The Colorado Utilities Public Commission on Wednesday gave Xcel Energy the go-ahead to collect a half billion dollars from its customers to cover the spiraling costs of natural gas during a winter cold snap in 2021 — but the commissioners weren’t happy about it. The commission lopped an $8 million penalty off the $509 million […]
electricity
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Switching from natural gas to electricity will reduce Colorado’s smog
The news in April that federal regulators have proposed downgrading the ozone status for Denver and the northern Front Range from “serious” to “severe” should come as a wakeup call. Our region has a major smog problem. As our city, county, and state leaders develop plans and budgets to deliver the air-quality relief our communities […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, News
Utility gets nod to build 416-mile power line across U.S. West to connect wind farms to electric customers
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — U.S. land managers Thursday said they’ve given final permission for a 416-mile transmission line that would connect wind farms in eastern Wyoming with customers in Utah and elsewhere across the West. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said it has notified Portland-based PacifiCorp it can proceed with its Energy Gateway South Transmission […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: No, natural gas should not be part of our energy mix
In their op-ed titled “Natural gas should remain a key option in Colorado’s clean-energy mix,” the authors would have us believe that, long-term, natural gas should be part of the mix for our state’s goals for ending the use of fossil fuels. Let’s be clear: When we have ended the use of fossil fuels, natural […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Natural gas should remain a key option in Colorado’s clean-energy mix
Colorado is widely known as a state that is at the forefront of both energy innovation and environmental protection. As we continue the transition to a low-carbon economy, we’re presented with a tremendous opportunity to strengthen that reputation. At the center of that change are clean and natural energy sources that Colorado is abundantly blessed […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, News
These cells could be the key to efficient, cheap solar energy. But they have to make it in the “torture chamber” first.
The little perovskite solar cell was sweating it out in the “torture chamber.” Well, it wasn’t actually sweating, since a solar cell doesn’t have sweat glands, but if it had, at 185 degrees Fahrenheit and 85% humidity, it’d be sweating. The 6-inch-by-6-inch cell would be in the chamber – a Xenon Exposure System locker – […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, News, Politics and Government
United Power makes good on threat to break its contract with Tri-State Generation
After years of legal sparring, United Power, the largest electric cooperative in the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, is moving to break with the wholesale power provider. The Brighton-based co-op filed notice of its intent to withdraw from the association, effective January 2024, with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The FERC oversees Tri-State. United follows […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, News
Xcel promises to speed closure of coal-fired Comanche 3 electric plant. Environmental groups are unsatisfied.
Xcel Energy has agreed to accelerate the closure of its coal-fired Comanche 3 power plant by five years to 2035 as part of a settlement, supported by state, local and union officials, but opposed by environmental groups. Comanche 3 in Pueblo, one of the largest remaining coal-fired power plants in the West, has been a […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, News
Xcel Energy will drop $3 monthly pipeline fee that has raised three times the amount it was intended to collect
A $3 charge on the average Xcel Energy customer’s monthly gas bill that was added a decade ago to pay for safety upgrades largely now in place will be gone starting next year under a settlement approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The fee, known as a bill rider, has raised $610 million since […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: A clean electricity grid is possible, if Colorado and federal lawmakers follow through
Across Colorado and the West, the intensifying effects of climate change are evident, from record-breaking heat to prolonged drought, erratic weather patterns, intense wildfires, and toxic air pollution that blots the sunlight and catches in our throats. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of global scientists convened by the United Nations, noted in […]