Good News for Colorado: Hickenlooper Signs Bill to Increase Rural Renewable Energy

Today is a good day for the people of Colorado. It was a little over two months ago that the Colorado legislature passed SB-252 to increase the renewable portfolio standard of large rural electric co-ops (more details on the bill here). All we were waiting for was the good governor's signature. Well, today Gov. Hickenlooper signed the bill into law! It wasn't a perfect bill (is there any such thing?), but the people of Colorado should be proud that their state is putting itself on a path of not only cleaner air, but more jobs and more glorious renewable energy. Thanks to our Colorado legislators for doing what's right for its constituents.

Xcel Asking for 550 Megawatts of Wind Power in Colorado

I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. Xcel Energy is asking the

Photo courtesy of NREL

Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for 550 more megawatts of clean renewable wind energy. The driving force behind this request for more wind power? Well, you have to thank Congress for extending the wind Production Tax Credit for two more years. This tax credit is going to keep wind industry jobs intact and wind power increasing across the land. Also, the tax credit keeps the cost of adding all of those megawatts low for Colorado customers. Kudos to Xcel and kudos to Congress for making clean energy a possibility for a least a couple more years. Let's hope the PUC passes Xcel's request.

Call to Action: Increase Renewables in Colorado

Image courtesy of UCAR

It's been awhile since my last post and I apologize. Much of my free time has been dabbling in worlds of Twitter / Facebook / Google+. How I've neglected you dear Denver Sun Sponge readers! Well, I do have something exciting to tell you about, which came to me through the good people at Alliance for Sustainable Colorado.

Colorado Senate Bill 252 was introduced last week and if passed would require large electric cooperatives (with +100,000 meters) to increase their renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 25% from 10% by 2020 as well as requiring 1% of retail sales to come from distributed generation (DG) sources. Colorado's current RPS requires investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in the state to generate or purchase enough renewable energy (RE) to supply 30% of their retail electric sales by 2020. In addition, IOUs must have 3% of their retail sales from distributed generation (DG) sources. The current Colorado RPS also mandates that electric co-ops and municipal utilities serving more than 40,000 customers need to generate or purchase enough RE to supply 10% of their electric sales by 2020. There is no DG requirement for electric co-ops and munis in the current RPS.

For more information on the Colorado Senate Bill 252 please check out the Power of Wind's backgrounder (as of this writing Senate Bill 252 was not posted to the Colorado General Assembly website). If you would like to express your support (or opposition) to your Colorado elected officials about this bill then please head on over to the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado website to learn how to contact them. Thanks for reading and supporting a more renewable, efficient, and sustainable Colorado!

Update 4/13/2013:
The Colorado Senate approved the bill. Rural electric co-ops with more than 100K meters and utilities that generate and supply electricity for electric co-ops need to acquire 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Here's more info from the Denver Business Journal. Is this good for Colorado? What say you dear readers?

Update 4/10/13:
In an effort to look at both sides of the issue this Denver Post editorial titled, "Moving too Fast on Colorado's Renewable Energy Standard?" was published this morning and looks at some of the problems with the bill as currently written. (Hat tip to Anna Zawisza at Alliance for Sustainable Colorado for bringing the editorial to my attention.)

University of Colorado to Receive $450,000 to Accelerate Solar Energy

Here's some excellent news for the University of Colorado. The U.S. Department of Energy has given a $450K grant to the university to help advance concentrated solar power technology. I think it's a pretty good idea for the government to invest in universities to help advance and reduce the cost of various technologies. This is an investment in our educational system, which is ultimately an investment in our communities. Plus, is there a better investment other than our schools? Students receive the enlightenment through discovery and the eventual innovation and subsequent intellectual property stays within the U.S. It's a win/win no?

5 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy Projects Fast-Tracked by Obama Admin

More good news from the Obama Administration. In addition to the solar energy zones that the Department of Interior designated at the end of July, the Obama Admin just fast-tracked seven wind and solar projects in four western states. This is all part of the We Can't Wait Initiative the Obama Admin created in response to Congress's inability to pass legislation that will move the country forward. It was also announced today that the Pentagon has open up its land, typically used for testing and training, for renewable energy projects. It's been a great day for the renewable energy industry. How's your day going?

Energy Efficiency Is Good Policy, Good for Economy

I'd have to agree with Sen. Jeanne Shaheene (D-NH): "We should use less energy." The Senator lays out a compelling argument for making our residential and commercial buildings more energy efficient. Not only is the return on investment in energy efficiency quick but it helps to create local jobs that can't be outsourced. We need HVAC experts, window installers, energy auditors, and lighting experts to help teach us the way our buildings consume energy and the way to get them to consume less. Really, energy efficiency is a big win for our economy. And why would you want to waste energy when you don't have too?

