A major Xcel Energy power project could put up new transmission lines within view of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, sparking concerns among tribal leaders and park advocates that it could mar the site’s cultural and aesthetic character. Dubbed Colorado’s Power Pathway, the project would string lines and construct new substations across the […]
renewable energy
Posted inClimate, Environment, News
Power companies’ plans to expand wind, solar on Colorado’s Eastern Plains meet local headwinds
By Sam Brasch, CPR News For years, Lacie Harman has watched wind turbines inch closer to her home on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. The white towers now dot the prairie from Limon north to the Wyoming border but have skipped over Washington County, where her family has farmed and ranched for five generations. Harman is trying […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News
Rural electric co-ops get shocking estimates of the cost to break up with Tri-State Generation
Rural electric cooperatives seeking to leave the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association have received exit fee estimates in a federal filing and it adds up to billions of dollars The respective price tags for two Colorado co-ops in the forefront of the exit movement — Brighton-based United Power and Durango-based La Plata Electric Association — […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Clean energy is the road forward to Colorado jobs and economic recovery, not just clean air
Since 2004 ━ when Colorado became the first state in the U.S. with a voter-approved renewable-energy portfolio standard ━ Colorado has been shifting toward clean, low-cost wind and solar. Since 2010, Colorado’s renewable-electricity generation ━ led by wind and solar ━ has more than tripled, accounting for 30% of the state’s total generation in 2020. […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, News
Wind turbine company Vestas cuts 450 jobs in plants across Colorado
PUEBLO — A wind turbine company based in Denmark has laid off 450 workers from its manufacturing plants in Colorado, citing lower market demand. Vestas Wind Systems A/S laid off 120 workers at its Pueblo tower-manufacturing plant, where it employed more than 800 workers at its peak, The Pueblo Chieftain reported Wednesday. “The reductions represent […]
Posted inClimate, COVID, Election 2020, Energy, Environment, Politics and Government
Gardner says Roe v. Wade is “settled law” in final U.S. Senate debate, as Hickenlooper talks court packing
U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner said he believes the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade protecting a woman’s right to an abortion and a ruling affirming a same-sex couple’s right to marriage are settled law. “Both cases are settled law … and that precedent should be respected,” Gardner said. The Republican incumbent’s comments in the […]
Posted inColoradans, Election 2020, Energy, Environment, Health, Outdoors, Politics and Government
In Colorado, where climate change is front and center, John Hickenlooper is favored to unseat Cory Gardner
Democrat John Hickenlooper famously told a U.S. Senate committee he’d sipped fracking fluid — it was, “almost ritual-like,” he said in 2013 — to prove it’s safe. Now the one-time energy geologist is pitching himself as the more pro-climate candidate in a battle to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner. Hickenlooper’s success might seem surprising […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
John Hickenlooper’s conflicting record and rhetoric on fracking a point of dispute in U.S. Senate race
A former geologist for an oil and gas company, John Hickenlooper emerged as one of the industry’s most vocal Democratic supporters in his two terms as Colorado governor. He drank fracking fluid from Halliburton to prove its safety. He opposed tougher regulations and threatened to sue local governments that banned fracking. And he lauded the […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Platte River Power Authority must commit to 100% renewable energy. Period.
The Colorado Sun published a story on Aug. 19 with the headline “Colorado must cut half of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. It will lean on oil and gas to do it.” The story discussed why we need emissions reductions from the oil and gas sector in order to meet Colorado’s goal of a […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Larimer County coal-fired power plant will close 16 years early as Colorado speeds move toward renewable energy
Platte River Power Authority will shut down the coal-burning unit at its Rawhide power plant in 2030, 16 years ahead of schedule, to try to make good on promises to provide its customers with 100% carbon-free electricity. This leaves just a few large coal-fired electric plants in Colorado without retirement dates in the near future. […]