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.

State Energy Efficiency Scorecard Released – Colorado Ranked 14th

Source: ACEEE

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released their report ranking states by energy efficiency (via Triple Pundit). Massachusetts received the number one ranking for the second year in a row. Colorado didn't make the top 10, but is getting ready to knock on the door with a ranking of 14. Kudos to Oklahoma, Montana, and South Carolina for being the most improved states for energy efficiency.

Per the ACEEE website the report "examines six of the primary policy areas in which states typically pursue energy efficiency: utility and “public benefits” programs and policies; transportation policies; building energy codes; combined heat and power (CHP) policies; state government-led initiatives around energy efficiency; and appliance and equipment standards." Energy efficiency has the ability to make a large impact towards reducing our carbon footprint, increasing our personal comfort, and saving money on fuel costs. If you live in some of the states that were at the bottom of the rankings, don't fret, you can help move your state up the rankings by working with the electric and gas utilities in your state, local government, and your public utility commission.

Demand High for Xcel's Solar Garden Program in Colorado

The appetite is huge for solar gardens in Colorado! Xcel's solar garden program has received a slew of applications to build solar arrays up to 500 kilowatts. What is a solar garden? The Solar Gardens website gives a great definition: "a solar garden is a community shared solar array with grid-connected subscribers. Homes and businesses, even if shaded by trees, receive a bill credit as if the panels were on their own roof using 'virtual net metering'." Another thing that's cool about a solar garden is that people that don't own their property can acquire clean, green power from the sun. This includes renters and folks who live in home owners associations (HOAs) that don't allow solar modules on the roofs. The solar gardens program was a result of the 2010 Colorado Community Solar Garden Act. Kudos to Xcel and the people of Colorado for realizing the importance of renewable energy.

Colorado Energy-efficiency Law Spurred $166 Million in Investments

Creative Commons License:
User  Riisipuuro

Over the last 5 years two Colorado utilities (Xcel and Black Hills) have invested about $166 million in energy efficiency programs for their customers. This is an incredible of amount of money and an incredible amount of energy saved in just half a decade. Utility energy efficiency programs can not only help you reduce your monthly energy bill but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions from utility coal-fired power plants. Whether it's compact fluorescent lightbulbs, caulking around windows and doors, or adding insulation to a crawl space or in the walls, weatherization methods not only save you serious money quickly, but also increase the comfort-level of any living space. Remember, before adding any supplemental renewable energy like solar PV, solar thermal, or wind it's important to have a full energy audit of your property to learn how to use the least amount of energy possible. Reducing your energy consumption by becoming more energy efficient will help decrease the size and cost of a renewable energy system. Plus energy efficiency is cool!

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.

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

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 begin to decline. This suggests that utility incentives for homeowners to install solar PV or solar thermal may begin to dwindle. Funding for wind turbine farms on the Eastern plains may begin to dwindle. And perhaps even incentives for energy efficiency measures may dwindle. Of course the renewable energy market has to begin standing on its own, however the great state of Colorado can't just take it easy and feel good about having already accomplished 30% by 2020.

Even though there may not be any political appetite in this "age of austerity" for increasing the state renewable portfolio standard (RPS), I think that since Xcel was able to acquire the RPS goal that quickly, it's time for Xcel, Governor Hickenlooper, the state legislature, and environmental groups to work towards increasing the state RPS to oh let's say 40% by 2025 for investor owned utilities and 20% for co-ops and municipal owned. I think that goal would set the pace for the country and demonstrate that Colorado is the renewable energy powerhouse it was always meant to be. Once you've accomplished a goal, isn't it time to set a new one? Just sayin'.

If anything, I sure do miss ex-Governor Ritter's ability to develop those unique coalitions of strange bedfellows right about now. Alas, let's see if Governor Hickelooper can govern as effectively. What say you kind readers?

Fujitsu Sells Smart Meters To U.S. Utility

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 utility. I wonder if this wireless pipeline runs along the grid or some other way. Whatever the case, this is good news, because the utility will receive almost instantaneous feedback on their customers and will then be able to provide better service to those customers, whether it be in response times to outages or providing techniques for conserving energy.

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.

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

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.

