Denver Sun Sponge

Sustainability Efforts Earn Accolades for NREL

2012-01-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

Credit: NREL The hidden jewel of the Rocky Mountain front range strikes again in support of the planet! The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado has received a few national awards for their sustainability practices. They received two Environmental Sustainability (eStar) awards and one GreenGov Presidential Award for Green Innovation. Not only is NREL researching

Boyer's Coffee: Conserving Resources, Saving Money, Doing Good

2012-01-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

Great article on how Boyer's Coffee, a Colorado company, has implemented sustainable methods into their business to save money, reduce their energy consumption, reduce waste sent to the landfill, and enhance their recycling efforts. It's stunning to me what a business can do to reduce, reuse, and recycle and oh yes, save a ton of money with sustainable business practices. Boyer's estimated the

Energy Department Congratulates State for Weatherizing Thousands of Homes

2012-01-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late on this article in Colorado Energy News, but it's worth sharing because it is incredible news. The Department of Energy (DOE) has helped weatherize 12,300 Colorado homes as of October 2011 with funds from the Recovery Act. These homes have added insulation, air-sealing, and efficient HVAC systems. Weatherizing a home helps reduce energy consumption and saves the homeowner money!

City of Boulder Approves Incentive for Tendril

2012-01-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

Tendril up in Boulder, CO is just one example of the creative companies that are proliferating on the Front Range. In addition to the venture capital money that Tendril has raised, the company has also benefited from a rebate incentive from the city of Boulder. This is all good news for a company that is creating numerous jobs and is helping the world manage their energy consumption with new

A Manifesto for Sustainable Capitalism

2011-12-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

I love this Wall Street Journal op-ed, A Manifesto for Sustainable Capitalism. Sustainability in its simplest format can be seen as the rejection of short-term thinking and an embrace of long-term thinking. With respect to capitalism, sustainability can help create greater and perpetual profits. Who doesn't want that? Yet, our system is designed today to reward short-term profits at the expense

COSEIA Gets $491,000 Grant to Cut Red Tape and Costs for Solar Installations

2011-12-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA) for getting almost half a million dollars from the Fed to devise ways to cut costs from solar module installations. This will be money well spent considering that 40% of the solar module installation costs are due to things such as permitting, design, and installation. COSEIA will also be partnering with reputable institutions

Up on the Rooftop: Updating HVAC Rooftop Unit Performance

2011-11-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

For those that are interested in improving the performance of their light commercial building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system check out this upcoming webinar on December 13, 2011. Mark Cherniack, Senior Program Manager of New Buildings Institute and Kristin Heinemeier, Senior Engineer, Western Cooling Efficiency Center, University of California at Davis will present on

Breakthrough Berkeley Mist Sealant Technology: Potential to Save Americans $5B Per Year

2011-11-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

There is a silent and deadly pocketbook killer out there - leaky ducts. According to this article, residential and commercial buildings typically lose about 25-40 percent of heating and cooling energy through leaky ducts and this equates to about $5 billion lost every year. That's a big chunk of change. Well it looks like the smart folks at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab have created a novel way

Colorado PUC Green Lights Xcel Contract for More Wind Power

2011-11-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

Sweet. More renewable wind power at a cheaper rate for Xcel customers. Xcel received permission from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to purchase 200 megawatts of wind from a wind farm in Limon, Colorado. Even though Xcel will meet the state's renewable energy standards ahead of time, they still bought more wind power than necessary because the price was lower than they typically

Why Businesses See Profits in Sustainability

2011-11-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

This article in the Economist, "Why Firms Go Green" shows that businesses are beginning to lead the way by implementing business sustainability methods. Not only will business sustainability practices help reduce the amount of natural resources consumed, but they can cut precious costs. We all know that businesses exist to create wealth, so why not increase your business' social, economic and

Greece Bets on Solar Power As a Debt Solution

2011-10-31T20:50:00.000-06:00

This is just the type of outside the box thinking that I can really appreciate. Greece has racked up a substantial amount of debt in the European Union (EU) and in my mind there is really no way of repaying via traditional "cutting off the nose to spite the face" methods (i.e. raising revenues through taxes on folks without jobs or with stagnant wages or cutting spending through "austerity"

Colorado Scores Another Win: GE Will Build a Solar PV Factory Here

2011-10-16T20:45:00.000-06:00

The good times just keep rolling into Colorado. First there was the announcement earlier this week that Arrow Technologies was moving their corporate headquarters to the Centennial State. And then it was announced that GE is bringing a $300 million thin-film solar manufacturing plant to this state. This article from the Denver Business Journal says that reasons GE chose this state were because of

Vestas’ Brighton Blade Plant Gets First Order

2011-10-16T20:02:00.000-06:00

Good news from Colorado Energy News on the Vestas plant in Brighton, Colorado receiving their first order for 55-meter wind turbine blades to be completed by the end of the year. Looks like X-mas comes early for the folks working at that Brighton plant. And speaking of wind turbine blades, while I was driving down I-76 today I saw a huge turbine blade being transported via semi. It was

