Colorado Could Save $2.5B Through 2040 by Replacing Coal with Clean Energy

Energy production has become one of the foremost and most profitable businesses in the world. Each and every human being on this planet is heavily affected by the various sources of energy harvested and mass produced for consumption like electricity. Even today, thermal energy has remained the largest and easiest source of electricity and it is coal-based techniques are used all over the world in order to sustain the electricity-related requirements of the world. Despite its ease of access and methods of conversion, coal plants have a lot of negative effects on the environments and the economy of the country. Coal plants are notorious for their carbon emissions which have a deprecative effect on the efficiency and add to the operating cost of the plant.

Like many other states, Colorado have felt the need to look for alternative and cleaner sources of electricity. The state’s largest power provider, Xcel Energy, have publicly notified that they are aiming towards completely decarbonization by switching to a mix of cleaner and more sustainable sources of energy. They estimate that this change in pace could save up to $2.5B of the consumers through 2040. Such a beneficial conversion can be possible owing to the fairly strong and reliable solar and wind potential. It was stated that customer bills could drop by 5% if the power providers achieve their goal of decarbonization. Moreover, coal plant owners would be presented the opportunity to recover some of the costs that had sunk, roughly $1.5B in undepreciated asset value if they agree to a voluntary phased retirement of their facilities. The key to make this transition a profitable one for both the providers and the consumers is to employ a smart legal and technical framework and authenticate the voluntary retirement of the facilities or else it might result in an endless loop of legal implications that would affect the lives of the local communities.

Turns out the quest to transfer to a cleaner and more sustainable source of energy is not confined to the region of Colorado but has spewed over to other state as well. The Northern Indiana Public Service Co. had recently presented its 2018 Integrated Resource Plan which postulated that by moving from 65% to 15% coal by 2023 and then further eliminating the resource completely by 2028, consumers could save up to $4 billion over 30 years. Further, PacifiCorp revealed that 13 out of their 22 coal units are more expensive than other fuels, including cleaner energy sources.

Such a positive outlook on the energy and fallout crisis renews the optimism in the hearts of the consumers as scientists plunge headstrong into research and tests in order to identify the proper way to make the transition from the familiarity of the coal plants to better and more sustainable sources of energy that would be friendly to the environment and to the economy of the countries, and let us not forget our individual pockets.