“It’s our new cash crop”: A land rush for renewable energy is transforming the Eastern Plains – By Mark Jaffe (Colorado Sun) / June 19, 2022
A race to meet state climate goals — and to get expiring federal tax credits along the way — has led to a flurry of wind and solar activity
Colorado’s Eastern Plains — from Yuma County cornfields to Prowers County feedlots and the wheat and sorghum fields in Kiowa County — are set to undergo their biggest transformation in more than a century as clean electricity is added to the crops they produce.
There is already a flurry of activity as wind and solar developers — more than a dozen have turned up in Yuma and Kiowa counties — are locking up acreage for prospective projects in leases with ranchers and farmers.
“We’ve had windmills around here for a long time. These are just bigger,” said Jan Kochis, 73, whose family runs a farm and cattle operation in Elbert County, and already has wind turbines on her land, generating royalties.
“It’s our new cash crop. We don’t have to worry about the rain or hail, as long as the wind blows,” Kochis said.
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