Co-ops need the help of the government to switch to renewable power
When it comes to renewable energy, the problems of development lay in transportation, not availability. Wind and solar power are available in almost unlimited quantities all over the United States, especially in the west, but it takes money to tap into those resources. Wind farms and other sources of clean energy are easy and relatively cheap to build, but the cost of the power lines that would take the energy from these sources to the consumers is too much for electricity companies alone to handle.
Energy companies need the help of the government if they are to continue in an increasing reliance on renewable energy sources. Understanding that a growing need for energy and the growing necessity of environmental awareness are now combined issues, state government officials and energy cooperatives alike have been petitioning President Obama for more energy infrastructure support.
The Western Governors Association recently sent a letter to President Obama asking him to emphasize renewable energy sources and expanded infrastructure in his energy policy.
“An enormous national commitment is necessary to transform our energy infrastructure and our economy as we shift to low-carbon-emission energy sources that include wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, hydro and other renewables, as well as fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage,” the governors said.
At least in word, the Obama administration seems to be on the same page. The President has vowed to double the nation’s capacity to generate alternative energy sources during his first term and to begin to build a new electricity grid with more than 3,000 miles of new transmissions lines “to convey this new energy from coast to coast.”
In response to President Obama’s call for the states to propose stimulus projects to help the economy, governors in Wyoming and Colorado also joined others in suggesting that the federal government use some of the billions of dollars in the stimulus package to conduct infrastructure projects beyond traditional roads and bridges. They asserted that using government funds to build transmission lines would be the only way to tap into the valuable renewable resources, such as wind power, available in their states.
The government could use stimulus funds to leverage private funds by providing low-interest loans to infrastructure developers, or by giving them tax-exempt bonding authority, Wyoming Governor Dave Frudenthal said.
“As soon as you get the power lines built, they’ll put in the turbines, because the current production tax credit for wind energy makes the production of wind energy a very attractive proposition,” Freudenthal said. “But there’s not a similar incentive for building the power lines.”
In his stimulus request, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter also urged President Obama to launch a major energy infrastructure project. He suggested the government could offer price guarantees for renewable energy distributed through the new lines if the developer got the power to the line. Ritter also said the government could help to build regional power lines to reach areas where wind, solar and other renewable projects could be built.
It will take the continued insistence of state governments concerning renewable energy transmission lines to convince the federal government to take action. If the United States is going to continue to be a growing nation that preserves its environment, the government must support changes in energy development.