The House of Power and Light

• Year: 2006
• Title: The House of Power and Light
• Author: Colorado River Energy Distributors Association
• Description: Hydroelectric Power in the Upper Colorado River Basin
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

Over the past 25 years, demand for electricity in the West rose at
nearly twice the rate of the population growth. In the Colorado River Basin
States of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah,
the consumption of electricity increased at a far greater rate than even
population growth. Collectively, the population of these states grew 71%
from 1980 to 2005. At the same time, demand for electricity in these states
skyrocketed by 130 %. The population of these states is predicted to
Population Growth vs. Electricity Demands
1980 to 2005
250%
200%
150%
100%
50%
0%
increase another 54% by 2030. Electricity de-
mands, then, could double again in the next 25
years. The Energy Information Administration (EIA)
predicts the need for 347,000 MW of new
capacity nationwide by 2030. This amounts to
more than 1900 new power plants or approximately
75 new power plants per year. But high costs, limi-
tations on transmission and environmental restric-
Wyoming Colorado New Utah Arizona Nevada tions present significant barriers to new generation.
Mexico
The National Energy Policy Development Group
E Electricity Demands painted a bleak picture of the future of electricity in
■ Population Growth
A single rack of computer servers uses as much electricity as 25 homes.
- the United States, Our nations electnaty supply
has failed to keep pace with growing demand. This imbalance is
projected to persist into the future. The adverse consequences
have manifested themselves most severely in the West, where
supply shortages have led to high prices and even blackouts...."
Population increases and technological advances, like the Inter-
net, are helping to fuel these rising demands. For example, Mi-
crosoft and Yahoo each announced new campuses to handle the
servers necessary to operate and provide Internet services to
consumers. This infrastructure takes an enormous amount of
power. One rack of servers, two feet -by -three feet, takes as much
power as 25 homes. And these two Internet giants will have hun-
dreds of thousands of servers in their new facilities. Incredibly,
the Microsoft and Yahoo campuses will be located within 1.5 miles
of each other in the Pacific Northwest due to an abundant supply
of inexpensive and reliable hydropower.
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