The Martin Drake Power Plant is as prominent as it is controversial in Colorado Springs. It’s an unmistakable landmark on the downtown horizon, especially in winter when steam from its coal-fired electric generation billows high into the air over the city’s handful of tall buildings and nearby Pikes Peak. But alongside the debate about public […]
electricity
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News
Small hydropower providers are hoping it’s their time to shine as Colorado moves toward a renewables future
OURAY — The summer was dry. The water is low. So the acidity in the trickling Uncompahgre River, after it percolates through the mine-pocked Red Mountain Pass, is so high that it’s eating through the pipes that feed Eric Jacobson’s turbines. This means his small hydropower plant isn’t cranking out much electricity. But even in […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Energy, Environment, News, Technology, Transportation
Electric airplanes developed by a Colorado startup take aim at global pilot shortage
A pivotal moment in George Bye’s entrepreneurial life came in 2006. As the creator of a hot new aircraft called the Javelin, Bye was getting wined and dined by Silicon Valley’s elite, who wanted one of the planes Popular Science described as “a flying sports car.” That’s how Bye, a former Air Force pilot, ended […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News
Denver and Boulder have big goals to fight climate change. But there is an obstacle: cannabis
Stretching the day for tiny marijuana plants at a Lafayette greenhouse long after night falls makes for a hefty electric bill. Even with big investments in a computer system to control heat, light and humidity, and in more-efficient light bulbs and fans, RiNo Supply Co. general manager Brian Matthews says 85 percent of the energy costs […]