Preserve Rural Life With Turbines

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http://www.mvtelegraph.com/mountain/opinion/287275mtnoped02-21-08.htm

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Guest View: Preserve Rural Life With Turbines

By Amy LeGere
Foresight Wind Energy for High Lonesome Wind Ranch
Guest View

The winds blow strong in the heart of New Mexico. With the county's first wind project finalizing plans for construction in 2008, Torrance County and the Estancia Basin communities stand to reap the benefits from wind energy.

Harnessing the power of the wind is part of rural America's past and future. Small turbines dotted the landscape long before rural electrification. Today, wind projects across America help preserve rural communities with new jobs, spending injected into local economies and an increased tax base.

Wind energy is homegrown energy that helps secure our energy future. Unlike other electricity sources, wind turbines don't use water or produce emissions to generate electricity. Wind is very compatible with ranching. Since only 2-3 percent of the land is utilized for the wind ranch infrastructure, livestock and wildlife can graze to the base of the turbines.

New Mexico looks to the tremendous potential of wind and other clean renewable energy for economic development, energy resource diversity, and environmental protection. The state seeks to meet its aggressive renewable portfolio standard to help provide New Mexico citizens with clean, stable-priced electricity and to harness the wind as a commodity crop for export to states with a large demand for renewable energy.

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