Westinghouse Solar Introduces Low-Cost, DIY Home Solar Power Kits

2011-10-01T09:58:00.000-06:00

The price of solar is perpetually dropping. It's a beautiful thing. Because of this Westinghouse has developed a simple low-cost solar photovoltaic kit for your home. They come in various sizes from a small one-panel experimental kit to a 20-panel kit that can satisfy about 70% of the homeowners electricity. I hope to see solar panels on every home in the United States. But remember to make sure

Colorado’s First 100% Affordable LEED Platinum Building

2011-09-11T17:14:00.000-06:00

I just stumbled upon this article in Colorado Energy News about a senior apartment building complex in Lakewood, CO that is LEED certified. Seniors tend to be on a fixed budget so cutting energy costs in half, as the article said, will help seniors have more income for other things such as medication, health services, and food. Just think, if we had more buildings (multi-family, single-family and

Governor’s Energy Office and CSU to Collaborate on Energy Efficiency

2011-08-28T21:09:00.000-06:00

Who said government can't be effective and reduce spending? The Governor's Energy Office (GEO) and Colorado State University (CSU) are joining forces to help reduce the amount of energy, water, paper, and petroleum use in government buildings across the State of Colorado. I think that we should all be quite ecstatic that our state government is going to save some money and from the looks of this

Solar-powered Homes Remain a Distant Dream for Many in the U.S.

2011-08-16T21:44:00.000-06:00

Although the title of this article sounds a bit doom and gloom it really isn't. Capital today is flowing towards utility-scale renewable energy projects. This is a good thing. I'd rather have more renewable fuels in my utility's portfolio than fossil fuels. However, as the article states there are other options besides the traditional owner-financed solar photovoltaic (PV) array on a residential

Verizon Turns to NREL for Energy Efficiency

2011-07-31T18:21:00.001-06:00

I can appreciate the forward-thinking that Verizon is attempting here. What better way to learn about becoming a more sustainable business than to partner with the world-renowned National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). Verizon is interested in learning how to make their data centers more energy efficient as well as developing new technologies to utilize its vast communications network to help homes

In Conversation: Sustainability and the City

2011-07-17T20:28:00.000-06:00

Sustainability is such a simple word yet it conjures up all kinds of meanings in people's minds. The definition of sustainability, which to me is the most easy to understand, is the one developed by the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations, "sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own

Report Ranks Colorado in the Middle on Clean Economy

2011-07-17T18:26:00.000-06:00

I saw this article headline out of the corner of my eye and I had to look twice. Part of me can't believe that Colorado is ranked 20th for number of clean economy jobs. I went to the report on the Brooking Institute's website (PDF) to see what other figures I could find about Colorado. Some of the statistics are as follows: Colorado has 51,036 "clean jobs" 51,036 clean jobs equals 2.2% of all

Habitat Builds First Energy Efficient Homes

2011-07-04T17:43:00.000-06:00

Habitat for Humanity of Broward in Florida has just received LEED Gold certification for some of their new builds. They are the first builder in the Florida county to get this certification on their new builds. In order to receive the LEED Gold certification they had to demonstrate building performance in five areas: water conservation, sustainable site development, indoor environmental quality,

DOE Explores a New Frontier In Quest for Cheaper Solar Panels

2011-07-04T17:06:00.001-06:00

I love how ambitious the Department of Energy's (DOE) goal is in their "SunShot" program: "...eliminate 75% of the total installation costs for solar energy systems by 2020." That's incredible. There are working with utilities, software providers, and local governments to meet this goal so as to make rooftop solar arrays more affordable for property owners. With the collective brainpower of those

Biofuels Take Off in Europe

2011-07-04T14:35:00.000-06:00

Congrats to KLM and Lufthansa airlines for taking the necessary step of testing the use of biofuels on their "regular routes". KLM is going to use biofuels on their Paris to Amsterdam route and Lufthansa will use it on their Frankfurt to Hamburg route. These airlines are using a processed oil from camelina a biofuel crop. The camelina can be planted in wheat fields during a time when the fields

Vestas CEO on the Renewable Energy Index and Wind Market

2011-07-04T13:59:00.000-06:00

Via Colorado Energy News we have a quick article on the information the Vestas CEO recently told Bloomberg TV. Although the "Corporate Renewable Energy Index" he mentioned peaks my interest, I think this quote is the most powerful: "90% of all consumers in the world would like to have more renewable energy, and 80% of those consumers actually believe that companies that have the right behavior

Boulder Wind Power, NREL Receive Energy Department Grants

2011-07-04T12:03:00.000-06:00

Excellent news for local Colorado organizations. The two will receive a portion of a $7.5 million Department of Energy grant to help expedite next-generation utility-scale wind turbine drivetrains. According to their website Boulder Wind Power has a new design for a direct drive wind turbine generator, which they claim is more efficient, reliable, and cheaper than current direct drive or

Nation's Largest Community Owned Solar Array Goes Live in Rifle, CO

2011-06-19T12:44:00.000-06:00

Chalk one up for community owned solar! This is another example of folks coming together to generate clean, renewable power. Holy Cross Energy, the Clean Energy Collective, and Garfield County, Colorado collaborated to install a 1,500 MW solar PV array that will supply electricity for about 350 residents. The solar array was installed at the county airport. Here's to adding more community-powered

NREL's Research Support Facility: A Lesson in Sustainability

2011-06-19T11:40:00.000-06:00

Credit: NREL This past week I was fortunate enough to attend CORE's Sustainability Breakfast on renewable energy certificates (RECs) located at the National Renewable Energy Lab's new Research Support Facility (RSF) in Golden, CO. The speakers at the breakfast were engaging and each had a somewhat unique perspective on RECs. The highlight was a full tour of the RSF. This new 220,000 sq. ft.

