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Community voice: The voice for renewable energy
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- Mountain Legend
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15 Mar 2019 16:54 #1
by CanyonCourier
Canyon Courier is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Evergreen, CO, and the surrounding area.
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Community voice: The voice for renewable energy was created by CanyonCourier
Why am I running to be your representative on the IREA board? This is a question I have been asked many times during my outreach efforts.
District 2 is a sprawling area that runs from the mountain towns of Bailey, Conifer and Pine to the southern outskirts of Castle Rock. While the area is geographically diverse, a common theme I heard was that our members didn’t realize they had a voice on the IREA board.
We do, and it’s time for our voices to be heard. Renewable energy is cleaner and cheaper. That is why I am running: I want to be that voice for a move to renewable energy.
Read more here: www.canyoncourier.com/content/community-...ice-renewable-energy
By Steve Roescher
March 14, 2019
District 2 is a sprawling area that runs from the mountain towns of Bailey, Conifer and Pine to the southern outskirts of Castle Rock. While the area is geographically diverse, a common theme I heard was that our members didn’t realize they had a voice on the IREA board.
We do, and it’s time for our voices to be heard. Renewable energy is cleaner and cheaper. That is why I am running: I want to be that voice for a move to renewable energy.
Read more here: www.canyoncourier.com/content/community-...ice-renewable-energy
By Steve Roescher
March 14, 2019
Canyon Courier is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Evergreen, CO, and the surrounding area.
www.canyoncourier.com
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- FNP
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- Happy Camper
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16 Mar 2019 08:20 #2
by FNP
Replied by FNP on topic Community voice: The voice for renewable energy
Are you certain that the price of electricity for IREA consumers will decrease as wind power is integrated?
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- anni
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- Tourist
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17 Mar 2019 10:24 #3
by anni
Replied by anni on topic Community voice: The voice for renewable energy
According to Mike Kempe, the IREA District 1 director who used to represent many of us in Evergreen and Conifer until redistricting: Power from IREA's coal plant costs 5 to 6.5 cents per kilowatt, while solar costs IREA 3 cents.
Xcel has wind for 2 cents. Xcel has decided to be 55 % renewable by 7 years from now because it is cheaper, counting all costs.
Steve Roescher will have to address the bad contracts signed by Dozier and other long-time incumbents that give Xcel too much power over IREA. One contract expires in 2025 so the time to plan for alternatives is now. IREA can't even try to sell the excess coal plant power because the contract won't allow it. Steve Roescher is an executive who works on hundred-million-dollar projects in his regular job, so he has the skills we need on contracts, projects and financing.
IREA charges us 12 cents per kilowatt. We have the opportunity to elect directors who will move to cutting costs by 2 to 4 cents per kilowatt. That should allow them cut our bills.
Xcel has wind for 2 cents. Xcel has decided to be 55 % renewable by 7 years from now because it is cheaper, counting all costs.
Steve Roescher will have to address the bad contracts signed by Dozier and other long-time incumbents that give Xcel too much power over IREA. One contract expires in 2025 so the time to plan for alternatives is now. IREA can't even try to sell the excess coal plant power because the contract won't allow it. Steve Roescher is an executive who works on hundred-million-dollar projects in his regular job, so he has the skills we need on contracts, projects and financing.
IREA charges us 12 cents per kilowatt. We have the opportunity to elect directors who will move to cutting costs by 2 to 4 cents per kilowatt. That should allow them cut our bills.
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17 Mar 2019 13:48 #4
by FNP
Replied by FNP on topic Community voice: The voice for renewable energy
Well, I hope it works out because I haven't found any examples where integrating wind energy into a grid has resulted in lower consumer prices. Usually the opposite due to infrastructure investments required for integration. Lots of cherry picked articles on both sides but very hard to find real facts on total costs.
Kansas is a pretty windy State. I'll check to see how things went over there when they started integrating wind into their grids.
Kansas is a pretty windy State. I'll check to see how things went over there when they started integrating wind into their grids.
