Farmers and ranchers already use solar panels to power electric fences, water wells and tank heaters. But two energy workshops held recently in Northeastern Colorado were designed to provide rural residents with information about how to make solar a bigger part of their energy portfolio.
While wind energy makes up a much larger portion of the state and federal renewable fuels standard so far, going solar is an increasingly popular option in sun-drenched states like Colorado.
“Why all the buzz? It’s creating a lot of jobs here in Colorado,” said Rebecca Cantwell, senior program director for the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association based at Boulder. She spoke at back-to-back meetings in Holyoke and Fort Morgan coordinated by the Colorado State University Extension Service. “The fuel is free. And an aspect that is increasingly important in Colorado is that it doesn’t use any water.”
The commercial market for solar energy grew 127 percent in 2011, she said. When it comes to the installation of photovoltaic solar panels, Colorado ranks fifth nationally while New Mexico is fourth.
In addition, Colorado has some of the best solar thermal potential in the country. One system in the San Luis Valley uses mirrors to heat water that creates steam to run a turbine, she said.
Innovation is lowering costs and making installation quicker and easier, she added.
“I think in five years you’ll be able to go to Home Depot and buy a solar system you can plug in at your house. Well, maybe not completely, but close to it.”
Consider cooperative approach
Bob Mailander, one-time eastern Colorado regional representative with the governor’s energy office and a former cooperative development expert with Rocky Mountain Farmers Union who now raises organic alfalfa near Holyoke, attended the meeting and said it’s hard to get qualified installation contractors to remote rural locations. He and several neighboring farmers had looked into bringing an installer to the area to put up several systems, but the effort eventually fell through.
“If it wasn’t so difficult, we might have done that,” he said.
Tim Edgar, a CSU community energy coordinator based in Sterling, agreed renewable energy was an opportunity for further job training and economic development in rural Colorado. He pointed out that the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment received a federal grant last year to train more green energy entrepreneurs.
Source:http://www.agjournalonline.com/news/x1120196854/Experts-talk-options-for-going-solar
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