News
Category:
Colorado
Wind turbine falls from truck; Pueblo Blvd. traffic slows
May 2, 2012 by Nick Bonham in Pueblo Chieftain
May 2, 2012 by Nick Bonham in Pueblo Chieftain
Cranes and crews worked into the late hours Tuesday to remove a 68-ton wind turbine section that fell onto Pueblo Boulevard.
The roadway was closed most of the day between Hollywood Drive and Vinewood Lane.
Also filed under [
Safety]
Popular wind-energy tax credit stumbles in Congress
April 2, 2012 by Allison Sherry in The Denver Post
April 2, 2012 by Allison Sherry in The Denver Post
Colorado's entire delegation - save GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs - supports an extension. So does Iowa's congressional delegation. Lots of senators and House members, both liberals and conservatives, have signed up to support it.
But the production-tax-credit extension - which costs $4.1 billion over 10 years and includes some other renewables such as geothermal - has thrice failed in the U.S. Senate.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
USA]
Bennet, Udall scrambling to extend credit; Colorado senators say immediate outlook isn't good.
March 14, 2012 by Peter Roper in Pueblo Chieftain
March 14, 2012 by Peter Roper in Pueblo Chieftain
Udall also is pressing ahead by drafting a separate bill to renew the wind credit, hoping to get influential Republican senators to co-sponsor the measure. Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, for example, supports wind power but voted against the Stabenow package of tax credits on Tuesday.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
USA]
A Vestas employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the Gazette that he needs to shower every day prior to coming home to avoid harm to his children from the resins that get on his skin. The company has been cited by OSHA for violations related to chemicals used at the facility that have caused injury to employees.
The Greeley Report said an inside report indicates the plant produces approximately 40 blades per week with each blade generating 1 ton of waste.
Also filed under [
Pollution]
On the Eastern Plains vast stretches of farmland beckon wind developers. But in a state where agriculture is the second largest economy, the difficulty has been how to harvest what blows above the land while not losing the harvest grown on it.
"What we don't want to do is allow the wind developers to come in and buy the rights," said Rep. Jon Becker, R-Morgan County.
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
Utilities board becalms wind power plans
February 23, 2012 by Andrew Wineke and Daniel Chacon in The Gazette
February 23, 2012 by Andrew Wineke and Daniel Chacon in The Gazette
Former Mayor Lionel Rivera, who has been a critic of the wind plan, called the decision "good news for our community." Rivera argued that Utilities won't need additional generating capacity for years to come and has invested heavily in Neumann Systems Group's clean coal technology.
Also filed under [
General]
A Senate staffer said that in the highly partisan push-and-shove over the payroll tax deduction and cutting federal spending to pay for that, the conference committee ultimately pushed the list of sought-after business credits out of the discussion.
"Bills like this can quickly become Christmas trees with other measures attached in committee and it looks like the conferees ultimately tried to stick to the major issues.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
USA]
Wind industry, conservationists forge best environmental practices for farm siting
January 30, 2012 by Mark Jaffe in The Denver Post
January 30, 2012 by Mark Jaffe in The Denver Post
Colorado's Eastern Plains are a bit safer for prairie chickens - lesser and greater - and a spate of other animals and plants as the result of a unique partnership between conservation groups and the wind industry.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife]
Colorado's future in renewable energy dims after years of growth
January 22, 2012 by Mark Jaffe in The Denver Post
January 22, 2012 by Mark Jaffe in The Denver Post
The standard, however, is close to being met, and the future for renewable-energy incentives is uncertain. So, the question is: What is renewable energy's future in Colorado?
"Are we going to see the billion dollars in renewable investment that was made in the last five years repeated in the next few years?"
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
Rather than see building more transmission as the solution, though, Bowman sees its drawbacks as a symptom of a bigger problem: a highly centralized power system.
"I'm going to predict the day of very large transmission lines to carry energy from remote areas to urban centers are about over," he said. "What I do think you'll see happen is smaller projects that are built to accommodate the existing system you have in the rural electric districts and to move that power to the cities that way. I think there will be a different model."
Manufacturers feel squeezed: Energy prices, lack of skilled workers a problem
November 23, 2011 by Dennis Darrow in The Pueblo Chieftain
November 23, 2011 by Dennis Darrow in The Pueblo Chieftain
Pueblo's rising energy costs are among their chief worries, they say. ...Tony Knopp, manager of the wind turbine maker Vestas' tower plant, said he understands many industries' concerns about rising energy bills.
Still, Knopp said, he's convinced the greater use of renewable energy will pay off
Also filed under [
Impact on Economy|
Energy Policy]
Drivers on Highway 85 through Commerce City saw something unexpected in the middle of the road at 112th Street.
A large piece of a wind turbine was left on the road, in the middle of the intersection.
Also filed under [
Safety]
A 70-year-old woman was injured on Monday after her car hit a semitrailer carrying a large wind turbine blade.
The woman was driving her car south on Highway 85 in Platteville at 4 p.m. when she collided with the turbine truck as it was turning.
In show of municipal power, Boulder votes to ax Xcel
November 3, 2011 by David Shaffer in Star Tribune
November 3, 2011 by David Shaffer in Star Tribune
Xcel, which is already a big producer of wind electricity, argued that it was in the best position to help Boulder meet ambitious renewable goals. Its plan aimed to supply 70 percent of the city's power from renewable sources within a year.
Also filed under [
General]
‘Green jobs' farm in Colorado sheds jobs after receiving $200M in stimulus funds
October 4, 2011 by Matthew Boyle in The Daily Caller
October 4, 2011 by Matthew Boyle in The Daily Caller
NREL spokesman Bob Noun blames Congress for the organization's failures. The Denver Post reports that he believes the gridlocked U.S. Congress forced the NREL to find $8 million in new budgetary savings.
"We don't see any budget scenario where the lab doesn't face budget cuts," Noun said.
Xcel aggressively fighting city's move to create own utility
August 20, 2011 in St. Paul Business Journal
August 20, 2011 in St. Paul Business Journal
The committee is being formed "for the purpose of opposing the takeover of the electric system in Boulder and that it will also support the work of the Boulder Smart Energy Coalition Issue Committee chaired by David Miller," Xcel said in a statement.
Also filed under [
General]
Wind rights legislation - particularly that which supports wind rights being unsevered from property ownership - is an issue that's expected to draw attention as 2012 draws nearer, state and local politicians say.
Also filed under [
General]
Residential windmills may prove too idealistic for some
July 29, 2011 by Dale Rodebaugh in Durango Herald
July 29, 2011 by Dale Rodebaugh in Durango Herald
The use of windmills to offset home power costs - and perhaps even spin the meter backward - has produced mixed results in La Plata County.
"I'm disappointed in the production I'm getting," said Brad Blake, who installed a windmill 18 months ago on Florida Mesa. "It hasn't produced the power I expected."
Also filed under [
Technology|
Wyoming]
Study: Energy boom hurting deer, antelope herds
July 21, 2011 by Troy Hooper in The Colorado Independent
July 21, 2011 by Troy Hooper in The Colorado Independent
After reviewing population trends, hunter-harvest reports and licenses sales from the two states over the last 30 years, wildlife biologists concluded that oil and gas drilling, wind farms, agricultural practices and other human encroachments are slicing and dicing critical habitat the animals have historically relied upon to survive.
Xcel said it remains committed to its customers in Boulder, a city of roughly 100,000 residents about 30 miles north of Denver. Xcel maintains that Boulder can reduce its carbon emissions better with its help than it could on its own, "and without the significant cost and inherent risk of municipalization."
Also filed under [
General]
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