Wind Energy Gets Cheap!

Science & Technology (alternative energy)

Due to the rising price of natural gas as a result of the ever increasing demand and hurricane induced supply shortages, there's an interesting story developing in Colorado. This winter, Xcel Energy's customers in Colorado who purchase Wind Source electricity will be paying "up to $10 less than their neighbors who use conventionally generated electricity" per month! This Denver Post article goes on to suggest that this could open a huge flow of customers wanting to transfer into the green power program for the economic savings alone. It's still up in the air whether the price differential will continue or if it's just a temporary phenomenon. However, the price gap between natural gas and wind generated electricity was narrowing before this year's hurricanes, and the price shocks that natural gas has experienced of late may be enough of an incentive to keep green power's popularity high even when/if prices of electricity generated from natural gas falls.