Boulder Power's budding green debt
Published in the Boulder Daily Camera, 2/26/12
Maybe I’m mistaken, but I think that the goal of Boulder’s energy municipalization program is mostly to produce our electricity in a more environmentally friendly way. Things got muddled around the election last November, but I assume that improving the environment is what our City leaders hope to achieve since 1) the goal of lowering electricity costs by putting the government in charge seems rather optimistic and 2) Sticking it to The Man by dumping Xcel, while certainly fun, is not generally considered to be a sound basis for setting public policy.
If the primary goal of Boulder Power is environmental, then, to succeed, they have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using more alternative energy to provide Boulder’s electricity than we would have with Xcel. Simple concept.
That being the case, Boulder needs to keep an eye on the clock, because time matters. While the City is spending time determining whether to proceed with Boulder Power and then getting Boulder Power up and running, we’re generating more greenhouse gases than we would have if Boulder had just struck a deal with Xcel. The longer it takes, the more ground we lose, and the harder it will be for Boulder Power to ever turn out to be more environmentally friendly than a deal with Xcel would have been.
Why? Xcel understands Boulder’s environmental passion and has nurtured it over the years by making Boulder the center of innovative energy programs, like Boulder’s SmartGridCity technology pilot. Last year, to dissuade Boulder from pursuing municipalization, Xcel submitted a proposal to add wind generating capacity in 2013 equal to 93% of the electricity used by Boulder in return for a franchise agreement. Xcel made crystal clear that this additional wind capacity would not be used to offset their statewide requirements for alternative energy use but, rather, would add wind capacity that would otherwise not be built. And, they told us the location of the wind farm and the people that would do it. Not just promises but real stuff, right away.
To be sure, there were some substantive issues that required negotiation, but it never got that far. To build the wind farm, Xcel asked the City to give voters the option to extend the Xcel franchise, which was deemed by Boulder’s leaders to be a deal killer. Boulder walked away from the negotiating table, opting only to pursue Boulder Power.
Today, Boulder can claim that about 4% of their electrical needs are met from an alternative source they own – hydroelectric power. And, while there were lots of words from municipalization advocates about alternative energy, none of the business plans or other documents for Boulder Power have specific plans to build new renewable capacity. No plans, just thoughts and promises. Sure, if Boulder Power happens, people will get serious about increasing alternative energy generation, but, until then, Boulder can only take credit for producing 4% of our electricity through carbon-free means.
Of course, Xcel’s offer would not have resulted in 93% less carbon emissions, but even if it resulted in just a third of that – 31% less – Colorado is going to spew about 361,625 moretons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year as we wait for Boulder Power to come on line with alternative energy sources. This estimate is based on the City’s numbers and, while some may take issue with these specific numbers, the premise that Boulder Power is currently accruing a Green Debt is unassailable.
So, as the clock ticks, Boulder is accruing a Green Debt of notable proportion, and the longer it takes Boulder Power start making electricity using alternative sources, the harder it’s going to be for Boulder Power to ever pay off the Green Debt.
How’s it going? Boulder recently announced that they found the right lawyers to go forward. By my calculation, three months to find lawyers cost about 90,406 tons of emitted carbon dioxide. The time Boulder spends arguing about Xcel paying incentives is costing 990 tons per day. From a larger perspective, if the City takes five years to municipalize and two more years to bring alternatives on line, then Boulder Power has to produce about 70% of their electricity through renewables – an extraordinarily ambitious goal – to pay back the Green Debt by 2025. If Boulder Power can’t get above a 50% level of renewable production within 10 years, it’s unlikely the Green Debt will ever be paid off and Boulder Power will have been a foreseeable environmental folly to the detriment of a cause that we so badly want to support.
Time’s a wastin’.
Maybe I’m mistaken, but I think that the goal of Boulder’s energy municipalization program is mostly to produce our electricity in a more environmentally friendly way. Things got muddled around the election last November, but I assume that improving the environment is what our City leaders hope to achieve since 1) the goal of lowering electricity costs by putting the government in charge seems rather optimistic and 2) Sticking it to The Man by dumping Xcel, while certainly fun, is not generally considered to be a sound basis for setting public policy.
If the primary goal of Boulder Power is environmental, then, to succeed, they have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using more alternative energy to provide Boulder’s electricity than we would have with Xcel. Simple concept.
That being the case, Boulder needs to keep an eye on the clock, because time matters. While the City is spending time determining whether to proceed with Boulder Power and then getting Boulder Power up and running, we’re generating more greenhouse gases than we would have if Boulder had just struck a deal with Xcel. The longer it takes, the more ground we lose, and the harder it will be for Boulder Power to ever turn out to be more environmentally friendly than a deal with Xcel would have been.
Why? Xcel understands Boulder’s environmental passion and has nurtured it over the years by making Boulder the center of innovative energy programs, like Boulder’s SmartGridCity technology pilot. Last year, to dissuade Boulder from pursuing municipalization, Xcel submitted a proposal to add wind generating capacity in 2013 equal to 93% of the electricity used by Boulder in return for a franchise agreement. Xcel made crystal clear that this additional wind capacity would not be used to offset their statewide requirements for alternative energy use but, rather, would add wind capacity that would otherwise not be built. And, they told us the location of the wind farm and the people that would do it. Not just promises but real stuff, right away.
To be sure, there were some substantive issues that required negotiation, but it never got that far. To build the wind farm, Xcel asked the City to give voters the option to extend the Xcel franchise, which was deemed by Boulder’s leaders to be a deal killer. Boulder walked away from the negotiating table, opting only to pursue Boulder Power.
Today, Boulder can claim that about 4% of their electrical needs are met from an alternative source they own – hydroelectric power. And, while there were lots of words from municipalization advocates about alternative energy, none of the business plans or other documents for Boulder Power have specific plans to build new renewable capacity. No plans, just thoughts and promises. Sure, if Boulder Power happens, people will get serious about increasing alternative energy generation, but, until then, Boulder can only take credit for producing 4% of our electricity through carbon-free means.
Of course, Xcel’s offer would not have resulted in 93% less carbon emissions, but even if it resulted in just a third of that – 31% less – Colorado is going to spew about 361,625 moretons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year as we wait for Boulder Power to come on line with alternative energy sources. This estimate is based on the City’s numbers and, while some may take issue with these specific numbers, the premise that Boulder Power is currently accruing a Green Debt is unassailable.
So, as the clock ticks, Boulder is accruing a Green Debt of notable proportion, and the longer it takes Boulder Power start making electricity using alternative sources, the harder it’s going to be for Boulder Power to ever pay off the Green Debt.
How’s it going? Boulder recently announced that they found the right lawyers to go forward. By my calculation, three months to find lawyers cost about 90,406 tons of emitted carbon dioxide. The time Boulder spends arguing about Xcel paying incentives is costing 990 tons per day. From a larger perspective, if the City takes five years to municipalize and two more years to bring alternatives on line, then Boulder Power has to produce about 70% of their electricity through renewables – an extraordinarily ambitious goal – to pay back the Green Debt by 2025. If Boulder Power can’t get above a 50% level of renewable production within 10 years, it’s unlikely the Green Debt will ever be paid off and Boulder Power will have been a foreseeable environmental folly to the detriment of a cause that we so badly want to support.
Time’s a wastin’.
