Alternative-energy ballot drive slated in Colorado – Voters could force a shift in power sources

Colorado may become the first state to let voters decide if they want more wind, solar and other sources of renewable energy from their power companies.

Environment Colorado and the Sierra Club filed proposed language Monday for a ballot initiative that voters could decide in November, if backers collect the required 67,820 signatures by Aug. 2.

By Joey Bunch
Denver Post Environment Writer

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~1931657,00.html

The vote also rides on the current General Assembly, which has failed to pass renewable-energy bills in three consecutive legislative sessions.

Currently, environment-conscious Colorado gets less than 1 percent of its total energy supply from renewable energy.

If voters approved it, the proposed ballot initiative would force large electrical providers to get 10 percent of their power supply from renewable sources by 2012 and 20 percent by 2022.

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Those providers – defined as having more than 100,000 retail customers by 2022 – would be able to choose from sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric and others.

Utilities that have trouble meeting the standard could buy credits from other electricity providers exceeding the standard or use other measures to meet the requirements, according to the language proposed Monday.

Xcel Energy, the state’s largest electricity provider, has been a backer of legislative attempts to raise the renewable-energy standard for Colorado, characterizing environmentalists’ goals as reasonable and attainable.

"Xcel will build as much wind energy as our customers want to buy," said Wayne Brunetti, the company’s chairman and chief executive. Xcel has been offering wind energy to customers at an extra cost for five years.

Stan Lewandowski, general manager of Intermountain Rural Electric Association, an electricity cooperative, said he welcomes putting the debate before the public. He said the expansion of renewable energy should be voluntary, not mandatory.

Lewandowski said renewable energy comes with serious, seldom-mentioned drawbacks: higher initial cost for customers, lack of reliability and, in the case of wind turbines, a detriment to birds and an eyesore on the landscape.

"Renewable energy is a noble cause, but it’s bad public policy," said Lewandowski, whose cooperative serves 118,000 customers in Colorado. "I would love to have this referendum so we can get the full story out on the table and let the public decide."

The costs to produce wind energy and fossil fuel are relatively even, experts say, but building the wind farms, generators and transmission lines imposes an initial start-up cost that power companies pass on to customers.

Xcel’s Windsource programs in Colorado and New Mexico have more than 26,000 customers who volunteer to pay an extra $2.50 for each 100 kilowatt hours from wind energy, on top of their regular electricity rates.

Environmental coalitions have won five of seven ballot initiatives in Colorado since 1994. Colorado is one of 24 states that allow citizen-created ballot measures.

The latest ballot initiative is an end-run around lawmakers, rural electric associations and industries that have quietly torpedoed bills introduced by House Speaker Lola Spradley, R-Beulah.

She introduced her renewable-energy bill again last week.

"I’m hoping that my bill passes and that won’t be necessary," Spradley said of the ballot initiative. "The citizens support renewable energy. They support the expansion of renewable energy, and I’m working to make that happen. I hope other legislators will see it that way and do the will of the people."

If Spradley’s bill passes, the ballot initiative will fall to the wayside, according to backers.

"We would love to be able to do this through the legislative process," said Matt Baker, the executive director of Environment Colorado. "That is our hope, but this is our backup if that doesn’t happen."

Baker said a broad network of volunteers would have no problem collecting enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot.

He further predicted a big victory for renewable energy in November, based on polling that shows strong public support for non-polluting sources of electricity.

A survey last year by the University of Colorado at Denver found that 82 percent of Coloradans wanted utilities to get future power supplies from renewable sources.

Only 12 percent wanted utilities to continue to develop and use fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas.

"Renewable energy is at the top of our members’ priorities," said Susan LeFever, director of the 20,000-member Rocky Mountain chapter of the Sierra Club. "We feel it’s a priority for the public and very popular with the public. We’re eager to move the issue forward."