GE Combines Natural Gas, Wind, and Solar

2011-06-12T21:57:00.002-06:00

Credit: GE via Technology Review First off, I must say that I have a minor addiction to MIT's Technology Review. The writers render hyper-techie information into a digestible format that even grandpa can understand. Ok, cool science magazine plug out of the way, we have interesting news from GE. They've created this hybrid solar thermal/wind/natural gas plant. They say that a solar thermal and

Colorado Governor's Energy Office Faces Funding Drought

2011-05-30T20:44:00.002-06:00

I'm a bit dismayed at the possibility of life without the Colorado Governor's Energy Office (GEO). Those folks have worked incredibly hard over the years to increase awareness of both energy efficiency and renewable energy in the state of Colorado. But awareness aside the GEO has helped nurture budding markets (think Vestas wind turbines, Abound thin-film solar PV, solar thermal, energy audits)

Farm-to-table Revolution in Western Colorado

2011-05-30T19:57:00.000-06:00

Great article in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel on the partnerships that can be developed between local food growers and institutions like hospitals, schools, and nursing homes. Programs like these aren't the cheapest, and often can't compete on price and convenience with the large corporate food producers, but I believe that focusing your attention on more locally produced food will be

Xcel Energy Says It’s Close to Meeting Colorado Target for Renewable Energy

2011-05-14T20:47:00.000-06:00

This headline from the Denver Business Journal is bittersweet. On one hand, kudos to Xcel for meeting Colorado's renewable portfolio standard (basically 30% renewables by 2020) approximately eight years early. It's an incredible feat and Xcel should be commended for working diligently and creatively to meet that goal. On the other hand, the momentum towards accomplishing this goal will inevitably

GEO Recharge Colorado Rebate Program Pumps Nearly $90M of Investment into Colorado Economy

2011-04-24T12:55:00.001-06:00

This is another example of how the Colorado Governor's Energy Office (GEO) works quietly behind the scenes to boost renewable energy technologies, promote energy efficiency in our structures, and stimulate the Colorado economy. A resident could get a rebate for installing a solar PV array, for weatherizing their property, or for purchasing an Energy Star appliance. Kudos to the GEO for

Discovery Could Make Fuel Cells Much Cheaper

2011-04-24T12:43:00.002-06:00

I love science and all of the possibility and hope it brings. Bright men and women are working hard each day to discover cures for debilitating diseases and to develop better, faster, cheaper, smarter ways to do things. And now we have scientists that have discovered a cheaper material for a hydrogen fuel cell catalyst. The catalyst of choice today is platinum, which according to that article is

Pew Report: U.S. Drops to Third in Clean Energy Investment

2011-04-03T21:57:00.000-06:00

I'm not ready to hit the panic button yet, but China is eating our lunch with respect to deploying clean energy technology. Although U.S. investment was up 51% ($34B) from 2009, the Chinese and the Germans are still pumping more investment dollars into clean tech deployments. Pew Clean Energy Director Phyliss Cuttino said, "The United States' position as a leading destination for clean energy

Working Toward a Clean Energy Economy

2011-03-19T17:59:00.000-06:00

Check out this guest commentary at the Denver Post from an outgoing member of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Although this PUC member is leaving, it's refreshing to see his passion for Colorado's clean energy economy. It's necessary that we start transitioning away as quickly as we can from fossil fuels and move towards clean and renewable sources of energy. The reason? Simply put,

NREL Software Visualizes Energy Use in Buildings

2011-03-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

I truly love this stuff! A software development team at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) have created a free program called OpenStudio that allows you to explore the energy use in any building. The software program was developed for Windows, OSX, and Linux and enables you to add various "loads" such as lighting, HVAC systems, and other equipment that use energy throughout a building. The

Why Does Energy Efficiency’s Promise Remain Unfulfilled?

