GetWiki

{{Short description|Electricity from wind in one U.S. state}}{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}(File:Colorado wind resource map 50m 800.jpg|thumb|Colorado wind resources)The US state of Colorado has vast wind energy resources and the installed electricity capacity and generation from wind power in Colorado has been growing significantly in recent years. The growth has been sustained due to a combination of falling costs (69% reduction from 2009 to 2018), continuing federal incentives (similar to those supporting most other resource development), and the state's aggressive renewable portfolio standard that requires 30% of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020.WEB,weblink Colorado Boosts its RPS to 30% by 2020, Eber, Kevin and Ernie Tucker, Renewable Energy World, 2010-03-26, 2010-12-28, WEB,weblink University of Texas Study Highlights Wind's Low Cost, 2018-11-09, American Wind Energy Association, Madeline Gould, Wind power accounted for 14.2% of total electricity generated in Colorado during 2015.WEB,weblink U.S. number one in the world in wind energy production| ImageSize = width:350 height:auto barincrement:20PlotArea = left:36 bottom:20 top:10 right:10AlignBars = justifyPeriod = from:0 till:5100TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1000 start:0PlotData= |Megawatts of generating capacityWEB

publisher = American Wind Energy Association, Its share increased to more than 17% for years 2016 thru 2018.WEB, Colorado Wind Energy,weblink U.S. Wind Energy State Facts, American Wind Energy Association, 2019-03-22, As of the end of 2018, more than three times as much power is produced by wind within the state as is produced from all other renewable sources combined.The cities of Brighton, and Windsor, Colorado are home to three Vestas manufacturing facilities. Overall, it is estimated that each wind turbine deployed supports about 30 jobs over the course of its lifetime through its manufacturing, supply chain, construction, and operation.WEB,weblink Vestas sets wind turbine sales record, plans to keep Colorado plants busy, Denver Business Journal, Cathy Proctor, January 2, 2018, History Colorado voters approved Amendment 37 which required the state's largest utilities to obtain 3 percent of their electricity from renewable energy resources by 2007, and 10 percent by 2015.WEB,weblink Colorado Voters Pass Renewable Energy Standard, RenewableEnergyWorld.com, November 3, 2004, 2013-05-01, More recently, in 2010, the state approved a renewable portfolio standard that requires 30% of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020. Growth in generating capacity and production Colorado has the potential to install 387,220 MW of wind power generating capacity according to a 2010 U.S. DOE study.WEB,weblink State wind energy potential (2010), National Renewable Energy Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, February 4, 2010, 2010-03-27, The graphs below show the growth in the installed capacity (measured in megawatts (MW) along with the growth in the actual electrical energy produced (measured in gigawatt-hours (GW·h) within the state for more than the past decade.{| style="border:solid 1px #aaa;" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0"|+Colorado Wind Generating Capacity by Year

{| style="border:solid 1px #aaa;" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0"|+Colorado Wind Electricity Production by Year| ImageSize = width:350 height:auto barincrement:20PlotArea = left:36 bottom:20 top:10 right:10AlignBars = justifyPeriod = from:0 till:17000TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:3000 start:0PlotData= |Gigawatt-hours of electricityWEB {{clear}}{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"! colspan="14" style="background:#cfb;"| Colorado Wind Generation (GWh, Million kWh)! style="background:#cfb;"| Year! style="background:#cfb;"| Total! style="background:#cfb;"| Jan! style="background:#cfb;"| Feb! style="background:#cfb;"| Mar! style="background:#cfb;"| Apr! style="background:#cfb;"| May! style="background:#cfb;"| Jun! style="background:#cfb;"| Jul! style="background:#cfb;"| Aug! style="background:#cfb;"| Sep! style="background:#cfb;"| Oct! style="background:#cfb;"| Nov! style="background:#cfb;"| Decalign=right| 16align=right| 15align=right| 16align=right| 60align=right| 57align=right| 68align=right| 220align=right| 329align=right| 304align=right| 416align=right| 556align=right| 672align=right| 706align=right| 660align=right| 871align=right| 874align=right| 963 align=right| 1,046align=right | 889 align=right| 1,549align=right| 1,661align=right| 1,564align=right| Source:{{Clear}}