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- ScienceChic
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- Mountain Champion
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17 Mar 2019 17:44 #5
by ScienceChic
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
Replied by ScienceChic on topic Community voice: The voice for renewable energy
FNP, the state you should be looking at is Iowa! According to Wikipedia:
MidAmerican will be first to create enough wind energy to cover 100% of consumer use
Donnelle Eller, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Published 1:05 p.m. CT May 30, 2018
U.S. Energy Information Administration: Construction cost data for electric generators installed in 2016
Release date: August 6, 2018 | Next release date: July 2019
January 2019
The bigger conundrum is how to reduce our power needs overall as our population keeps increasing. I applaud IREA moving toward more renewable energy production - it's the future that we need to embrace now.
Iowa Wind Energy Fact SheetThe five states with the most wind capacity installed at the start of 2017 were:
Texas (20,321 MW)
Iowa (6,917 MW)
Oklahoma (6,645 MW)
California (5,662 MW)
Kansas (4,451 MW)
Here's a company that is working toward 100% wind-generated power for its customers:Iowa is a national leader in wind energy, producing the highest percentage of electricity by wind of any state–over 36%. Iowa was the first state to generate more than 30 percent of electricity from wind.
Iowa’s total wind capacity by the end of 2016 was 6,917MW. This ranks second nationally in installed capacity.
Wind energy in Iowa grew from about 800 MW in 2005 to over 6,900MW today. Iowa’s electric rates have remained below the national average during this time. New wind energy in Iowa is a low cost option and less expensive than new coal, natural gas, or nuclear.
MidAmerican will be first to create enough wind energy to cover 100% of consumer use
Donnelle Eller, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Published 1:05 p.m. CT May 30, 2018
This is a little outdated, but has a ton of data:MidAmerican Energy said Wednesday it plans to invest $922 million in added wind-power capacity, equaling as much renewable energy as its customers use.
"If the project is approved, it will allow our customers to get 100 percent of their annual energy use from a clean, renewable and cost-effective source," said Adam Wright, MidAmerican's CEO. "This is, no doubt, historic."
MidAmerican said it will be the first investor-owned electric utility nationally to meet the goal, which the Des Moines utility announced in 2016.
The latest wind investment, expected to be completed in late 2020, would enable the company to freeze consumer rates, possibly up to 15 years, MidAmerican said.
By 2021, MidAmerican Energy's wind-energy capacity will equal customers' energy needs.
U.S. Energy Information Administration: Construction cost data for electric generators installed in 2016
Release date: August 6, 2018 | Next release date: July 2019
EIA: Cost and Performance Characteristics of New Generating Technologies, Annual Energy Outlook 2019Presented below are graphs and tables of the cost data for generators installed in 2016 based on data collected by the 2016 Annual Electric Generator Report, Form EIA-860. The cost data for certain generation technologies were omitted to avoid disclosure of individual company data.
EIA expects to publish construction cost data for generators installed in 2017 in July 2019.
January 2019
What isn't factored into coal costs is the cost to our economy that rising greenhouse gases are costing in disaster mitigation from extreme weather, drought, mega-fires, and stronger hurricanes, plus the incalculable harm of species extinctions due to habitat changes (e.g. coral reefs, American Pika). Not that solar, wind, and hydroelectric don't also cause environmental harm, because they do, just not as egregiously as carbon-based energy.The tables presented below will be incorporated into the Electricity Market Module chapter of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA)Annual Energy Outlook 2019 (AEO2019) Assumptions document. Table 2 represents EIA’s assessment of the cost to develop and install various generating technologies used in the electric power sector.
The bigger conundrum is how to reduce our power needs overall as our population keeps increasing. I applaud IREA moving toward more renewable energy production - it's the future that we need to embrace now.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
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- Happy Camper
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17 Mar 2019 21:10 #6
by FNP
Replied by FNP on topic Community voice: The voice for renewable energy
SC,
Did some research on the 5 windy states you mentioned.
