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Over the past 25 years, demand for electricity in the West rose at nearly <br />twice the rate of the population growth. In the Colorado River Basin States <br />of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Me xico, Wyoming, and Utah, the con- <br />sumption of electricity increased at a far greater rate than even population <br />growth. Collectively, the population of these states grew 71% from 1980 to <br />2005. At the same time, demand for electricity in these states <br />skyrocketed by 130%. The population of these states is predicted to <br />increase another 54% by 2030. Electricity de- <br /> in the next 25 <br />mands, then, could double again <br />years. The Energy Informa tion Administ ration (EIA) <br />predicts the need for 347,000 MW of new <br />capacity nationwide by 2030. This amounts to <br />more than 1900 new power plants or approximately <br />75 new power plants per year. But high costs, limi- <br />tations on transmission and environmental restric- <br />tions present significant barriers to new generation. <br />The National Energy Policy Development Group <br />painted a bleak picture of the future of electricity in <br />“Our nation’s electricity supply <br />the United States, <br />has failed to keep pace with growing demand. This imbalance is <br />projected to persist into the future. The adverse consequences <br />have manifested themselves most severely in the West, where <br />supply shortages have led to high prices and even blackouts. . . .” <br />Population increases and technological advances, like the Inter- <br />net, are helping to fuel these rising demands. For example, Mi- <br />crosoft and Yahoo each announced new campuses to handle the <br />servers necessary to operate and provide Internet services to <br />consumers. This infrastructu re takes an enormous amount of <br />power. One rack of servers, two feet-by-three feet, takes as much <br />power as 25 homes. And these two Internet giants will have hun- <br />dreds of thousands of servers in t heir new facilities. Incredibly, <br />the Microsoft and Yahoo campuses will be located within 1.5 miles <br />of each other in the Pacific Northwest due to an abundant supply <br />A single rack of computer servers uses as much electricity as 25 homes. <br />of inexpensive and reliable hydropower. <br /> 4 <br />