At the annual New Energy Conference in Denver yesterday, Governor Ritter stressed the need for new transmission lines in Colorado if solar and wind energy are to become a core source of electricity for the state. The event was sponsored by Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the Governor’s Energy Office, the Office of Consumer Counsel and Energy Outreach Colorado.

“In Colorado — indeed in much of the country — many of our best renewable-energy sources are a long way from the places that require the most electricity,” Ritter said.

A report from the Governor’s Energy Office says Colorado will need $2 billion in new and upgraded transmission lines to meet load growth and access wind and solar resources.

“We need a new effort at collaboration to ensure (that) wind power on the Eastern Plains and solar power in the San Luis Valley can travel to the load centers of the Front Range,” Ritter said.

One proposed upgrade to the state grid is a new high-voltage line in the San Luis Valley, and it was the subject of remarks by the Governor at Tuesday’s event. Xcel Energy and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association are behind the new line, which will bring solar power to urban areas, according to the two utilities, it has run into some local opposition in the area because of concerns about the environmental community and visual impact.

Ritter noted that addressing environmental and visual impacts was important for the San Luis Valley because the area also depends on tourism.

“A concentrating-solar plant doesn’t look like a potato field,” Ritter said. “There needs to be a discussion. But that discussion doesn’t begin with no.”