BLS says US average electricity prices have inflated 50% from 2001 thru 2018
data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet
EIA.gov data on average price of electricity [cents/KWh] in all States from 2001 thru 2018.
www.eia.gov/electrIicity/data/browser
cents/KWH % change
IA 5.72 to 8.22 +43.7% increase
TX 6.90 to 8.24 +19.4%
OK 5.98 to 7.35 +22.9%
CA 8.71 to 16.2 +86.0%
KS 5.80 to 9.89 +70.5%
There were significant cost avoidance savings [inflation avoidance] in TX and OK. Only .35% a year avoidance in IA and very significant price increases in CA and KS well over the cost of inflation. No one’s electric bills went down.
Here’s why Google abandoned its program to replace coal with renewable energy:
www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/goo...-in-renewable-energy
So after looking all this up, I’m not sure it’s correct to say that incorporating wind power will reduce the price of electricity. Maybe it will and maybe it won’t if the 5 windy states are representative of the results of integrating wind power.
If Google’s engineers are right, we may need to rethink our exuberance in adopting renewables as primary energy sources and focus on more R&D for innovative energy sources and energy related technologies.
Not to say we give up on it but there may be better investments of our time and $ if the goal is climate management.
Just my opinion,
FNP
Did some research on the 5 windy states you mentioned.
BLS says US average electricity prices have inflated 50% from 2001 thru 2018
data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet
EIA.gov data on average price of electricity [cents/KWh] in all States from 2001 thru 2018.
www.eia.gov/electrIicity/data/browser
cents/KWH % change
IA 5.72 to 8.22 +43.7% increase
TX 6.90 to 8.24 +19.4%
OK 5.98 to 7.35 +22.9%
CA 8.71 to 16.2 +86.0%
KS 5.80 to 9.89 +70.5%
There were significant cost avoidance savings [inflation avoidance] in TX and OK. Only .35% a year avoidance in IA and very significant price increases in CA and KS well over the cost of inflation. No one’s electric bills went down.
Here’s why Google abandoned its program to replace coal with renewable energy:
www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/goo...-in-renewable-energy
So after looking all this up, I’m not sure it’s correct to say that incorporating wind power will reduce the price of electricity. Maybe it will and maybe it won’t if the 5 windy states are representative of the results of integrating wind power.
If Google’s engineers are right, we may need to rethink our exuberance in adopting renewables as primary energy sources and focus on more R&D for innovative energy sources and energy related technologies.
Not to say we give up on it but there may be better investments of our time and $ if the goal is climate management.
Just my opinion,
FNP
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19 Mar 2019 20:06 #7
by AKantola
Replied by AKantola on topic Community voice: The voice for renewable energy
Mr. Roescher has our vote. Mr. Dozier has been on the IREA Board since 2001, meaning he served well through the years when the Board voted unanimously to fund a climate-change denying lobbyist to the tune of $100,000. Dozier also is on record (High Timber Times:
www.hightimbertimes.com/.../irea%E2%80%99s-dozier
...) as recently as February 2011 debunking renewable energy and saying that carbon dioxide emissions and the threat of global warming are not concerns. Plain and simple, this is not someone I want to represent me on the IREA board. It's time for a change and we're voting for Steve Roescher.
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20 Mar 2019 13:26 #8
by anni
Replied by anni on topic Community voice: The voice for renewable energy
Thanks for the thoughtful responses. Wind and solar have dropped roughly 85 percent in cost in recent years, so what's relevant is current prices, available to IREA.
Also, Xcel is planning to be 55% percent renewable in Colorado by 7 years from now, because it is cheaper. So Xcel is considering all the costs and finding them cheaper.
To clarify what IREA faces: IREA's coal plant power costs it 5 to 6.5 cents per kilowatt per month. IREA has contracted for solar at 3 cents. That's a flat fee, with no later costs to IREA for tearing down wind farms, etc as some people are worried about. That risk is on the company that is selling the power.
The IREA board voted for this under pressure of a state law that requires it to have 20 percent renewable by 2020. (Six of the seven current board members are still committed to coal; Mike Kempe is the exception.)
The wind price of 2 cents is based on contracts offered to Xcel in an RFP about 18 months ago. Xcel also was bid 3.5 cents for solar plus storage (like batteries.)
A big factor in the total cost of power is transmission line costs. IREA has contracted for solar near Bennett, adjacent to one of its substations, so it does not have to add transmission lines. And the land is cheap.
