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<br />.'. , <br /> <br />'" Qor.it, <br />, ,h <br />I. '. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />~~. <br /> <br />COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE <br />CLOSED BASIN PROJECT <br /> <br />1. Energy <br /> <br />Questien: <br /> <br />Offical statements say that abeut 13,000,000 kilewatts ef electrical pewer <br />will be needed to. eperate the preject each year. This pewer will be <br />furnished by lecal utility cempanies. Why isn't seme ferm ef alternative <br />energy part ef the preject plan? Hew will lecal utilities meet this new <br />demand fer a large ameunt of pewer? Who. will pay fer these pewerlines? <br /> <br />Answer: <br /> <br />The federal gevernment has an alternative energy pre gram which is active <br />in the San Luis V~lley. Automatic wind measuring statiens have been <br />installed at a number ef locatiens in the Valley, They are cellecting <br />infermatien to. determine if this energy seurce is feasible. The Department <br />ef Energy is designing a se1ar energy system which will be installed at <br />a preject well. This pregram will help the Bureau find eut if se1ar energy <br />techne1egy can be used fer the preject. <br /> <br />The fact that the preject is currently designed to. run eff "cenventienal" <br />energy sources reflects the decision of the U. S. Congress to authorize <br />a water salvage project, not an experimental program in alternative energy. <br />The pesitive steps that are being taken to. make sure that preject alternative <br />energy eptiens are net clesed dees net mean that the utility cempanies <br />will net be able to. meet long term preject energy needs. The preject was <br />eriginally planned to. eperate with hydrepewer frem Gevernment facilities, <br />The distributien system was to. have been built and eperated by the Gevernment, <br />Numereus citizens asked if private landewners weu1d be able to. ,get electrical <br />service frem the Clesed Basin Preject System. These requests and the ether <br />facters neted belew prempted the Bureau to. find eut if lecal utility cempanies <br />ceu1d previde the pewer needed to. run the preject. The utility cempanies <br />firmly state that preject pewer requirements have been included in their <br />plans to. keep the San Luis Valley supplied with pewer. That assurance <br />means that preject pewer needs will be included with the pewer needs ef <br />a grewing San Luis Valley in the utility cempanies' 1eng range planning. <br />Part ef that planning is the design and eperatien ef pewer plants to. meet <br />all applicable laws and regulatiens pretecting the air and envirenment. <br /> <br />Energy cests ef new develepment must be very carefully evaluated. These <br />cests were carefully weighed in the studies which feund that the Clesed <br />Basin Preject is ecenemica1ly justified. Talks with the utility cempanies <br />began in earnest in 1978, The utility cempanies knew abeut the preject's <br />energy needs five to. ten years befere demands weu1d be put en the system. <br />This a11ews ample time fer the necessary planning to. make sure that the <br />preject's needs de net cenf1ict in any way with these ef ether Valley pewer <br />users. <br />