Colorado Governor Ritter 'Flips Switch' On Colorado's Newest And Largest Wind Farm

Oct. 2, 2007 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter today "flipped the switch" on the state's newest and largest wind farm, the 274,-turbine, 300-megawatt Cedar Creek Wind Energy Project located near Grover in northern Weld County.

"Projects like this bring three significant wins to the state of Colorado," Gov. Ritter said during an appropriately windy dedication ceremony. "It's good for our economy. It's good for our environment, and it's good for our energy independence."

The Cedar Creek wind farm, which will be capable of providing power to 90,000 homes when fully operational at the end of the year, is a joint venture by BP Alternative Energy and international investment firm Babcock & Brown.

Gov. Ritter said Colorado's new renewable portfolio standard, which he signed into law earlier this year, requires large utilities like Xcel Energy to produce 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2020.

"We're going to hit that target by the end of this year," Gov. Ritter said, "which is almost eight years early." By the end of this year, Xcel will have 1,100 megawatts of wind-generated electricity online.

"Colorado is quickly becoming a national leader in renewable energy," Gov. Ritter said. "This wind farm, the largest in the state and one of the largest in the country, will be a big part of that. We're moving toward an energy future that will look much different than it does today. We will produce energy differently and we will consume energy differently.

"To any farmer or rancher who has ever been on a tractor and cursed the wind, today we honor it," Gov. Ritter said as he dedicated the Cedar Creek wind farm with dozens of local officials and residents and leaders from BP Alternative Energy, Babcock & Brown, and Xcel Energy.

Cedar Creek is the third wind farm Gov. Ritter has helped open since taking office in January.

Source: Colorado Governor

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