Colorado will get more of the Bureau of Land Management’s Washington staff under the Trump administration’s proposed agency reorganization than any other Western state — but whether those employees will have decision-making authority is a hotly contested point. The plan involves scattering almost 300 positions, some currently unfilled, across 11 Western states. Of the 222 […]
Solar energy
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
More Colorado coal-fired power plants could be closing, but the timing depends on some complex deals
A plan by PacifiCorp to retire its coal-fired power plant assets to save money and speed its transition to wind and solar sources could shutter plants in northwest Colorado. But the fate of those units will depend on negotiations with Xcel Energy, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and other utilities. In its integrated resource plan […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, Opinion, Opinion Columns, Politics and Government
Opinion: 10 points to deflate the claim that “ending fossil fuels” is dangerous to the environment
Colorado Oil and Gas Association CEO Dan Haley’s opinion piece (Sept. 17) about the dangers of ending our reliance on fossil fuels scored a perfect “10.” He was wrong on every single point. On the eve of this week’s United Nations Climate Summit, I feel compelled to set the record straight. “The environment would suffer.” […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Tri-State, under pressure from its member co-ops to change or fall behind, is shifting to renewable energy
In a sign of how quickly the electricity industry is changing, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is taking a quick paced series of steps to deal with market pressure and complaints from some of its member cooperatives. Westminster-based Tri-State — power provider to 43 rural electric cooperatives in four states, including 18 in Colorado — […]
Posted inEnergy, Opinion, Opinion Columns, Politics and Government
Opinion: America can afford a Green New Deal – here’s how
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey are calling for a “Green New Deal” that would involve massive government spending to shift the U.S. economy away from its reliance on carbon. Their congressional resolution goes into great detail about the harms of climate change and what the U.S. government should do about it. Left […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Coal-fired power plants are closing early and Colorado lawmakers want to ease towns’ tough transition
Word that the local coal mine and power plant it served were closing went off like a bomb in Nucla — they were the community’s main employers and taxpayers in the tiny town southwest of Montrose “It’s a big blow,” said Deana Sherriff, executive director of the West End Economic Development Corp., which is helping […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Colorado co-op’s fight for renewable energy could upend how rural communities are powered
A battle between a Western Slope rural electric cooperative and one of the country’s largest co-op power providers has intensified, setting the stage for what may be a significant change in how and where some rural communities get their electricity. On one side is the Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA), the Montrose-based co-op serving about 33,000 […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Colorado power companies bet big on net-zero emissions as state debates 100% renewable energy future
Xcel Energy and Platte River Power Authority, two of Colorado’s biggest utilities, left themselves some wiggle room when they pledged to remove greenhouse gases from their emissions. While there is a big push in Colorado to run on 100 percent renewable energy — it’s Gov. Jared Polis’ goal to do it by 2040 — the […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Growth, News
Homes with no energy bills are catching on — even in Pueblo — and the extra cost isn’t as high as you’d think
A few months ago, Boulder resident David Resnick had an epiphany. Actually, his real estate broker, Thorne Davis, barraged him with emails, research and news stories about clean energy construction. Then the report arrived. The Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to a clean energy and low-carbon future, concluded that building net-zero energy houses — […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Boulder, Pueblo could be the next cities to create their own utilities in pursuit of 100 percent renewable energy
Municipal utilities could lead the 100-percent renewable charge. Of the six communities — from Burlington, Vermont, to Kodiak, Alaska — to reach the 100-percent renewable electricity target, five of them, including Aspen, are municipal utilities. The sixth is a rural electric cooperative. It isn’t surprising that municipal utilities have taken the lead, said Elizabeth Doris, […]