2011-03-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have felt that energy efficiency techniques haven't been adopted by commercial and residential buildings as quickly as they should. I'm really a bit shocked when individuals and businesses don't want to save cold hard cash by reducing how much energy is consumed by their home or office. We all should know that of all the "clean" methods that provide the quickest return on investment (

Bill Ritter: Natural Gas and America's Clean Energy Future

2011-02-20T21:24:00.000-07:00

I was fairly disappointed when former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter opted out of running for a second term. He had done so much to further clean energy in the state of Colorado and I was worried that clean energy would begin to take a back seat with a new administration. Surely, in my mind, there was no other Colorado politician that could live up to the former governor's passion for clean energy

MIT Study: Companies Up Commitment to Sustainability

2011-02-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

The MIT Sloan Management Review recently completed a study that determined more and more corporate leaders are committing to sustainability practices. I would imagine that any intelligent business leader is going to implement triple-bottom line practices throughout their enterprise. Putting policies in place that tend to the social, environmental, and economic stakeholders of your company will do

Colorado Renewable Energy Rules Survive GOP Offensive

2011-02-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Dems in the Colorado State Legislature for putting the kibosh on an attempt to roll back Colorado's clean energy mandates outlined in the Clean-Air Clean Jobs law. I understand the sensitivity towards the cost to the consumer, but rolling back good policy that will help Colorado clean the air and create jobs is a little short-sited. We all are going to have to take on additional cost if

Study: By 2030 World Can Run On Renewables

2011-02-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

Headlines like this excite me to no end. Here are some scientists from Stanford and University of California who say that they have a detailed plan to power the planet with clean, renewable energy in just 20 years. Some of the highlights include implementing hydrogen fuels cells to generate electricity, using offshore and onshore wind turbines, implementing a smarter grid, accessing geothermal,

Colorado State Republican Wants Renewable Energy Mandates Scaled Back

2011-01-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of members of the Colorado State legislature want to scale back some of the Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act signed into law in 2010. I wrote a piece on the signing here. This law was developed and supported by a broad coalition including Xcel Energy, Democratic and Republican lawmakers, and environmental groups. This type of robust coalition is rare these days in this political climate. One of

Degrees in Sustainability: Risky or Worth It?

2011-01-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

Even before reading this great article I'd have to say that a sustainability degree is about as noble as a science, engineering, or liberal arts degree (ahem, a shout out to all my English lit. sisters and brothers). As well, I think that type of degree is full of fiscal and common sense. I would hire a person in a second who has spent numerous semesters analyzing the economic, social, and

MIT Charged Up about Its Energy Efficiency

2011-01-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

The folks at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are showing the world how smart they really are by taking advantage of one of the simplest ways to reduce your carbon footprint and save money - energy efficiency. As we've revealed before here on Denver Sun Sponge, the quickest ROI isn't gained by installing solar panels, or adding solar thermal or a wind turbine, but is gained by

RETool: Opportunities in the New Energy Economy

2011-01-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

The next RETool class at the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Colorado starts on January 28th. I took this class last year and was impressed at the quality of education and instructors. Here's the line-up:Friday, January 28 - Renewable Electric Power Friday, February 18 - Understanding Smart Grids Friday, March 18 - Renewable Transportation Energy Friday, April 22 - The Promise

Online Solar Map Provides Data on 800,000 Colorado Buildings

2011-01-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

This solar map from the Governor's Energy Office and the Denver Regional Council of Governments is unbelievable. If you live in the Denver metro area all you have to do is find your structure on a Google satellite map and it provides the potential kilowatt hours that could be generated from having a solar PV system installed on the roof of your residential or commercial building. The solar map

CU-Boulder Appoints First Director of Campus Sustainability

2011-01-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

The University of Colorado is moving in a sustainable direction with the recent hire of Moe Tabrizi, Director of Campus Sustainability. Mr. Tabrizi is going to need all the support he can get with the university's ambitious sustainability goals. Just look at how ambitious these goals are: “…reducing energy consumption by 20 percent, water consumption by 10 percent,

Fujitsu Sells Smart Meters To U.S. Utility

2010-12-27T20:59:00.003-07:00

A utility in New Mexico will begin installing Fujitsu smart meters in customer's homes starting in March. What's pretty interesting is that:"Fujitsu will also build a computer system to maintain electricity consumption data for each household, using cloud computing."It appears that Fujitsu's "proprietary wireless technology, will deliver the electricity consumption data from each household to the

On a Small Scale, Sustainable Energy Transforms Lives

2010-12-27T20:37:00.003-07:00

Beautiful slideshow from the NY Times demonstrating how harnessing electricity from the sun can help improve the quality of life for a small village in Kenya. Check it out and imagine what we could do to improve the quality of our lives here in the states with clean, renewable power.

Vestas Lands Contracts for 83 Wind Turbines

2010-12-27T20:24:00.004-07:00

Wind is in! Looks like the folks down in Pueblo, CO are going to be busier in 2011. The Vestas manufacturing plant in Pueblo will produce 55 of the 83 turbines for a project up in Canada. That same plant is already fulfilling other orders. Looks like there is no diminishing demand for wind power at least throughout the first half of 2011. Congrats to Vestas!

