Resource scarcity playing bigger role in local energy decisions PDF Print E-mail
Written by REBECCA SMITH, Wall Street Journal   
Thursday, 26 March 2009

Utilities and power developers in the arid West are grappling over whether to build more traditional power plants that require steady streams of water to operate.

Water scarcity issues have become a major selling point for environmentalists pressuring developers into considering more renewable energy projects because they consume very little water by comparison.

Some power developers are beginning to follow their advice.

"The more we wean energy companies off consumptive use of water, the better for everyone," said Craig Cox, executive director of the Interwest Energy Alliance, a Colorado trade group that represents power-project developers.

Last month, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association agreed to conduct a major study to determine whether it could meet customers' energy needs through energy conservation instead of a new coal-fired power plant it had proposed for southeast Colorado.

The company isn't sure whether it will build the plant anymore, but recently announced it was moving forward with plans to build a 500,000-panel solar farm in northeast New Mexico in a partnership with First Solar Inc.

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Last Updated ( Saturday, 28 March 2009 )
 

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