Energy Department Congratulates State for Weatherizing Thousands of Homes

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! Congrats to the DOE and to the homeowners who will have a more comfortable living space and more cash in their pocket.

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

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 such as the Rocky Mountain Institute and the American Solar Energy Society.

Greece Bets on Solar Power As a Debt Solution

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" measures like reducing or eliminating pensions). Greece is both sunny and beautiful. There are only so many tourists (and revenue) that can come through each year to see the beauty of Greek history and its people. So the smart people of Greece think they can capitalize on something that they have an abundance of - the sun by capturing it and exporting it to other EU countries. Cool huh?

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

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 initiative it's going to be a lot of money. If you remember energy efficiency initiatives have the quickest return on investment (ROI). Another interesting offhand comment in the Colorado Energy News article is this little nugget from TJ Deora, director of the GEO:

"Colorado is already positioned to be the first state reporting it's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from statewide operations..."

How cool is that? Colorado will not only save taxpayers money with energy efficiency initiatives, but may also one day report its GHG emissions. I look forward to the progress reports from the GEO and CSU.

DOE Explores a New Frontier In Quest for Cheaper Solar Panels

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 entities, I think that this goal can definitely become reality in just nine years.

Boulder Wind Power, NREL Receive Energy Department Grants

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 alternative geared systems on the market. And we all know the quality research that NREL is doing on wind turbines. This is money well spent and I can't wait to see what they come up with.

NREL's Research Support Facility: A Lesson in Sustainability

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. building is a prime example of sustainable construction and energy efficient building performance. The architects also took into account human behavior or the way humans use energy throughout the day in an office building. NREL is targeting a LEED Platinum rating. I hope they get it. Some of the more interesting technologies utilized are:

• Electrochromatic windows on the West side that automatically tint when a sensor detects direct sunlight,
• A transpired solar collector that captures warm air, transmits it to a basement thermal mass labyrinth, and then circulates it throughout the building,
• Lighting switches that force a person to turn them on but automatically shuts them off when they leave the room,
• Light louvers on the southern windows that deflect direct light to highly reflective interior paint on the ceilings and, 
• 1.6 MW of solar photovoltaics on the RSF and on the covered visitor parking. 

There is so much more to this building that will serve as a model and inspiration to all future sustainable building construction. We are fortunate here in Colorado to have an incredible renewable energy research laboratory.

Colorado Governor's Energy Office Faces Funding Drought

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) as well as boosting old ones (think appliances, home improvement, HVAC, windows). This article in the Boulder County Business Report gives the harsh realities (albeit between the lines) of myopic government influenced by a strong fossil fuel lobby working to keep us wedded to old technologies. It's been the Colorado GEO that has helped the people of Colorado look towards a sustainable, efficient, and renewable future. If you still believe that Colorado can be the clean tech thought leader and renewable technology incubator of the U.S. then you definitely need to call/write your state lawmakers and let them know that it is important that the GEO be fully funded. Let's keep this delicious renewable momentum going.

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

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 strategically developing a rebate program that makes a positive impact in three different areas.

NREL Software Visualizes Energy Use in Buildings

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 program integrates well with a few Google applications like SketchUp and there are various plug-ins that can do cool things like convert a photograph of a building into a 3D model. According to the developers there is great potential here to integrate with other Google apps. My only critique is that there isn't a robust GUI to make it user-friendly for the nontechnical, but I imagine that this will come in time. This is a gigantic first step in bringing energy modeling to the masses and helping to further educate each of us on how a building consumes energy.

Colorado Renewable Energy Rules Survive GOP Offensive

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 we want to help build a better and cleaner future for our children. Plus there are things that we can do today to help reduce our energy bills, namely weatherizing our home to make it more energy efficient.

Online Solar Map Provides Data on 800,000 Colorado Buildings

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 also provides the estimated electric bill savings, the size of a PV array in kilowatts, and a form to fill out to have an installer (PV or solar thermal) contact you. This interactive map with the above data points is truly a way to generate interest in distributed generation solar PV and solar thermal. This is a cool tool. Please check it out when you get a chance. Read more about the solar map in this Daily Camera article.

Obama Administration Releases Report for Solar Energy Development in West

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, utility-scale solar energy production." This report will be good news for utilities that need to meet renewable portfolio standards (RPS) in the states in which they operate over the next decade or so. It will also provide a little more validity to large utility-scale solar projects, by providing numerous facts for investors to digest and alleviating many of the concerns of environmentalists.

Abound Solar Nails DOE Loan for Thin-Film Factory

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 and thin and can be put everywhere (think about slapping thin-film solar strips on the southern side of a sky scraper). Congrats to Abound for raising the capital to expand and compete on a global scale!