Sustainability Roadmap Outlines a Greener Path for Hospitals

2010-12-20T21:13:00.005-07:00

If there is one industry that could use a good dose of sustainable practices infused into its culture, it's healthcare. A consortium of healthcare affiliated groups created a web site called, Sustainability Roadmap for Hospitals. It's a place where hospital professionals can go and share sustainability information as well as discovering where they can improve efficiencies, eliminate waste, and be

Obama Administration Releases Report for Solar Energy Development in West

2010-12-20T20:31:00.005-07:00

I really am impressed with how much collective energy is being put towards renewables within this administration. President Obama and Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar have just released a report deliciously titled, "Draft Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement." The 10,000 page report identifies locations in six Western states that are best suited for, "environmentally sound,

Abound Solar Nails DOE Loan for Thin-Film Factory

2010-12-20T20:16:00.002-07:00

A solar company right here on the Front Range of Colorado just scored a $510 million loan to help expand its production facility in Longmont, CO. That's incredible. Abound Solar is a thin-film solar company that has been growing quickly over the last couple of years. Even though thin-film has a lower solar cell efficiency than the solar cells in rooftop PV modules, its strength is that it's light

Regulators Add Cherokee Plant to the ‘No Coal’ Xcel List

2010-12-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

Interesting development reported at Colorado Energy News. The members of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted to deactivate another coal-burning power plant on the Front Range. The Cherokee power plant in north Denver will be retrofitted to burn natural gas by 2017. These type of retrofits were made mandatory when a broad coalition of government, environmentalist, and Xcel

Colorado Energy Employment Growing Faster than Nation’s, Report Says

2010-12-11T15:39:00.005-07:00

Looks like the investments made into the cleantech industry and natural gas (to name a couple) are paying off for Colorado, according to a report by the Colorado Energy Coalition. This is creating jobs here in the state and helping to contribute to Colorado's status as an energy thought leadership powerhouse. There are a lot of hard-working men and woman in this state that are completely focused

State’s First Industrial Solar Project Meets Strong Opposition in San Luis Valley

2010-12-05T20:41:00.003-07:00

To me this article in Colorado Energy News illuminates a fascinating debate about the future of renewable energy. The forces of utility-scale renewable energy generation versus the forces of local, distributed renewable energy generation. I don't know what the right answer is, because I can see the benefits and the drawbacks of each side. We'll see what happens in this debate.

Colorado Creates $13M Energy-linked Business Loan Funds

2010-12-05T20:10:00.005-07:00

Colorado businesses just got a $13 million boost to the economy! Governor Ritter announced that cleantech companies can apply for loans from a $12 million fund to help them keep a sufficient amount of cash flow for things like payroll and expansion. Another $1 million fund will go to all types of small businesses to help them add clean-energy sources or make their buildings energy efficient. This

Dark Grid: Electric Utilities Scramble to Get Smart

2010-11-28T19:38:00.005-07:00

Here is a great article in Forbes regarding the incredible opportunities that utilities have with our nation's electricity grid to make them "smarter". I learned in one of my renewable energy classes (and it's talked about in this article) that utilities don't know when their customers have a power outage until those customers call and let them know the power is out. How crazy is that?

A Colorado Community Center Powered by the Sun

2010-11-28T19:11:00.004-07:00

How cool is this? A community center in Glenwood Springs is generating 20.5 kW of sweet and clean renewable electricity from our friend the sun. Now this is only about 2% of the community center's electricity usage, but they have completed an energy audit of the center, which after implementing $250,000 in efficiency improvements, the center is expected to save another $31,000/year. That's about

Final Approval Paves Way for Colorado’s Largest Private Solar Array

2010-11-17T21:18:00.004-07:00

Good news coming from the Western Slope of Colorado. The Clean Energy Collective is going to build a private 1.5 megawatt solar array in Rifle, Colorado. "Private" essentially means that this will be a community-owned clean energy plant. The Clean Energy Collective builds the plant and then members from the community are allowed to purchase as much clean energy as they can afford. They then get a

Colorado-based Renewable Choice Energy Expands to Meet Demand for Full-Scale Business Sustainability

2010-11-14T13:26:00.003-07:00

This is great. Local Colorado firm Renewable Choice Energy has been focusing on implementing business sustainability programs over the last 18 months. From this article it appears that awareness of business sustainability methods is increasing. The article also mentions that they've outgrown four Boulder, CO offices. I guess business sustainability programs make good sense!

FERC Moves Ahead With Campaign to Promote Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

2010-11-14T13:02:00.004-07:00

Interesting article from The Times on how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is full steam ahead with putting policy in place to help promote energy efficiency and renewable energy. Some of these proposals are a bit controversial, if you are an energy generator, although it appears that consumers would benefit from some if not all of these FERC proposals. It also seems like this is

We Need More Programs Like the Key West High School Alternative Energy Center

2010-11-10T20:30:00.005-07:00

The students these days are really fortunate to have alternative energy programs like this. I think that this is a positive sign renewable energy is beginning to take root in our collective psyche unlike in the 1970s during the last energy crisis. I could be naive here because I was knee high to a grasshopper when the oil crisis happened in the 1970s. But people I've talked to that were conscious

BLM Auctioning Off Geothermal Parcel

2010-11-10T20:09:00.003-07:00

Looks like we are going to have a geothermal project somewhere in Chaffee County, Colorado. Clean geothermal energy is always good news. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is also providing assessments on two other geothermal parcels of land near Gunnison. I think Interior Secretary Salazar deserves some of the credit for expediting the process for parcel auctions of BLM land for renewable

NY Times Editorial: Remember Renewable Energy?

