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<br />. ~5' <br />0015 Purpose and Need <br /> <br />1-6 <br /> <br />, " 11, · WeSt PlJi~h Energy-Colorado is much smaller than PSCC or Tri-State, with year 2000 <br />loads of approximately 292 MW. West Plains 1999 Draft IRP showed needs for <br />approximately 10 to 35 MW per year of new capacity in the 2000 to 2006 planning <br />horizon (West Plains Energy, 1999). <br /> <br />The Sponsors believe that deregulation of the utility industry will provide other possible <br />markets, including energy brokers and large power marketers, as well as direct sales to <br />municipal systems. On a regional level, the use of and need for power is assessed by the <br />Western Systems Coordinating Council (WSCC). WSCC's control area includes the 11 <br />western states. According to the WSCC 1999 1 0- Year Plan, annual peak demand growth <br />within the WSCC region has averaged 3.5% in the past 5 years, or approximately 4,000 <br />MW per year (WSCC, 1999). Within the Rocky Mountain Power Area (RMPA), which <br />encompasses Colorado, eastern Wyoming, and small portions of Nebraska and South <br />Dakota, the 5-year growth rate has been virtually the same as the WSCC region. That is, <br />about 3.5% per year for both energy and peak demand (an increased need of about 330 <br />MW/year). The WSCC forecasts future load to grow at a lower rate: 1.4% within the 11- <br />state region (about 2,500 MW/year), and 2,2% within the RMPA (210 MW/year), These <br />estimates are after allowances for anticipated conservation and demand-side management. <br />In addition to load growth, various older units will be retired as they age. According to <br />WSCC, there are 161 MW of scheduled retirements within the RMPA by the year 2008, <br />and a total of 1,300 MW of scheduled retirements within the broader WSCC. Most of the <br />new capacity required to replace the retiring generation and meet the additional load <br />growth is forecast to come from new combustion turbines, combined-cycle (natural gas- <br />fired) power facilities and cogeneration plants. <br /> <br />The AB Lateral Hydropower Facility would operate beginning in 2003 or 2004, and <br />continue for at least 40 years thereafter. Power from the facility could be used to meet a <br />portion of anticipated demand within the RMP A, or the wider WSCC region if the <br />Sponsors arrange for associated transmission. Based upon the above forecasts, there <br />continues to be a need for Project power, both locally and regionally. <br /> <br />1.4.2 <br /> <br />Renewable Resources <br /> <br />The principal emissions released from fossil-fueled powerplants include sulfur and <br />nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. Sulfur and nitrogen oxides are major contributors to <br />the phenomenon known as "acid rain," Carbon dioxide, and to a lesser extent nitrogen <br />oxides, are believed to be the principal causes of the "greenhouse effect" (the slow <br />warming of overall climate). Coal-fired power plants emit significant quantities of all <br />three of these pollutants. State-of-the art natural gas facilities produce lesser levels of <br />pollutants, especially sulfur dioxide. However, C02 remains a major emission from <br />natural gas plants (the chemical conversion of methane to C02 is the combustion process <br />that drives natural gas facilities). By contrast, hydroelectric power from facilities such as <br />AB Lateral would produce none of these emissions. <br /> <br />AB Laleral Hydropower Project <br /> <br />July 2000 <br /> <br />