USA - Rising gas prices boost interest in Xcel wind energy programme

News that wind power is now cheaper than conventional electricity has generated so much interest in Xcel Energy's Windsource program that there's a waiting list of 1,100 customers. In the past, participants have paid as much as $6 more a month to buy electricity produced by wind. But the cost of conventional power became higher after Xcel filed last month for an electric rate increase because of the rising cost of natural gas. That touched off a torrent of new applications for Windsource: 2,967 in October, more than 15 times the normal monthly volume. The majority of calls came after an Oct. 12 Denver Post story on the cost difference.

The program is now fully subscribed with 33,265 Colorado customers. Xcel spokesman Tom Henley said Xcel didn't expect that to happen for another 1 1/2 years. "It was certainly a challenge to get as many people into the program as we did," Henley said. Windsource is the nation's largest "green pricing" plan in which consumers voluntarily agree to pay special rates for wind-generated power. Minneapolis-based Xcel, Colorado's largest utility, uses gas as a fuel to produce nearly half of its power. Windsource customers aren't charged for fuel costs as conventional Xcel customers are. That means homeowners who buy all their power from Windsource will save an average of $4.11 a month. Merle McKittrick of Denver signed up for Windsource a few years ago even though it was more expensive. He said he believes is supporting alternative energy sources.

"You have to promote technology," McKittrick said. "We're one of those customers who want to see Xcel go that way (wind power). You vote with your pocketbook." Wind-energy advocate Rick Gilliam of Boulder-based Western Resource Advocates said he expects fossil-fuel costs to stay high enough that the wind price advantage will persist. "Natural-gas prices have moderated somewhat, but not as much as one might have thought," said Gilliam, senior energy policy adviser for the energy and environmental research group. Henley said Xcel hasn't determined when it will add additional wind power to accommodate the growing interest. He said the price of wind turbines has risen steeply because of high demand and rising prices for the steel and resin used to manufacture turbines. Last November, Colorado voters approved a measure requiring utilities with at least 40,000 customers to produce 3 percent of their electricity from renewable energy by 2007. The requirement rises to 6 percent in 2011 and 10 percent in 2015.

Solar power would have to generate at least 4 percent of the renewable energy. Wind-energy developers will install a record 2,500 megawatts of new wind power this year in the United States, bringing total wind capacity to more than 9,200 megawatts, enough to serve 2.4 million average homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association.