2010-10-29T18:27:00.005-06:00

I appreciate this editorial for reminding us that Europe and China are cleaning our clock when it comes to investment in and support of the renewable energy (RE) industry. However, at the same time I think that this editorial could have a few more ideas peppered into it. I have called for the same subsidies for RE that the oil and gas industry receive to level the playing field, but I also think

Energy-Efficient Strawbale Home in the Colorado Rockies

2010-10-17T18:57:00.004-06:00

Really cool article written by an architect who designed his energy efficient strawbale home. By using heating from the sun during the winter and ventilation methods for cooling in the summer, their house only has a 3-5 degree temperature swing inside year round. 3-5 degrees! In comparison, my 1950s house has about a 20 degree variation year round (but I am working to reduce this as finances

Interior's Salazar, Vestas Dedicate World's Largest Wind-tower Plant

2010-10-13T20:18:00.002-06:00

Good things keep happening to Colorado. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar helped dedicate Vestas Wind System's new wind turbine plant in Pueblo, Colorado. Vestas says that this new plant is the world's largest. This is great news for the Pueblo community and goes a long way towards establishing Colorado as the renewable energy thought leader.

Colorado's Ascent Solar Signs French Distribution Deal

2010-10-10T17:04:00.003-06:00

Nice work Ascent Solar! Looks like they inked a deal to provide a French solar company with the thin-film solar panels they produce right here in Colorado. Now if we could only give Ascent Solar some more business here in the U.S.

Gov. Ritter Marks 600th Home Weatherized in Denver, Jefferson County

2010-10-10T16:50:00.005-06:00

I'm going to miss Governor Ritter's devotion to energy efficiency and renewable energy in the state of Colorado. I hope that the next governor picks up where he left off and expands our renewable energy/energy efficiency footprint even further. The good governor just celebrated the 600th home in Colorado to be weatherized by the Veterans Green Jobs group. The more homes that become energy

Colorado Man Riding Renewable Energy-powered Tricycle 2,500 Miles to Raise Awareness

2010-10-10T16:39:00.003-06:00

This guy is my freakin' hero! Tom Weis is riding his solar-powered (and human-powered) tricycle to D.C. to promote awareness of renewable energy to lawmakers. Although Mr. Weis' desire to have a 100% renewable energy grid by 2020 is "ambitious," I think that if we can spend a trillion or so dollars on war we can certainly spend a few billion on becoming energy independent and a moral leader once

Editorial: Nation Needs a Standard for Renewable Energy

2010-09-30T20:29:00.003-06:00

Good work. The Denver Post editorial board comes out in favor of a national renewable energy standard. If you don't agree with government subsidies to help a nascent renewable energy (RE) industry then the only other options are a national RE standard (minimum amount of the states energy has to come from renewable sources) or a carbon/gasoline tax. Doing nothing and keeping the status quo is not

Upping the Limit on Solar Cell Efficiency

2010-09-30T20:05:00.003-06:00

The scientists at the University of Wyoming are trying to develop new ways to increase solar cell efficiency. The results are inconclusive so far but they are promising. These scientists are using "nanomaterials called quantum dots" to try and increase the limit. I can't describe the science behind this well enough, so check out Technology Review's article on the subject. Cool stuff!

Doing More While Using Less Power

2010-09-06T08:59:00.002-06:00

It really is simple - we must learn how to use our energy more efficiently. Whether you use LED or CFL light bulbs, weatherize your home with caulk or new windows or insulation, or fill up the air pressure in your automobile tires, there are numerous ways that we as a society can learn how to consume energy more efficiently. Plus in these economic times you can save quite a bit of cash thinking

CSU, Fort Collins Land Clean Energy Grants

2010-09-01T21:42:00.002-06:00

Both Colorado State University (CSU) and the City of Fort Collins received grants from Colorado's New Energy Economic Development program. CSU received $15K to install a 2 megawatt PV array and the city received $72K to implement its "Carbon City sustainability information management system". This system will help track the city's carbon emissions. I think we live in interesting times. Just 10

Colorado Convention Center Lands LEED Certification

2010-09-01T21:28:00.005-06:00

Nice. The Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver has received LEED-EB Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Basically, they retrofitted the building so that it would use less energy and would have a reduced carbon footprint. Kudos to the staff at the Colorado Convention Center for doing what it takes to get LEED certified.

