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The recent announcements of local resorts orienting their properties to be 100 percent powered by wind energy begs the question, “What applicability does renewable energy have for small towns and businesses?”
Craig Cox, of Interwest Energy Alliance, took the time to sit down and talk about the relevance of renewable energy:
Q: Is wind-powered energy affordable, and if so, why aren’t more large corporations resorting to this environmentally friendly energy source?
A: Wind-powered energy is a cost-competitive, price-stable resource. The cost of energy from windfarms is stable and predictable for the length of the contract ...
typically 15 to 25 years. No conventional energy resource offers the price stability of wind, not to mention wind’s environmental and rural economic development benefits. It is only in recent years that large corporations have been able to obtain so much clean wind energy, such as the (recent resort purchases), so as more corporations become aware of this opportunity, I expect to see more and more similar corporate acquisitions of wind energy.
Q: Could wind-powered energy be a viable source and cost effective for towns and small businesses? If so, how? If not, are their other forms of renewable energy more applicable to a small business?
A: Many municipal utilities are discovering the benefits of wind energy. For example, when the large (162-megawatt) Colorado Green windfarm was built near Lamar for Xcel Energy’s customers, the nearby town took advantage of the economies of scale provided by this large project to build its own 4.5-megawatt windfarm. Last winter, Xcel Energy’s Windsource customers, and all of Lamar Light and Power’s customers, benefited from the cost savings of wind energy over more-expensive natural gas.
Solar is an excellent renewable resource for towns, but especially so for small business. With the passage of Amendment 37, Colorado utilities need to reach certain renewable generation targets going forward. Xcel Energy is offering a hefty $4.50 per watt rebate for installation of solar, offsetting the initial cost by nearly 60 percent. In addition, the federal government is offering a 30 percent unlimited cap tax credit on solar systems for commercial applications, further reducing cost. Throw in some accelerated depreciation on the panels, and 4 to 6 year paybacks are not uncommon in the commercial space, reducing total cost by nearly 80 percent. This is incredible! There has never been a more financially attractive time to go solar.
Q: Where could a business find information about the applicability and viability of wind-powered energy, or other alternative energies?
A: For wind energy, the American Wind Energy Association’s website at www.awea.org is a very important resource about our country’s wind industry. The U.S. Department of Energy’s “Wind Powering America” website at www.windpoweringamerica.gov provides a lot of “nuts and bolts” information on wind energy for individuals, companies, schools and other interested parties.
For solar energy, small business can find information and evaluations of the solar potential of their business by looking at websites, contacting trade associations, and contacting solar contractors directly. One excellent resource is NREL’s site, http://www.nrel.gov/learning/sb_photovoltaics.html. COSEIA, the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association, can be found at www.coseia.org, and has a list of all Colorado solar installers, who will be able to provide further information.
Some basic parameters to think about when choosing solar include roof orientation (south is ideal), potential shading issues on the roof (trees, mountains, other structures) and grid vs. non grid (typically the big rebates are offered for only grid-connected systems).
Q: Where do you see the renewable energy industry and its relationship with small towns and businesses in 10 years?
A: Energy has been in the news a lot in the past year, with price shocks in natural gas, oil and even coal driving extreme volatility in the costs of electricity and gasoline at the pump. More and more consumers — and small towns and businesses — are discovering the benefits of price-stable and environmentally beneficial energy sources such as wind and solar. I believe more companies and towns will look at the example of Vail Resorts (and Copper Mountain) and choose to power their operations with clean, cost-stable renewable energy resources.
President Bush recently said that wind energy alone has the potential to supply up to 20 percent of our nation’s electricity. We are working with our allies in Colorado and around the region to advance policies that will make President Bush’s prediction a reality, and to increase significantly the contributions that other clean renewable energy technologies — including solar, geothermal and biomass — make to our nation’s electricity supply.
In 10 years, clean energy, and in particular solar, will be part of the mainstream energy supply. As consumers and businesses become educated and see that solar offers clean energy with no emissions, and makes compelling financial sense, this technology will be embraced. American consumers are often not motivated to change unless we have to. With alarming spikes in energy costs recently, the American public is waking up to looking at other options. As electricity rates rise and education increases, solar will potentially represent 15 to 25 percent of the nation’s energy supply in the next 20 years.
