Colorado’s first comprehensive oil and gas development plan — a new mechanism aimed at better assessing and managing the cumulative impacts of drilling — was approved by state regulators Wednesday, paving the way for more than 200 new wells in Weld County. Kerr-McGee, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp., got a greenlight from Colorado Oil […]
Energy
Posted inClimate, Energy, News, Technology
Researchers in Colorado have figured out what makes air conditioners consume so much energy. It’s not the heat.
This just in from the laboratory: When it comes to the air conditioner chugging away in the window, it’s not the heat — but the humidity that’s causing it to work overtime. An analysis by researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden found that on average more than half of the energy used […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, News
Regional board to approve ozone action plan, but a Colorado coalition wants much more done
The northern Front Range’s newest plan to meet federal ozone-reduction mandates comes with a rare upfront admission that it won’t work. The Regional Air Quality Council, a nonprofit board of experts and local officials charged with writing the state’s ozone compliance plan, will decide Friday on the latest proposals for trimming the hazardous ground-level gas. […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
Environmental coalition sues Colorado over late air pollution permit for West Elk Mine
Colorado has missed by almost a year an air pollution permit deadline for the West Elk Mine near Paonia, a major Western Slope source of volatile organic compounds, n-hexane, methane and other pollutants, according to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of environmental groups. Arch Coal-owned West Elk applied for an air pollution permit in […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
EPA fines Weld County gas processor $3.25 million for leaks
A Colorado natural gas processor will pay a $3.25 million fine in a settlement with federal and state air pollution officials, after allegations the company failed to detect and repair leaks that contributed to worsening ozone problems on the northern Front Range. DCP Operating Company LP and five related subsidiaries will pay the fines and […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Report that oil field methane emissions are down by half is wrong, Front Range cities with own pollution monitors say
Air pollution from oil and gas operations is on the wane, the industry says. But communities along the Front Range — with their own air monitors — counter that they are finding repeated spikes of methane and other pollutants. “Ground-level methane monitoring shows no decline in levels,” Cindy Copeland, an air and climate policy advisor […]
Posted inEnergy, News, Outdoors
Colorado’s energy czar, wife are recovering after a 1,000-foot fall while climbing in Rocky Mountain National Park
Will Toor was thinking he was at the end. He was pretty sure his leg was broken. He was shivering uncontrollably in the snow high in the mountains. He’d watched his injured wife limp away to get help two hours earlier. Every few minutes he’d holler for help. Then, in the distance, he saw two […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
Xcel pays Colorado solar homeowners 8 cents for their extra electricity. Then charges neighbors 17 cents to use it.
Paul Aldretti loves to walk his shady neighborhood of Sloan’s Lake on a hot afternoon. But as the clock nears 3 p.m. and the July sun bakes at a maximum, his mind wanders to his second-story roof, where his grid-connected solar panels are pushing more electricity out to Xcel Energy than his home appliances are […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News
Colorado regulators approve 3 utilities’ clean energy plans despite environmentalists’ objections
Colorado regulators have signed off on clean energy plans from three utilities despite objections from environmental groups claiming the plans include vague promises of green electricity and didn’t account for nearly 200,000 tons of dirty coal emissions. State clean energy officials say they’re satisfied the plans from Colorado Springs Utilities, Holy Cross Energy and Platte […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, Equity, Health, News
Colorado’s legislative efforts are not enough to solve its Front Range ozone problem
By Jim Robbins, KHN A year after health officials issued a record number of alerts for high ozone levels on Colorado’s Front Range, federal and state officials are trying to rein in the gas that can make outdoor activities a health risk. But new Colorado laws aimed at improving air quality along that urban corridor east […]