Solar gardens have a bright future
The new Environmental Protection Agency targets for renewable energy are going to be difficult to meet for some communities.
But Colorado Springs is on its way to meeting those targets.
They partnered with SunShare to allow customers to sign up to be part of the companies’ solar garden on the Springs south side.
Generating extra electricity is important because in the pursuit of the American dream we use a lot of electricity.
From heating and cooling our homes, to appliances.
Bob Armstrong is joining many others who are finding a new way to power their homes.
“It’s a clean way to get energy,” he said.
The old way involves coal at the Martin Drake Power Plant. But there are questions about its future.
Jerry Forte is the CEO of Colorado Springs Utilities. He said, “There’s (a lot) of different portfolios that are being looked at in respect to Drake.”
With the future of the Drake Power Plant uncertain and the likelihood of new regulations from the EPA absolutely certain, the future of energy in Colorado Springs and around the nation could lie in solar energy.
SunShare showed off its two megawatt garden to customers Tuesday. The gardens represent a new way to tap into the power of the sun.
“People can now participate in these projects without having the panels on their roofs,” said David Amster-Olszewski, the CEO of SunShare.
A project that Colorado Springs Utilities may have to turn to in order to meet the new EPA guidelines, whatever they turn out to be.
“We hope that by this fall to have our utilities board weigh in and select a portfolio that we’ll begin to plan and design against for the next 20 years,” said Forte.
Of course, customers have to do their part through conservation.
“We actually installed some sun lights in our room,” said Armstrong.
But the solar gardens are popular.
The solar gardens in Colorado Springs are so popular, there is a waiting list to sign up for them.
You can contact Colorado Springs Utilities to find out how to get on that list.
