(Denver) Mayor proposes city-owned solar plant

[jpak]

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4470992,00.html

Mayor John Hickenlooper plans to put Denver's abundant sunshine to work by building one of the nation's first city-owned solar plants to provide clean, cheap power for the county jail.

"Reducing our use of petroleum and coal-based energy is one of the primary goals of Denver's Sustainable Development Initiative," Hickenlooper said Wednesday.

"With the construction of this plant, we will continue our progress toward making the Denver metro area a national leader in renewable energy."

The plan is to build a plant that can produce up to 2 megawatts of power - enough energy for about 2,000 homes - near the 2,200-inmate jail on Smith Road in northeast Denver.

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[Selatius]

1. "Go back to California you damn hippie tree-hugger!"

:sarcasm:

In honesty, whatever it takes to soften the blow. Whatever it takes...

[benburch]

2. Denver would seem to be a bad place for this.

It is in a bowl and gets much less sunlight than astronomical tables would suggest.

[kstewart33]

3. Not sure about that.

I've been living in Denver about 16 years, and the sun shines nearly every day. The sun's intensity is substantial here because we are a mile high; wear no sunscreen at your peril.

[phantom power]

4. Seems like it would be a good site for a wind farm.

[hatrack]

5. Sounds like Hickenlooper - smart guy

I saw him talk at the ASPO Conference in Denver back in November (along with Marc Udall and Dick Lamm). Interesting dude - former geologist turned microbrewer, and I'm sure he's the one who pushed the City of Denver to sponsor the conference.

[phantom power]

7. Cool. Rocks 'n' Hops?

[rfkrfk]

6. guests of the jail, could be employed to clean the solar collectors

and be paid two cents a hour