Seasonal pattern of wind generation

Electricity production from wind power in Colorado tends to peak during the winter months, as shown in the graph below. This pattern complements the electricity production from solar power in Colorado which peaks during the summer months.{| style="border:solid 1px #aaa;" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0"|+Colorado Wind Generation in 2016|ImageSize = width:360 height:240PlotArea = width:300 height:170 left:40 bottom:40AlignBars = lateDateFormat = x.yPeriod = from:0 till:1080TimeAxis = orientation:verticalScaleMajor = unit:month increment:200 start:0TextData = PlotData= Sources:EIA Electric Power Monthly, EIA Electricity Data BrowserWEB,weblink Electricity Data Browser - Net generation for wind, EIA, Energy Information Administration, United States Department of Energy, 2014-09-01, WEB,weblink Electric Power Monthly Table 1.17.B., EIA, Energy Information Administration, United States Department of Energy, July 27, 2012, 2012-08-15,

Wind farms

The Ponnequin Wind Farm on the Colorado-Wyoming border in Weld County was the state's earliest large-scale wind farm built to a capacity of 25.3 MW during the 1990s and decommissioned starting 2015.WEB,weblink Ponnequin Wind Farm, Xcel Energy, May 8, 2019, WEB,weblink Where Do Wind Turbines Go To Die?, Inside Energy, September 9, 2016, Rebecca Jacobson, May 8, 2019, It was surpassed in 2001 by the first phase of the Peetz Table Wind Complex at a capacity of just under 30 MW. The site west of the town of Peetz in northeastern Colorado grew to 430 MW in 2007 and consists of three farms: Ridge Crest (the original Peetz Table Wind),WEB, Peetz Table Wind,weblink 2019-03-02, EDF Renewables, Logan,WEB, Logan Wind Energy Center,weblink 2019-03-02, NextEra Energy Resources, and Peetz Table.WEB, Peetz Table Wind Energy Center,weblink 2019-03-02, NextEra Energy Resources, NEWS, Work begins on wind farm project,weblink 2019-03-01, Denver Business Journal, 2007-05-16, In 2009, the majority owner NextEra Energy Resources also completed the 174 MW Northern Colorado Wind Energy Center to the east of Peetz.WEB, Northern Colorado Wind Energy Center,weblink 2019-03-02, NextEra Energy Resources, The Spring Canyon Wind Energy Center including the Spring Canyon Expansion - also east of Peetz - have a combined capacity rating of over 120 MW spread over 75 wind turbines.WEB, Spring Canyon II Begins Operations,weblink 2019-03-02, Platte River Power Authority, 2014-11-06, These 2 neighboring sites were built by Chicago-based clean energy company Invenergy LLC in 2006 and 2014 respectively. Invenergy continues operation of these sites which provide power to the Platte River Power Authority including the cities of Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont in Colorado.WEB,weblink Invenergy Wraps Up Spring Canyon Expansion Wind Energy Center, 2015-07-08, The Cedar Creek Wind Farm north of Grover, Colorado became the largest wind farm at 550 MW in 2011. Phase 1 was built in 2007 and has 300 MW of generation capacity from 274 wind turbines.Full operation of Cedar Creek wind farm announced Cedar Creek II was built in 2011 and has 250 MW of generation capacity from 60 Nordex and 63 GE wind turbines.BP, Sempra Celebrate Completion Of Cedar Creek Wind FarmIn 2014, the Limon Wind Energy Center became the state's largest wind facility at just over 600 MW capacity.WEB, Limon I, II, & III Wind Energy Centers,weblink 2019-03-02, NextEra Energy Resources, In 2018, it was nearly matched in capacity by the nearby Rush Creek Wind Project.WEB, Rush Creek Wind Project,weblink 2019-03-02, xcelenergy.com,

See also

• Solar power in Colorado
• Environmental impact of wind power
• Wind power in the United States
• List of wind farms in the United States
• List of U.S. states by electricity production from renewable sources

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|Wind power in Colorado}}

• National Wind Technology Center

{{Wind power in the United States}}