National Climate Policy Will Bring Greener Pastures to Colorado

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Dan Grossman, Environmental Defense Fund, (303) 887-8206 or dgrossman@edf.org
Martha Roberts, Environmental Defense Fund, (303) 447-7214 or mroberts@edf.org

(Denver, Colorado – June 23, 2009) Colorado’s rural communities are poised for economic opportunity when Congress passes the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), finds a new report by Environmental Defense Fund.

The report, “Greener Pastures in Colorado,” details the range of economic opportunities available to agricultural producers with a new national limit, or cap, on global warming pollution, focusing in particular on wind energy projects and agricultural offsets that generate new revenue for farmers and rural communities. A copy of the report is available at http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=43635.

“Colorado’s farmers and ranchers are ready to pioneer the solutions to climate change that will bring economic growth and opportunities to their communities,” said Dan Grossman, Environmental Defense Fund’s Rocky Mountain Office Regional Director. “With a national cap on carbon pollution, they can profit from this potential.”

ACES could reach the House floor as early as this week. The bill contains a mandatory and declining cap on greenhouse gas emissions and incentives for developing clean renewable energy.

Colorado already hosts 1,200 megawatts of wind power on our Eastern Plains, bringing jobs, tax revenue and royalties to landowners in these rural communities.

The proposed ACES legislation would also create a voluntary program where Colorado agriculture can generate “offsets” – verified and durable emission reductions in greenhouse gases – that can be sold to emitters subject to mandatory pollution reductions requirements, like power plants and industrial facilities. A well-designed offsets program will reduce greenhouse gases, cut compliance costs for the industrial sectors subject to the emissions cap, and spur a steady flow of capital to agriculture.

“Colorado’s early actions to support renewable energy and stop global warming are already paying dividends, bringing economic development to rural Colorado and positioning our state as leader in the New Energy Economy,” says Martha Roberts, Economic Policy Analyst in Environmental Defense Fund’s Rocky Mountain Office. “This report demonstrates how a national policy to reduce global warming pollution can expand these economic benefits for rural communities.”

Colorado’s largest power provider, Xcel Energy, is soliciting requests for 1,800 megawatts of new power. It recently received bids for 14,000 megawatts of renewable energy including 10,000 megawatts of wind, far exceeding the resource request. The overwhelming response to Xcel’s resource solicitation reflects the extensive potential for growth in Colorado’s clean energy economy.

This report echoes the findings of the recently released Clean Energy Pioneers newsletter and video featuring Peetz, a small community in Logan County that has benefited from wind development. To learn about Colorado’s farmers harnessing the wind and see a new video about the winds of opportunity in Peetz, visit www.cleanenergypioneers.org.