Physical and Environmental Geography Commons^™

Powering The Future: Siting Guidelines For Renewable Wind Energy Development In Eastern Colorado, Zach Ancona

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energies around the world. The United States contains approximately 49,000 active wind turbines and Colorado accounts for less than 3 percent of that number, even though Colorado ranks 11^th in the nation for wind development potential. The siting process for wind development is lengthy, taking from 5 to 10 years, and many facilities that are proposed end up not being built due to complications from inadequate pre-siting techniques. The research in this report aims to identify high priority areas in eastern Colorado through the examination of key variables used in …