The Issue
The San Luis Valley needs reliable energy. We also need to make sure that the region’s transmission system can support new energy development in Southern Colorado.
To do this, Xcel and Tri-State want to build a massive, $90 million transmission line with 150-foot-tall steel towers, each with six cross-arms, for over 100 miles from Alamosa to Walsenburg. Their gold-plated proposal is overbuilt, motivated by corporate greed and will destroy a treasured area in Colorado.
Unfortunately for the utilities, the facts don’t support their ill-sighted proposal. The existing transmission system has plenty of capacity to handle more renewable energy than is planned for the region in the foreseeable future. Improving energy reliability does not require a project as massive as the utilities’ proposal.
We, along with a growing number of concerned citizens and energy experts, know there are smarter, cheaper and better solutions. Solutions that improve energy reliability and accommodate new energy development while having less financial impact on utility customers and respecting the pristine open spaces that make this part of Colorado so special.