Roping the Wind, Hitching up the Sun

by Michele Barlow

WOC Participates in National Solar Energy Tour

Renewable Energy Resources For more information about renewable energy, check out the following websites: Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy Grants and Loans for Rural Development Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Energy-Efficient Products National Renewable Energy Laboratory Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies Interstate Renewable Energy Council WY Renewable Energy Resources WY Renewable Energy Businesses WY Energy Conservation Network American Solar Energy Society Northern CO Renewable Energy Society Solar Energy International National Wind Coordinating Committee American Wind Energy Association Utility Wind Interest Group Union of Concerned Scientists Co-op America's Green Business Directory

With a mere 4.6% of the world's population, the U.S. consumes about 25% of the world's oil and natural gas. Relying on ramped-up oil and gas drilling in unspoiled areas of Alaska, Wyoming and elsewhere in the West cannot satisfy our nation's insatiable appetite for energy. The key to meeting our future energy needs is using energy more efficiently and developing renewable energy resources. Increasing renewable energy use to 20 percent by 2020 can save as much as 3.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas - enough to meet the current needs of 75% of U.S. households.

In August, the Converse Area New Development Organization (CANDO) in Douglas hosted Wyoming's first statewide renewable energy conference, titled Roping the Wind and Hitching Up the Sun.

More than 120 landowners, entrepreneurs, developers, conservationists and state and federal representatives attended the two-day event. Speakers discussed the history of renewable energy in Wyoming and worldwide, advancements in power storage and motor technologies, legislative policies like net metering and tax breaks, rural community and economic development and project design and financing.

Among other important topics, the conference focused on wind project development in Wyoming's rural areas and on working ranches. Across the central Great Plains and western Rocky Mountains, rural communities have embraced wind power as a source of revenue for ranchers, tax revenues for local governments and construction and maintenance jobs for residents.

As of September, three Wyoming wind projects near Arlington and Medicine Bow generate 140 megawatts of electrical generation capacity. A new project, which will generate an additional 144 megawatts - enough electricity to power more than 43,000 homes - is currently under construction northeast of Evanston. And the Cheyenne City Council recently signed a lease agreement to allow installation of meteorological towers to ascertain the feasibility of erecting a wind farm.

Solar electric systems are also attractive because photovoltaic panels are exceptionally durable, provide excellent power quality and require minimal maintenance. And their prices are dropping rapidly. During the past five years, solar electric systems in the U.S. enjoyed an average annual sales growth of 35%, twice the growth rate of the personal computer market. Today, global demand for photovoltaic panels outpaces supply.

The amount of electricity currently produced from renewable energy sources is miniscule, but growing. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, generation from non-hydropower renewable energy sources (geothermal, solar thermal, photovoltaics, wind, biomass and municipal solid waste) may increase from about two percent of total power generation in 2001 to almost six percent of generation in 2025.

One promising development is a marketbased mechanism that requires utilities to gradually increase the portion of electricity they produce from renewable sources, called a Renewable Electricity Standard or Renewable Portfolio Standard. To date, 13 states have enacted these standards and three additional states have established non-binding renewable energy goals.

One evening at the renewable energy conference, Douglas-area landowners and representatives of a wind power company engaged in a lively conversation about developing a commercial-scale wind farm in Converse County. The next day, I visited with a rancher about the benefits of my own small-scale photovoltaic system - energy independence, predictable electricity costs and zero emissions.

We can now envision a future where rural landowners, renewable-energy companies, enlightened public officials and conservation- minded utilities can work together to help meet the nation's energy needs.

On October 3, WOC served as the Lander site for the American Solar Energy Society's National Solar Tour, inviting the public to view our solar energy system in detail. The goals of the ASES tour, conducted during "Energy Awareness Month," included helping residents of communities around the country understand their options as informed energy consumers, stimulating interest in energy alternatives by providing a working example of a solar project and providing informative materials.

With the assistance of Scott Kane of Creative Energies, who designed and installed WOC's solar energy system, we eagerly showed off our simple grid-connected system and handed out information about grants available from the Wyoming Business Council for installing alternative energy systems.

As the ASES National Solar Tour brochure says, "The power and the choice is yours to help move to a secure, independent and sustainable energy future!"