POLICYWATCH
Time to Update the Energy Star Program?
The government’s Energy Star system, used to rate products and retrofitted buildings for energy efficiency, could use a fixer-upper of its own, a legislator said this week. One sticking point: the voluntary program uses relative instead of absolute ratings.
1Sep2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Ritter Announces Acceleration of Small Hydro Projects In Colorado
Surveys have found that Colorado has several hundred sites with a potential of 5 megawatts or less, with a combined generating capacity of more than 1,400 megawatts. The lengthy permitting process, however, has prevented many projects from moving forward.
25Aug2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
National Perspective — U.S. Energy Use is Dropping and Shifting to Renewables
The research reveals that energy use is dropping at a pace that is faster than would be expected based on the slowing economy alone. What’s more, the growth in renewable energy, coupled with increased use of natural gas, is displacing significant amounts of coal.
25Aug2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Udall Among Proponents Still Pushing for National Renewable Energy Standard
Majority Leader Reid insists he doesn’t have the votes to pass an RES, and did not include it in a stripped down oil spill response and energy bill. Udall, meanwhile, has advocated for a 25 percent renewable energy standard by 2025.
24Aug2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Lack of Climate Bill Hinders Carbon Storage,
Fed Agencies Say
While the U.S. Department of Energy is funding 15 projects with the aim of safely and economically storing CO2 in geological formations, the lack of a climate bill is hindering any larger scale carbon storage, federal agencies said this week.
13Aug2010 | admin | 1 comment | Continued
Tom Clark of Metro Denver EDC on November Ballot’s “Job Killing Measures”
Everyone in the energy business is painfully aware of how difficult the economy has been in the last few years. Now, just as our state begins to crawl out of the recession, there is a new threat on the horizon. It comes from three dangerous proposals on our fall ballot - Amendments 60 and 61 and Prop 101. If they pass, thousands more will find themselves out of work.
11Aug2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Senate Inaction Cedes U.S. Energy Race to China
The warnings have been clear: if America failed to pass a comprehensive climate-and-energy bill, the country risked losing the clean energy race to China — sacrificing the jobs of the future in a timid, ill-fated effort to preserve the jobs of the past. Now those warnings are coming true.
3Aug2010 | admin | 1 comment | Continued
Independent Study: Oil Shale Is a Poor
Energy Source
As the nation looks for new sources of fuel, one option being considered is oil shale. Opponents, however, claim in a new report released Monday that oil shale is no solution at all because it takes nearly as much energy to produce as it yields.
3Aug2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Energy Bill’s Late Frac’ing Provision Draws Fire From Natural Gas Industry
Although labeled a ‘watered down and very disappointing’ bill from clean energy groups, the proposed legislation making the rounds in the U.S. Senate is now drawing fire from the natural gas industry, which is balking at a late addition to the measure.
29Jul2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
EPA Tackles Coal Ash with Hearing in Denver
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected Denver as one of five sites for public hearings scheduled nationwide on proposed rules for coal ash from power plants. The meeting will take place on September 2nd at the Grand Hyatt on Welton Street.
26Jul2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Udall Pushes New Renewable Standard as Part of Last Ditch Climate Bill
In an 11th hour effort to salvage climate change legislation before the end of the year, the emphasis now is on a utility-only carbon cap in the Senate, and Sen. Mark Udall has renewed his push for a national renewable energy standard (RES) similar to Colorado’s.
24Jul2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Commerce Secretary: U.S. Should Follow
Colorado Plan on New Energy
The country could miss a key opportunity for growth if it doesn’t soon follow Colorado’s example in pursuing the new-energy economy, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke said Monday. “I can tell you we need an energy policy in the United States.”
20Jul2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Clean Coal, Natural Gas Really Clean?
Environmentalists this week reacted with skepticism to recent support for clean coal and natural gas by Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter and gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper, in part, prompted by two Colorado firms winning $14 million in clean coal grants from the DOE.
9Jul2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
Forest Managers Propose New Plan for
Oil and Gas Drilling
It would cut off roughly 1.5 million acres of land in the White River National Forest to drilling that had been previously approved in the early 1990’s. The proposal would also bar oil and gas drilling on roadless national forests, but would allow for companies to drill directionally from adjacent, existing roads.
5Jul2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
U.S. Business Leaders Call for Revolution in Energy Technology Innovation
The key, they say, is reforming and strengthening U.S. investment in energy innovation — the most critical element to securing America’s future. This isn’t just another clean energy advocacy group. Members range from Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Chad Holliday, former CEO of DuPont, to GE’s Jeff Immelt and Lockheed Martin’s former chair, Norm Augustine.
1Jul2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
In Their Own Words — Hickenlooper Vs. McInnis Transcript
McInnis: We have so many Colorado products, we have such a great future ahead if, in fact, we get the right leadership in place. Whether it’s clean coal, whether it’s solar, natural gas. Now we’ve got significant oil finds.
30Jun2010 | admin | 1 comment | Continued-
Why is Dirty Energy Still So Cheap?
The clean tech sector has experienced remarkable success in the past few years, yet there still remains one huge roadblock from mass implementation – cheap fossil fuels. Some may think this is simply a matter of free-market capitalism at work. The real truth is that petroleum and coal industries continue to receive massive subsidies from governments around the world, while renewable energy firms receive only a small fraction of that amount.
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The coal industry, indeed the entire fossil fuel industry, needs to take note of state and federal politics. There ...
shannon,
In the US the tax subisides to alternative energy far exceed fossil fuels according to the enclosed article and in ...
OK. Let's do a little exercise here. Fossil fuels supply 87% of U.S. energy use, while renewables provide ...
I love this website. Though I live in MA, I go here for all the articles on energy at the ...
Did I miss something? If you have more people, you need to buy more food, more clothes, more tickets to ...