Complications for IREA: The incumbent signed bad contracts with Xcel that really limit IREA, and keep its costs high. Steve Roescher is a project manager and finance manager with Siemens with experience on hundred-million-dollar contracts. So he has the expertise to look at these contracts and figure out what can be done. At the least, though, one contract with Xcel expires in 2025, so the time to plan for a different future for IREA is now.
Bottom line: Do you want a director who signed a contract to buy into a coal plant with a 60-year lifespan and debt, when they had been told by experts that solar and wind prices were plummeting and would be lower within just 10 of those 60 years? Or do you want someone who will look for solutions and the latest information and technology to take advantage of falling costs?
Thanks to all of you for giving this your serious thought. Ballots have begun arriving; look in your mail.
Also, Xcel is planning to be 55% percent renewable in Colorado by 7 years from now, because it is cheaper. So Xcel is considering all the costs and finding them cheaper.
To clarify what IREA faces: IREA's coal plant power costs it 5 to 6.5 cents per kilowatt per month. IREA has contracted for solar at 3 cents. That's a flat fee, with no later costs to IREA for tearing down wind farms, etc as some people are worried about. That risk is on the company that is selling the power.
The IREA board voted for this under pressure of a state law that requires it to have 20 percent renewable by 2020. (Six of the seven current board members are still committed to coal; Mike Kempe is the exception.)
The wind price of 2 cents is based on contracts offered to Xcel in an RFP about 18 months ago. Xcel also was bid 3.5 cents for solar plus storage (like batteries.)
A big factor in the total cost of power is transmission line costs. IREA has contracted for solar near Bennett, adjacent to one of its substations, so it does not have to add transmission lines. And the land is cheap.
Complications for IREA: The incumbent signed bad contracts with Xcel that really limit IREA, and keep its costs high. Steve Roescher is a project manager and finance manager with Siemens with experience on hundred-million-dollar contracts. So he has the expertise to look at these contracts and figure out what can be done. At the least, though, one contract with Xcel expires in 2025, so the time to plan for a different future for IREA is now.
Bottom line: Do you want a director who signed a contract to buy into a coal plant with a 60-year lifespan and debt, when they had been told by experts that solar and wind prices were plummeting and would be lower within just 10 of those 60 years? Or do you want someone who will look for solutions and the latest information and technology to take advantage of falling costs?
Thanks to all of you for giving this your serious thought. Ballots have begun arriving; look in your mail.
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- ScienceChic
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21 Mar 2019 08:12 #9
by ScienceChic
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
Replied by ScienceChic on topic Community voice: The voice for renewable energy
I thank you all for your comments as well! Ballots are due by April 12 so don't delay filling them out and returning them.
www.energyfreedomcolorado.com/news
www.energyfreedomcolorado.com/news
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
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26 Mar 2019 10:39 #10
by snyden
Replied by snyden on topic Community voice: The voice for renewable energy
There is something fishy about claims that "solar and wind power are far less expensive" than energy from Comanche, when ALL cost factors are considered. Excluding any subsidies? And with the same or better reliability than Comanche energy? Solar & wind deliver the same capacity as Comanche at a lower cost? End the Comanche supply, but then I assume IREA would have to pay (for reliable coal, natural gas, hydro) whenever solar & wind can't meet demand.
I am all for clean energy where practical, economical and cost effective WITHOUT SUBSIDIES, but something tells me we're not getting the full story. Some good data and responses below, but capacity to meet demand has to come from somewhere - it is a cost. Can Mr. Roescher stand behind his words and guaranty an x% rate drop for IREA customers if IREA adopts his policies, and if not, resign? Will Steve Roescher stand behind is words and financials with something more than a promise?
I am all for clean energy where practical, economical and cost effective WITHOUT SUBSIDIES, but something tells me we're not getting the full story. Some good data and responses below, but capacity to meet demand has to come from somewhere - it is a cost. Can Mr. Roescher stand behind his words and guaranty an x% rate drop for IREA customers if IREA adopts his policies, and if not, resign? Will Steve Roescher stand behind is words and financials with something more than a promise?
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
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