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| 7/7/2009 6:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Ritter likes wind energy project
Tri-State blows ahead of state requirements with 51 megawatt site
Joe Hanel
Journal Denver Bureau
DENVER - The utility that supplies electricity to Southwest Colorado announced its first major wind project Monday in a ceremony on the steps of the state Capitol.
Gov. Bill Ritter welcomed the move by Tri-State Generation and Transmission, even as his Public Utilities Commission is considering expanded regulation of the company to pry it away from its reliance on coal.
The 51 megawatt wind farm in Kit Carson County will put Tri-State ahead of the renewable energy requirement the Legislature adopted in 2007, which requires rural electric cooperatives to get 10 percent of their power from sources like wind and solar by 2020.
"Tri-State is making progress and showing leadership in this area," Ritter said.
Empire Electric buys power from Tri-State, but power generated at the Wind Farm might not go to Empire customers.
Environmentalists have criticized Ritter for engaging with Tri-State. Shortly after Ritter spoke to the company's board of directors this spring, Tri-State announced it would buy 600 megawatts of power from a proposed coal plant in Western Kansas. Former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius rose to national prominence when she denied a permit for that plant, citing its carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. But shortly after Sebelius joined the Obama administration, her successor authorized the coal plant.
The Kansas chapter of the Sierra Club accused Tri-State of shopping for coal power outside Colorado, where environmental regulations are weaker.
But Ritter said the wind farm announcement proves that his approach of engaging with opponents is better than beating up on them. Tri-State leaders now see the benefits of renewable energy, he said.
"They have come to the place where they understand and believe that's what they need to do. If I had taken after them with an iron fist, I don't believe we would have seen what we saw today," Ritter said.
Nevertheless, Ritter's Public Utilities Commission is investigating whether it should take a greater role in regulating Tri-State.
In 2002, the PUC of Republican Gov. Bill Owens opted for a hands-off approach with Tri-State. Ritter appointed PUC commissioners who were more concerned about global warming, prompting the current investigation.
Commissioners have scheduled a hearing on July 16 to gather opinions on whether the state should have more say over Tri-State's long-term planning. But a decision on regulating Tri-State is not imminent, said PUC spokesman Terry Bote.
Unlike major urban utilities, Tri-State is owned by 44 rural electric cooperatives. Those co-ops buy power from the Westminster-based company and re-sell it to consumers in their rural service areas. Since the rural consumers are also the owners of the co-ops, and the co-ops own Tri-State, the company's executives argue the PUC shouldn't regulate it the way it does investor-owned utilities.
Tri-State General Manager Ken Anderson said his company has to move slowly and deliberately on renewable energy because a wrong move would be a very expensive error.
"Everyone wants to see something done overnight. That's not the way these things work," Anderson said.
The Kit Carson wind farm, plus a New Mexico solar plant that Tri-State announced this year, will help the company learn how to integrate renewable power into its system, Anderson said.
Construction will start next year, and because the wind farm is near a major Tri-State transmission line, it should be putting power on the grid by the end of 2010. The 51-megawatt wind farm will be enough to power 12,000 to 14,000 homes, Anderson said.
In addition to the environmental benefits, the wind farm will bring jobs to the Eastern Plains, Ritter said. Up to 150 people will find construction work at the wind farm next year. A permanent staff of four to eight technicians will operate it.
"The brightest and most encouraging economic activity continues to come from the new energy economy," Ritter said.
Duke Energy Corp. will own and operate the wind farm and sell power to Tri-State. Duke will take advantage of federal tax incentives from the stimulus bill, Anderson said. Tri-State, as a member-owned nonprofit, was not as interested in tax incentives, so the partnership with Duke and the stimulus bill made the deal work, Anderson said.
The PUC hearing will be Thursday, July 16, at 1:30 p.m. in Denver. The commission broadcasts its hearings on the Internet at www.dora.state.co.us/puc/broadcast_streams/index.htm. Choose Hearing Room A.
Reach Joe Hanel at joeh@cortezjournal.com.
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