Craig Cox, of Interwest Energy Alliance, took the time to sit down and talk about the relevance of renewable energy:
Q: Is wind-powered energy affordable, and if so, why aren’t more large corporations resorting to this environmentally friendly energy source?
A: Wind-powered energy is a cost-competitive, price-stable resource. The cost of energy from windfarms is stable and predictable for the length of the contract ...
typically 15 to 25 years. No conventional energy resource offers the price stability of wind, not to mention wind’s environmental and rural economic development benefits. It is only in recent years that large corporations have been able to obtain so much clean wind energy, such as the (recent resort purchases), so as more corporations become aware of this opportunity, I expect to see more and more similar corporate acquisitions of wind energy.
Q: Could wind-powered energy be a viable source and cost effective for towns and small businesses? If so, how? If not, are their other forms of renewable energy more applicable to a small business?
A: Many municipal utilities are discovering the benefits of wind energy. For example, when the large (162-megawatt) Colorado Green windfarm was built near Lamar for Xcel Energy’s customers, the nearby town took advantage of the economies of scale provided by this large project to build its own 4.5-megawatt windfarm. Last winter, Xcel Energy’s Windsource customers, and all of Lamar Light and Power’s customers, benefited from the cost savings of wind energy over more-expensive natural gas.
Solar is an excellent renewable resource for towns, but especially so for small business. With the passage of Amendment 37, Colorado utilities need to reach certain renewable generation targets going forward. Xcel Energy is offering a hefty $4.50 per watt rebate for installation of solar, offsetting the initial cost by nearly 60 percent. In addition, the federal government is offering a 30 percent unlimited cap tax credit on solar systems for commercial applications, further reducing cost. Throw in some accelerated depreciation on the panels, and 4 to 6 year paybacks are not uncommon in the commercial space, reducing total cost by nearly 80 percent. This is incredible! There has never been a more financially attractive time to go solar.
Q: Where could a business find information about the applicability and viability of wind-powered energy, or other alternative energies?
A: For wind energy, the American Wind Energy Association’s website at www.awea.org is a very important resource about our country’s wind industry. The U.S. Department of Energy’s “Wind Powering America” website at www.windpoweringamerica.gov provides a lot of “nuts and bolts” information on wind energy for individuals, companies, schools and other interested parties.
For solar energy, small business can find information and evaluations of the solar potential of their business by looking at websites, contacting trade associations, and contacting solar contractors directly. One excellent resource is NREL’s site, http://www.nrel.gov/learning/sb_photovoltaics.html. COSEIA, the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association, can be found at www.coseia.org, and has a list of all Colorado solar installers, who will be able to provide further information.
Some basic parameters to think about when choosing solar include roof orientation (south is ideal), potential shading issues on the roof (trees, mountains, other structures) and grid vs. non grid (typically the big rebates are offered for only grid-connected systems).
Q: Where do you see the renewable energy industry and its relationship with small towns and businesses in 10 years?
A: Energy has been in the news a lot in the past year, with price shocks in natural gas, oil and even coal driving extreme volatility in the costs of electricity and gasoline at the pump. More and more consumers — and small towns and businesses — are discovering the benefits of price-stable and environmentally beneficial energy sources such as wind and solar. I believe more companies and towns will look at the example of Vail Resorts (and Copper Mountain) and choose to power their operations with clean, cost-stable renewable energy resources.
President Bush recently said that wind energy alone has the potential to supply up to 20 percent of our nation’s electricity. We are working with our allies in Colorado and around the region to advance policies that will make President Bush’s prediction a reality, and to increase significantly the contributions that other clean renewable energy technologies — including solar, geothermal and biomass — make to our nation’s electricity supply.
In 10 years, clean energy, and in particular solar, will be part of the mainstream energy supply. As consumers and businesses become educated and see that solar offers clean energy with no emissions, and makes compelling financial sense, this technology will be embraced. American consumers are often not motivated to change unless we have to. With alarming spikes in energy costs recently, the American public is waking up to looking at other options. As electricity rates rise and education increases, solar will potentially represent 15 to 25 percent of the nation’s energy supply in the next 20 years.
