Archive for May, 2009
The Empire Strikes Back!
Tri-State G&T Counters its Critics
Seemingly being hammered by all sides, the state’s number two power provider told Colorado Energy News that no final decision has yet been made on the Holcomb, Kansas coal-fired plant, and that it is doing much more with efficiency and renewable programs than its critics realize.
29May2009 | admin | 1 comment | Continued
2009 Clean Tech Open Makes Final Call for Entries
With the deadline just a few days away, sponsors are still encouraging entrepreneurs in the five-state Rocky Mountain region to enroll in order to secure a place in the competition. Clean Tech start-ups from Colorado will compete against entrepreneurs from across the country for more than $1 million in prizes.
28May2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
House Bill Proposes Big Changes to Drilling
on Public Lands
Still in the “discussion draft” phase, the bill would raise the royalties companies pay to drill on federal lands from 12.5 to 18.75 percent and shorten lease terms from 10 to five years. A spokesman for the energy industry says that, if enacted, the proposal will hurt independent, smaller oil and gas operators the most.
27May2009 | admin | 2 comments | Continued
Xcel Reports Major Increase in Renewables Use
According to its 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report, the state’s dominant power provider has reduced emissions and increased the amount of power it gets from renewable energy sources.
27May2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Fracturing Issue Heats Up Natural Gas Politics — Colorado at the Center of the Debate
The industry argues that state laws and regulators are doing an adequate job of regulating the hydraulic fracturing process, and that more layers of regulation would be burdensome and expensive.
27May2009 | admin | 2 comments | Continued
Officials Want Methane Gas Reduced
at Colorado Mines
Concerned because it has 20 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide released from burning coal and other fossil fuels, Federal and state agencies are pushing for methane-capture technology at two western Colorado mines.
25May2009 | admin | 4 comments | Continued
BLM Improves Gas and Oil Inspections; Still Behind
in Active Wells
Inspections by the Grand Junction office rose from 67 to 362 in fiscal 2007 over the previous year. Nevertheless, the six field offices conducted just 15 percent of the required high-priority environmental inspections in fiscal year 2007, the report said.
22May2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Colorado Considers More Oversight of Tri-State
Driving the PUC’s look at the wholesale power supplier are concerns about climate change, uncertainty about future development costs and state mandates for more renewable energy. All that warrants a comprehensive look at statewide energy use, the commission says. Tri-State, however, questions the commission’s legal authority to oversee its plans.
21May2009 | admin | 1 comment | Continued
Xcel Targeting Business Energy Efficiency
with Natural Gas Programs
This is the first time the utility company is offering business customers natural-gas conservation rebates. Over the next two years, these programs will help Xcel reduce natural gas use by more than 7.2 million therms, enough to serve approximately 9,000 homes for a year.
20May2009 | admin | 5 comments | Continued
Wind Turbine Manufacturers Say Lower Renewable Standards will Hurt Investment
Significantly lower renewable targets” unveiled this week as part of a House climate-change bill “will severely blunt the signal” for billions of dollars in investment to expand production in the U.S., the executives said in a letter to Congress.
19May2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
REC Solar, Nestlé Purina Partner on State’s Largest Privately-Owned Solar Installation
The Purina PetCare project is the latest in a series of successes for REC Solar in Colorado. The company says it plans to expand employment by 10 to 20 percent due to the new opportunities for clean energy provided by the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
18May2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Biofuels Battered
The future of biofuels in this country has never looked bleaker. Last week Denver-based BioFuel, Inc., reported a net quarterly loss of $11.2 million and said it must restructure its debt or reach “other accommodations” with lenders “to continue operating as planned.” In other words: we are in deep s**t. Yet, there is still a future for biofuels in U.S. energy policy.
18May2009 | admin | 1 comment | Continued
VC is out There - If You’ve Got the Right Stuff
The good news is venture capitalists are still funding Colorado start-ups. The bad news is VCs are taking far fewer risks. Entrepreneurs need to create business plans that require less money; they need to do more bootstrapping; and most of all, they need to have real customers and real profits.
15May2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
We need to promote export terminals to liquify and ship natural gas to markets in Asia and Euroupe. The US ...
Natural Gas can be consumed so efficiently that the WATER can even be recovered from the combusted exhaust gases.
Going ...
Lack of funding is a serious obstacle for implementation of audit recommendations. Even small rebates will have little impact ...
Re: Natural gas generation wasn’t included in the final analysis but is generally assumed to emit about half as much ...
Disclosure MIGHT prevent pollution if there was a watchdog agency that ruled yes or no on particular chemicals before they ...
Having just read Tom Gray's article 'Fred Udo's bogus numbers' I get the feeling I haven't understood whats going on. ...
I agree with you kirsch. I knew this article had the stench of industry money as soon add I read ...
Can someone explain how disclosure prevents pollution? They can still release air toxins and they are still not held ...