Denver Green School Debuts K-8 Program

2010-08-28T08:57:00.005-06:00

I wish there were school's around like this when I was a kid. Learning math and science through the "lens of sustainability" is a great idea. The founders of the Denver Green School says that it has, "a vision of being a beacon for Denver Public Schools (DPS) and really the country on what a school dedicated to sustainability can mean." Kudos to the Denver Green School and their forward-thinking

Reading, Writing, ‘Rithmetic, and Sustainability

2010-08-28T08:43:00.002-06:00

Great article written by Paul Valenta on the importance of educating our children (and ourselves) on the benefits of energy efficiency. As I've said before, altering our residential and commercial buildings to use energy more efficiently not only makes our air, water and land cleaner it saves us cold hard cash. Here's a good quote from the article that sums it up: "Children

Ikea Denver Leads the Way for Big Box Geothermal Installations

2010-08-25T20:42:00.004-06:00

Rock and roll. They are building a new IKEA just south of Denver and are incorporating geothermal energy! More "big box" retailers need to follow IKEA's lead and utilize renewable energy. I don't know what the carbon footprint of these warehouses are, but it isn't tiny. Kudos to IKEA for lessening their impact on the planet (and saving some money).

Xcel Lays Out Plan for Natural Gas Conversion of Metro Denver Power Plants

2010-08-17T21:00:00.003-06:00

Excellent. We are just at the beginning of a positive change to the Front Range's air quality. Xcel Energy (largest power utility in Colorado) is laying out the plan to retrofit existing coal-fired power plants to natural gas-fired plants. If you remember way back in April, Governor Ritter Signed the Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act into law. This law required Xcel to begin the retrofit of old coal-fired

Xcel in Concentrated Solar Deal with Cogentrix Energy

2010-08-10T17:59:00.003-06:00

There is an interesting article in Colorado Energy News about Xcel Energy signing a 20-year contract with Cogentrix Energy to purchase 30 megawatts of power from a concentrated solar photovoltaic plant in Colorado's San Luis Valley next year. The plant hasn't been built yet, but construction is slated to begin Q1 2011. I think that this contract probably seals the deal so to speak, and that this

U.S. Losing Edge in the Clean Energy Sector

2010-08-03T20:06:00.006-06:00

I keep seeing more and more of these types of headlines and I can't say that I am surprised. We've been losing manufacturing jobs in other sectors as well for the last 20-30 years. But another troubling aspect that the article brings up is that we are also losing "research and development activities" to other countries. When the likes of IBM and Intel are setting up R&D shops in China you know

Commercial Airlines May Get 1% of Fuel From Biofuels By 2015, Boeing Says

2010-07-27T20:51:00.004-06:00

I am glad to see airlines stepping up to the plate and diversifying their fuel types with renewable plant-based biofuels. This proactive behavior probably has something to do with the fuel price volatility that almost crippled the airlines in 2008. Although 1% biofuels is low, it is a good start to get the biofuel ball rolling. From the article above, it seems like the biofuel manufacturers have

Dems Press Reid to Put Renewable Power Standard in Energy Bill

2010-07-27T19:07:00.004-06:00

We are going to need a lot more than just the Dems to bring about a federal renewable energy standard (RES). I wonder why the Republicans don't want a federal RES? A federal RES would provide stabilization to the clean energy market and would reduce our consumption of fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. Many states already have a standard but they vary in scope and time to complete. And for

Efficiency Bright Spot in Otherwise Deflated Clean Energy Investment Market

2010-07-19T19:10:00.005-06:00

Here's a piece from Colorado Energy News that explains a bit about why renewables aren't growing as fast as some (including this author) would like. There are a myriad of factors but one that sticks out in particular is the, "lack of policy guidance from the feds," as well as the pricing of carbon. A comprehensive, national renewable energy standard (RES) or a price on carbon levels the playing

U.S. Army Dips a Toe in Wind Powered Waters

2010-07-19T19:05:00.002-06:00

Go Army strong in the clean energy direction! Looks like the U.S. Army is going to pull the trigger on a wind power project in Utah. They've always been hesitant before this moment because they thought the turbines would interfere with radar. Now it looks like the turbines have the green light. Excellent. More diversity on the clean energy production portfolio is a good thing.

Vestas Wind Turbine Maker Plans To Hire Hundreds More In Colorado Over the Next Year

2010-07-19T18:34:00.006-06:00

Almost 1000 cleantech jobs in Colorado! Wow. Looks like Vestas is ramping up again. And this is the type of company that thinks things through as opposed to being impetuous. Instead of completely closing down a plant permanently or shipping it offshore, they temporarily closed one here in Colorado (through work furloughs) last year while they retooled and waited for the orders to pickup. How nice

Solar-powered Light Bulb Is One Denver Inventor's Brilliant Idea

2010-07-13T21:40:00.004-06:00

Nice article from the Denver Post on the Colorado inventor of a cheap, solar-powered light bulb called, Nokero. According to the article, a quarter of the world still burns fuel to produce light. Imagine replacing all that fuel with a cheap, rechargeable photovoltaic light bulb. People in those countries will begin to educate themselves at night without the harmful fumes from burning the fuel.

