By DKO Pike
While 2024 set new records for temperature and weather related disasters, we are also seeing rapid expansion of alternatives from our former extensive dependence on coal to generate electricity. Local and regional energy providers have gotten creative in the programs they offer so consumers and generators can get involved at many price points.
Offshore wind seems to be struggling to get a solid start, but the cost of onshore wind and solar (using photovoltaics to convert sunlight into electricity) is now less than burning fossil fuels.
A recent article published by Inside Climate News, “New Wind and Solar Are Cheaper Than the Costs to Operate All But One Coal-Fired Power Plant in the United States,” provides some analysis on coal versus wind and solar. Dan Gearino writes,
“A coal-fired plant near Gillette, Wyoming stands alone in the nation on one measure of economic viability — a positive distinction for that plant, but a damning one for coal-fired electricity in general.
Dry Fork Station, with generating capacity of 405 megawatts, is the only coal plant in the country that costs less to operate than it would take to replace the plant’s output by building new wind or solar plants in the same communities or regions[.]”
Locally, Dunn Energy Cooperative (DEC) and its supplier Dairyland Power Cooperative have endorsed promoting a substantial increase in alternative energy for our homes and businesses. According to DEC’s Director of Member & Employee Engagement Jolene Fisher, 25 years ago about two percent of electricity was generated by alternatives to coal. It is now greater than 25 percent and will jump once again when a new array is completed by Dairyland.
Dairyland’s “Evergreen” Renewable Energy Program makes it easy for members to voluntarily support renewable power sources. The program’s website states that Evergreen is “a green power program that gives electric cooperative members the opportunity to voluntarily support the increased use of renewable energy sources without the financial burden of installing their own larger system.”
Evergreen participants can currently support renewable energy by purchasing increments of 100 kilowatt-hour (kWh) blocks, enrolling in a storage strategy for their electric water heater, charging their electric vehicle during off-peak hours, and choosing to have 100 percent of their electricity use generated by renewable energy.
If you can’t afford your own solar array, the Evergreen Program is a far less expensive way to invest in this energy transformation.
If you happen to be served by Xcel or another rural cooperative, check with them. Every utility has programs that support the changes required to reduce carbon emissions. Each one of us can help soften the impact of energy use by our society.
I am fortunate to have space to install two solar arrays at my home. The first, on the left, was installed when my home was built in 2011. The second, on the right, came online last year. The second system was built on a shed roof, which will allow me to build an enclosed space for storage.
“SunDEC is Dunn Energy Cooperative's 100kW Community Solar array. The array is located southeast of Menomonie on 370th Avenue in the Town of Dunn. SunDEC went into operation in February of 2017 and is built on the same site as the Dairyland Power Cooperative 1 Megawatt solar array.”
— From DunnEnergy.com.
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