Agencies that both distribute and rely on Colorado River hydropower are rethinking how much energy they can count on in the future
hydropower
Posted inNews
Dam of questions breaks around hydropower plan for one-of-a-kind canyon in western Colorado
UNAWEEP DIVIDE — The honey bees are over there, by the organic garden. The peregrines nest up on the cliffs. A mess of metates — Native American grinding stones — are over in the dense pinion. Every winter the elk gather in the meadow below the granite cliffs. There’s a table up in those cliffs, […]
Posted inWater
Hydropower is 53% of the renewable energy supply in the West. Drought is slowing down production.
Tri-State Generation, the largest hydropower customer on the Colorado River system, says it has enough other sources of energy to make up for less hydro production.
Posted inWater
500,000 acre-feet of water will be released from Flaming Gorge reservoir in Wyoming to protect Lake Powell
Blue Mesa near Gunnison is for the moment safe from letting more water go, but Colorado River Drought Operations Plan says that could change
Posted inWater
Colorado River Basin hydropower revenue could be down 38%, forcing environmental programs to seek funding elsewhere
The Upper Colorado Endangered Fish Recovery Program, which is helping four species recover, gets majority of its funding from hydropower sales
Posted inEnergy, Environment, News
Unaweep Canyon is central to Xcel Energy’s big plans for renewable energy production in Colorado
Xcel Energy has a low-tech plan for creating clean power in one of Colorado’s geologic wonders. As Colorado’s largest utility, with 1.5 million electricity customers, pushes toward its goal of delivering 100% carbon-free power by 2050, the company is seeking federal approval for the state’s largest hydropower project on the Western Slope in Unaweep Canyon […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News, Water
Drought stops agency from flooding Grand Canyon to restore beaches
LAS VEGAS — The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation decided not to send water rushing through the Grand Canyon this month to rebuild beaches for campers and sandbars for fish because of persistent drought, officials said. An abundance of sand in the Colorado River system gives the agency an opportunity to flood the waterway to spread […]