No, Electric Vehicles Won't Bring Down the U.S. Power Grid

2010-07-13T21:31:00.003-06:00

This is good news - plugin electric vehicles won't cause a tremendous drain on the U.S. power grid. A study (by two groups with differing viewpoints towards energy) was completed and they determined that one electric vehicle is the equivalent of four plasma televisions sets. Our lust for plasma flat screen televisions hasn't brought down the electric utility grid yet. Now that this is settled, we

Obama Awards $2 Billion For Solar Power, Hails New Jobs

2010-07-03T17:36:00.004-06:00

Hopefully this is just the beginning of more investment into clean energy. With our economy sputtering and a decimated manufacturing base I think it makes good sense to invest in creating more manufacturing jobs here in the states. I often am disappointed when entrepreneurs come up with a great product and then choose to have it manufactured overseas with slave labor because it is cheaper. But

Xcel Tests Hybrid Solar-coal Project in Colorado

2010-07-03T17:23:00.003-06:00

This is cool. The premise is similar to using solar thermal on the roof of your home, i.e. using the sun to heat water so that you don't have to use as much natural gas (or electricity) to heat the water in your hot water heater. But the method that Abengoa Solar uses is for a utility scale project. Instead of using coal all the time the utility will use solar power to heat the liquid that turns

Letter: Solar Power in Colorado's San Luis Valley

2010-06-27T14:13:00.005-06:00

In my post, "Going Solar Is Harder than It Looks, the San Luis Valley Finds," I linked to the NY Times article that talked about the differences between one of the utility's viewpoints (centralized concentrated solar power plant with high-voltage transmission) and the residents of the San Luis Valley (distributed generation). In the NY Times article the utility used a wealthy rancher as a

Xcel Energy Files to Reduce Colorado Solar Projects; Cites Concerns over Timing of Future Transmission

2010-06-12T19:16:00.005-06:00

Bummer. Looks like I'm not going to get my wish for a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in southern Colorado. I'm really torn on this San Luis Valley issue now. I've learned from a scientist at NREL before that we could power all of Colorado and then some by placing CSP plants on just 2% of the San Luis Valley. Just 2% (roughly 160 of the 8,000 sq. miles of the valley. That's a 13 x 13 mile

Wind Power Out West Gets a Boost

2010-06-06T14:07:00.001-06:00

We've been led to believe that one of the biggest problems with wind power is that the wind is intermittent and unsuitable for our current power grid. In addition, wind sometimes gets a bad rap as a replacement for coal. Well, the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) has just released a study (Western Wind and Solar Integration Study) that essentially says, "that the power grid for five western

Going Solar Is Harder Than It Looks, the San Luis Valley Finds

2010-06-05T08:03:00.004-06:00

Good article from the Alamosa Journal via the NY Times on the challenges inherent in trying to capture the sun's energy in the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado and then transport it over the "hill" to the giant load center on the Front Range. Even though it's easy to lay the blame on some billionaire that doesn't want a high voltage transmission line running across his property, we also have

Obama Says Oil Spill Highlights Need for Renewable Energy

2010-06-03T20:19:00.006-06:00

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”- Albert EinsteinWhat has been going on in the Gulf of Mexico for the last month or so is sickening to me. Sickening in the environmental sense of course. But I am more sickened by our rabid addiction to oil. We of course use the most of our petroleum products in the gas tanks of our cars and trucks to get

Study: Kerry-Lieberman Climate Bill Would Prompt Decade of Job Growth

2010-05-25T20:24:00.003-06:00

A bit of good news on the Kerry-Lieberman Climate Bill. The non-partisan Peterson Institute for International Economics studied this bill and determined that it would create numerous jobs in the clean energy sector from 2011-2020. The bill would also spur investment in technologies that will reduce fossil fuel consumption (through renewables and nuclear) and support energy efficiency measures in

CSU to Boost Solar Power and Become Largest University Installation in Nation

2010-05-19T19:15:00.004-06:00

Way to go Colorado State University. Not content with third place, CSU is going for the number one position in the nation for university solar power. One of the interesting points in the article is that CSU has realized that prospective students and their parents are paying more attention to universities that have "green" policies. CSU can now use the solar installation as a recruiting tool. Also

DOE Funds to Stretch Concentrated Solar Power Through Salt Storage

2010-05-17T19:15:00.004-06:00

Glad to see the Department of Energy (DOE) is investing $62 million in salt storage. It is cheaper and easier to store energy as heat than electricity. The way concentrated solar thermal power essentially works is that the sun's rays are focused on a tube of liquid, the liquid heats up to steam, and the steam turns a turbine which creates electricity. Once the sun stops shining the heat starts to

How Will Gulf Spill Affect Energy Debate? A Chat With Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter

2010-05-09T16:14:00.006-06:00

In the midst of what will probably turn out to be the worst environmental disaster the United States has ever experienced, we haven't yet had the time to reflect on the impact this oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico will have on our energy and environmental policies. It is safe to say that there will be some impact on the policy debate in Washington. Hopefully the result of that impact will be a

Colorado Seeks a Renewable Energy Peak

2010-05-09T15:54:00.006-06:00

Good article from National Geographic on whether or not the renewable energy boom in Colorado can be used as a template for other states. I tend to think it can, although not as large a scale as what's happening in Colorado. We have such plentiful renewable sources here (solar, wind, and geothermal) and a world class research center (NREL) that it behooves us to move full steam ahead into a