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Renewable Energy 101 Renewable energy resources: Energy resources which are naturally replenishing in a relatively short period of time, such as solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, biomass, and hydropower. About Renewable Energy In Colorado
Utility-scale renewable energy potential
SB07-91, Renewable Energy Development Infrastructure (REDI) Report, 2009 Governor's Energy Office View the full REDI Report for Colorado PDF. This report addresses the following questions (among other things):
What about us? Why is distributed generation a good thing for us here in the mountains? With distributed generation projects in Summit or Lake Counties, power is produced and used locally, which increases energy independence, local jobs, and reduces the necessity and cost of energy transmission. And the best part is that the energy production process is clean.
Solar Potential in Summit and Lake County
What's the difference between solar thermal and solar PV? Typically, solar photovoltaic panels, or PV panels, are used to displace electricity used for lighting and appliances. Solar thermal can be used to displace natural gas use in many forms. Solar thermal, while it has received less attention in the past several years, has great potential in Colorado. Colorado is ranked as the #1 state for soalr thermal potential in the U.S., due to the perfect combination of warm sunny days and cool nights. You can do both, of course. Solar PV and solar thermal panels can share space on roof-tops.
Concentrating Solar Potential by County Yes, the sun is very powerful here in Summit and Lake Counties. High elevation combined with cold temperatures, actually aid in effeciency of power production. The opposite is true of wind power production at high elevation. Summit County, Colorado
Lake County, Colorado
(Note: HC3 has an easy-on, easy-off listing of contractors. In order to be listed here, contractors must serve Summit and/or Lake County. We will remove anybody from the list if complaints are made about service. Want to be on the list? Email us.) Summit County: Active Energies, Inc. Alpine Solar Design, Alpine Earth Center Innovative Energy Serving Summit County: Astralux Solar, LLC Concept Solar Co. Eco Depot USA Eco-Tech SolSource Vibrant Solar Inc RE-Align Technology - Breckenridge, 970-333-8318, Bob Kingston Active Energyies, Inc. Rader Engineering, Inc. Solar Thermal Installers Mechtech - Breckenridge, 970-390-8254, Mark Stearns
Currently, wind turbines of any kind are not allowed by Summit County's zoning ordinances. Wind power generation is very site specific or micro-climate dependant. Turbine size, type, and height are determined by the characteristics of the site. There are many types of wind turbines but most turbines are rated by the energy they produce in a 28 mile per hour wind. There are horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) and vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs). MOST locations in Ssummit, Lake and Park Counties are clarified as class 1 or 2, which is poor or marginal. Many mountain locals think the wind is very powerful at their location, but in most cases, the consistancy is not enough to classify as fair wind potential. Exceptions may include: ridges and mountain tops. For more information about turbines, commercial and residential applications, check out Innovative Energy's wind website. Wind Potential in Colorado
Summit County Wind Potential
Lake County Wind Potential
Biomass Basics, Colorado Renewable Energy Society Report by Colorado State Senate Majority Ad Hoc Energy Task Force, Approved by the Colorado Renewable Energy Society Board of Directors - October 25, 2001: Recent studies indicate that Colorado has a fair biomass resource potential. An estimated 5.2 billion kWh of electricity could be generated using renewable biomass fuels in Colorado. This is enough electricity to fully supply the annual needs of 521,000 average homes, or 42 percent of the residential electricity use in Colorado. These biomass resource supply figures are based on estimates for five general categories of biomass: urban residues, mill residues, forest Wood is the most commonly used biomass fuel for heat and power. The most economic sources of wood fuels are usually urban residues and mill residues. Urban residues used for power generation consist mainly of chips and grindings of clean, non-hazardous wood from construction activities, woody yard and right-of-way trimmings, and discarded wood products such as waste pallets and crates. Local governments can encourage segregation of clean wood from other forms of municipal waste to help ensure its re-use for mulch, energy, and other markets. Using clean and segregated biomass materials for electricity generation recovers their energy value while avoiding landfill disposal. Mill residues, such as sawdust, bark, and wood scraps from paper, lumber, and furniture manufacturing operations are typically very clean and can be used as fuel by a wide range of biomass energy systems. The estimated supplies of urban Forest residues include underutilized logging residues, imperfect commercial trees, dead wood, and other non commercial trees that need to be thinned from crowded, unhealthy, fireprone forests. Because of their sparseness and remote location, these residues are usually more expensive to recover than urban and mill residues. The estimated supply of forest residues for Colorado is 720,000 dry tons per year. Local Projects: TBA
The greatest commercial potential for large-scale geothermal power was in northern Nevada. Studies have shown that Colorado may hold significant geothermal resources, although further exploration is necessary to fully quantify the actual geothermal potential. The zones identified in Colorado coincided with the best wind and solar GDAs identified in the SB07-91 Report (Governor's Energy Office, 2009 REDI report). Colorado Renewable Energy Society on geothermal. From the Renewable Energy Committee report prepared for the Chairman of the Colorado State Senate Majority Ad Hoc Energy Task Force, and approved by the CRES Board of Directors, October 25, 2001. |
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