While wind power itself is an ancient technology -- the first windmills were developed to automate the tasks of grain-grinding and water-pumping in Persia about almost 1500 years ago -- it has been improved upon by leaps and bounds over the past few decades. Now wind can be harnessed as an abundant and non-polluting source of energy to help meet electricity needs throughout Colorado.

Colorado has a high potential for wind power development: currently our state ranks 11th in the nation for potential wind power. Wind development is also an economic boon for rural agricultural communities, as much of the wind resources are located on the eastern plains. Farmers and ranchers can supplement their income by building windmills on portions of their land, while still leaving much of the land available for traditional farming and ranching activities.

Colorado customers of Xcel Energy, the state's largest power utility, have the option to buy wind power through the Windsource®  program, which helps spur additional investment in clean energy technologies. Windsource, the largest wind power program in the country, allows Xcel's customers to pay a higher monthly premium to have all or part of their energy use offset by wind power. Currently this program is small; about 5% of the company’s total energy production comes from wind and about 40,000 customers use Windsource. But the success of the program has encouraged Xcel and other energy providers to look into building more wind farms and shows that consumers are ready and willing to pay for green technologies. Supporting renewable energy programs like Windsource is a great way to help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, make renewables more cost competitive, and preserve our natural resources.
 
One of the largest hurdles that wind power currently faces in Colorado is access to new transmission lines. The conservation community recently worked with power utilities in the state to secure passage of a bill, Senate Bill 100, that allows utility companies to build transmission lines to encourage renewable energy development and to do cost recovery during construction of new or expanded lines, making the development of wind farms easier.