Dark Grid: Electric Utilities Scramble to Get Smart

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? Unfortunately it's true. The power grid is dumb because there is no instant feedback mechanism to provide utility operators with real-time information on the state of the grid and power flow. Lot's of money is beginning to be poured into making the grid smarter, which I think will ultimately be good for the electricity consumer.

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

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 plants to natural gas. As I said back then, natural gas-fired plants will make it easier to bring online renewable power sources such as wind and solar, as well emitting less pollutants and CO2 than coal. This is just another demonstration of the forward-thinking policies of Colorado businesses and government. I don't know about you, but I look forward to breathing easier on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.

MetLife and John Hancock Finance Solar PV Power Plant in Colorado

I can't find any reporting on this so it's just a link to a press release. Nonetheless, this looks like the real deal. Two financial institutions are going to finance a 19-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant in Alamosa County, Colorado. SunPower will build this power plant for Xcel Energy and construction is starting this spring. Oh I can't wait to go check it out. Road trip anyone? And perhaps this utility scale financing may open the floodgates for more utility scale solar or wind projects?

Denver Post Op-ed: More Energy from Renewables

A sensible opinion from the Denver Post editorial board on the current renewable energy legislation (30% of our energy from renewables by 2020) before the Colorado House. We definitely need to think ahead when we make such legal mandates, just in case the renewable energy industry isn't as rosy in 2020 as it is in 2010. However, I trust that the Colorado legislature is already familiar with mandates for renewable energy and will be able to create the best bill for both the people of Colorado and its private enterprise.

PG&E Corp Quits US Chamber Of Commerce Over Climate Views

Wow. Perhaps we are witnessing a sea change? Pacific Gas and Electric tells the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to cut the crap with respect to its anti-climate change stance. Refreshing. So it begins and I hope that this statement by PG&E encourages other utilities and oil, gas, and coal companies to change their viewpoints on global climate change for the better.

Xcel Submits Plan to Rev Up Renewables

Excellent news from Xcel Energy via Colorado Energy News. The utility wants to, "add roughly 980 megawatts of solar and wind power by 2015 and cut carbon emissions by 10 percent." I am glad that Xcel is getting aggressive. The writing is on the wall folks, we need to start reducing our dependence on fossil fuels as an energy source. In addition, we can't keep hiding behind the tired arguments that it is going to cost too much. The cost of keeping the status quo is too great.

Xcel Fee Proposal Slammed by State’s Solar Industry

Hmmmm. Charging future solar array customers for access to the grid? Don't know about this one. Isn't that charge already baked into the utility bill when we use electricity form the grid? It'll be interesting to see what the PUC decides on this one.

Amsterdam Plans Sustainable Energy Company

Interesting concept - a city sets up their own sustainable energy utility. Amsterdam is pretty progressive with their CO2 emission reduction anyway (40% by 2025) so this makes sense. The city government is going to work with building owners in the city to see if they can use their rooftops for solar modules or wind turbines. Cool.

Greeley, Colorado Gets $80,000 to Study Renewable Energy Plant

It's hard to decipher from the article but it looks like Greeley, Colorado is getting a nice chunk of change to study the "feasibility of a renewable energy plant." What type of energy plant this is, is hard to say. Perhaps more specifics will come out soon. Also, the grant money was acquired from gaming revenues. Thank you Blackhawk and Central City.

Xcel Seeks Bids on World's Biggest Solar Project

Wow. This is awesome. An RFP for a 600 megawatt solar utility plant has been released by Xcel energy with responses due April 10. Six hundred megawatt's of electricity can supply about 150,000 homes. Kudos to Xcel for going big. I hope we start seeing more of these utility-scale renewable energy plants in the coming decade.

Utility Pulls Out of Coal Deal

Another positive casualty of the economic downturn. The credit freeze is preventing a coal company from acquiring the money to build a new coal-fired electricity plant. They do however, have the right to expand existing coal plants. This is the perfect time to get creative and see how we can meet the growing electricity demand with renewable sources. Utility companies will need to provide incentives on the demand side, i.e., reducing the amount of electricity consumed. Consumers will have to start thinking about how they use energy. The demand side can be addressed with a few ideas. These could be localized electricity generation (PV, wind, etc.), energy audits to make existing structures energy efficient, and greater use of smart grids. Within this crisis there is opportunity. Let's play it smart this time.