
adoption appears likely according to Tracee
Bentley who is lobbying the issue for the Colorado
Farm Bureau. "The real test will come when the
bill reaches the Senate floor. It would be great
if we could pass the bill without amendment but I
know of at least three amendments that are in the
wings."
For more
information on these bills click on the following
links:
SB 168 or
HB 1273.
_____________________________________
Joint
House and Senate Agriculture Committees hear
appeal by the Colorado Farm Bureau and Rocky
Mountain Farmers Union
"When we
look at what renewable energy can do for the rural
communities we see it as a great economic
development factor," John Stencel, President of
Rocky Mountain Farmer's Union, stated early last
Wednesday morning before the Joint Agriculture
Committee. He was joined in presenting
information to the Committee by Ray Christensen,
Executive Vice President Colorado Farm Bureau; Hap
Boyd, General Electric Wind; and Jim Nichols,
from Lincoln County, Minnesota who is a
farmer, wind developer and also a former Minnesota
state Senator and Agriculture Commissioner.
Christensen
began by affirming that the Colorado Farm
Bureau and the Farmers Union have formed a
coalition with a number of rural organizations in
support of renewable energy legislation. He went
onto say, "Renewable energy is an emerging issue.
It imposes some new public policy thoughts for a
number of you in here that represent various areas
of the state where we have our natural resources -
our coal, oil and gas resources around the state.
Many of you represent those constituencies, but
you also represent the rural areas of the state
and agriculture which puts you in a decision
making situation about what are some opportunities
- what are some things we can do for the rural
areas of the state?"
Both
Christensen and Hap Boyd, GE Wind Energy
(developer of Lamar Wind Project), provided a
summary of the economic impact of the 162 Megawatt
Lamar Wind Project in Prowers County.
-
It
will provide annual royalties to landowners
of over $350,000
-
300
installation jobs and 20 permanent full-time
jobs have been created
-
Increase county tax base by 29%
-
New
county revenues per year of $764,000
-
$916,000 per year for the school districts
general fund
-
$203,000 for the bond fund
-
$189,000 to the Prowers County Medical
Center
-
$23
million to the local county over the life of
the project
Jim Nichols
provided the committee with an overview of
Minnesota's experience with wind projects and that
state's renewable energy standard. Following the
meeting Nichols met individually with Committee
members and several key senators.
__________________________________________
Register Now for the Colorado Wind & Distributed
Energy: Renewables for Rural Prosperity
Conference 2004
April 13 & 14 - The Doubletree Hotel Colorado
Springs - World Arena
The
Governor's Office of Energy Management and
Conservation (OEMC) along with the U.S.
Department of Energy's Wind Powering America is
hosting its second biennial conference on wind
and other distributed energy technologies.
Other primary sponsors include the Western Area
Power Administration and Holy Cross Electric.
Case studies and discussions will help educate
farmers, ranchers, Colorado citizens, corporate
leaders, municipalities and rural electric
cooperatives about the economic and
environmental benefits of utilizing distributed
energy sources.
Secretary of Energy Spencer
Abraham, Colorado Governor Bill Owens, and
Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera, have been
invited to kick off the conference on Tuesday
morning. The agenda for Tuesday, April 13, will
focus on Wind Energy. Experts from across the
country will provide a step-by-step "how to"
guide and tools for successful wind project
developments including public ownership, local
equity, and public-private partnerships.
Wednesday's event, April 14,
will feature Distributed Generation topics
including creating power from forest thinning,
hydrogen projects, distributed generation
devices (e.g. fuel cells, microturbines,
Stirling Engines), and anaerobic digestion
technology.
The conference is open to the
general public at a cost of $85 for advanced
registration, and $95 after March 22.
__________________________________________
Colorado Working Landscapes (CWL) is a
landowner-driven public policy forum seeking to
build communication bridges between divergent
interest groups while striving for win-win
solutions. Our goal is to keep Colorado's
agricultural landscapes in tact, both economically
and ecologically, while respecting private
property rights and local control.
__________________________________________
Recorded Vote of SB04-168 (February 18,
2004): Authorizing the creation of renewable
energy cooperatives
Yes 22
No 10
Excused 3
Anderson Y
Arnold Y
Cairns N
Chlouber E
Dyer N
Entz N
Evans N
Fitz-Gerald Y
Gordon Y
Groff Y
Grossman Y
Hagedorn Y
Hanna Y
Hillman Y
Isgar Y
Johnson Y
Jones Y
Keller Y
Kester Y
Lamborn N
May N
McElhany Y
Nichol N
Owen N
Phillips Y
Reeves Y
Sandoval Y
Takis Y
Tapia Y
Taylor N
Teck N
Tupa Y
Viega E
Windels Y
Mr. President E
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