I know what your thinking but no, I haven't been drinking Al Gores' cool-aid. A poll by Reuters ( http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/12/14/us-energy-idUSN1431302220071214) found that Americans are willing to pay 20% more for green energy. In fact, their poll showed that 70% of over 2000 people surveyed around the world were willing to pay more for green energy.
What does this mean to the world of Hydropower? Plain and simple, it means money. We are now able to develop projects that were not feasible at the rates paid for fossil fuel energy. It means that the irrigation districts that build these projects will become self sufficient and be able to spend more money on their other projects. As they improve their infrastructure, they will become more efficient which will allow more water to be used for the production of power and less for irrigation.
However, a recent ezine article (http://ezinearticles.com/?Will-Consumers-Pay-More-For-Green-Products-and-Technology?-Not-Yet&id=5320946) discussed the findings a little differently. This author showed that even though people said they supported government subsidies, they were not willing to pay more than 5% more.
This issue is far from indisputable, but I believe that it is something that needs to be looked at. A poll could be taken in the local area to determine if the customers who would use this new energy source are willing to pay more for green power. A 5% increase means a $10,000 increase in annual profit for the Greybull Valley project, that is not something to be taken lightly.
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