By Cornelia de Bruin The Daily Times
Article Launched: 04/21/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

FARMINGTON — San Juan County is one of 14 New Mexico counties given two thumbs up by Colorado College for its renewable energy potential.
Colorado College, located in Colorado Springs, Colo., rates western states from the renewable energy point of view. Lead researcher and report author Elizabeth Kolbe said renewables are a refreshing change of pace for this part of the nation.

"Generally the Rockies is a region affected by the extraction of minerals," she said. "I'm definitely against the building of more coal-fired power plants in the West, or the mining of coal."

Among the findings researchers who compiled the school's fifth annual State of the Rockies Report Card noted this year:

- Energy use in the Rocky Mountain region is 9 percent less than the national average, while consumers' monthly bills are 17 percent below those of the rest of the nation.
- Five of the eight Rockies states are among the top 15 windiest in the country.
- Wind is the leading renewable resource in the Rockies.
- Seven of the eight Rocky Mountain states are rated "superior" solar sources.
- The region's geothermal resources distinguish it from other parts of the nation.
- The three highest energy-using states in the Rockies are Idaho, Nevada and Arizona.

The Rockies region includes the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming and Utah.

Kolbe analyzed each county within the region, assigning them grades based on the counties' potential for biomass, solar, wind and geothermal energy. Her results highlights which counties are positioned most favorably to take advantage of a renewable energy boom when supplemented with the necessary labor and infrastructure.

San Juan County does not top the list of New Mexico's counties, a spot held by Quay and Río Arriba counties, but received an "A" grade for its solar potential. It is one of six such counties within the state.

This area received an "A-minus" grade for its geothermal potential.

Surprisingly Kolbe's research did not place San Juan County with other New Mexico counties acknowledged for their wind power potential. San Juan Citizens Alliance and Diné CARE (citizens against ruining our environment) are pushing for the use of wind power as a better alternative than the Desert Rock Power Plant the Navajo Nation's government hopes is built near Burnham.

"By any measure ... renewable energy is far superior to burning coal," said Diné CARE Community Organizer Dailan Long. "That's why the Navajo Nation needs to develop alternative sources."

Kolbe agreed there is a place — both for the Diné and the state — for harvesting energy from non-coal sources.

"I know there is no way that a solar plant can replace a 15,000-megawatt (coal-fired) plant, but people collectively installing solar panels on their homes could really help the Navajo people," she said regarding the proposed Desert Rock Power Plant. "It could help the state achieve its renewable portfolio standard."

New Mexico's Public Regulatory Commission mandated that 20 percent of utilities' energy come from renewables by the year 2020.

The State of the Rockies Report Card is a 120-page book containing reports about Affordable Housing, Restoring Rivers, Wilderness and Extractive Industries and Renewable Energy.

The different sections are viewable at http://www.coloradocollege.edu/stateoftherockies/reportcard.html. To order a copy contact Colorado College Bookstore at (800) 854-3930.

Cornelia de Bruin:

cdebruin@daily-times.com