Returning to Colorado after a one month absence, I was both surprised and delighted to encounter a new wind farm north of Interstate 70, between Burlington, Colorado and the Kansas border. Named the Carousel Wind Farm, this complex is being built and operated by NextEra Energy; it will contain 88 wind turbines and produce 150 MW of clean energy.
Were it not for a weather-induced detour (see Detoured by Storms), I would not have discovered the Golden West Wind Farm on the southern flank of the Palmer Divide, east of Colorado Springs. Also built and operated by NextEra, this facility will use 145 turbines to yield 250 MW of energy production.
Despite the continued expansion of wind and solar energy production across the country, some Conservatives oppose this transition and hope to eliminate Federal tax credits that support clean energy programs. After all, these programs compete with the oil, gas and coal industries, long backed by conservative politicians, and derive federal and public support from their role in addressing global warming, a great conspiracy in the eyes of right-wing Republicans. Of course, in objecting to Federal support for clean energy systems, these same Conservatives fail to acknowledge the massive amount of tax credits extended to fossil fuel industries over the past Century.
