June was Colorado's third warmest ever

June was indeed the third warmest ever in Colorado

Russ Schumacher, the Colorado state climatologist, reports that June was indeed warm across Colorado. It came in third warmest when averaged across the state as compared to the historical record of the last 150 years.

Only Junes of 2022 and 2012 – and those were years of major wildfires across Colorado. The difference between this June and those was that this year’s June was rainy in the mountains and across the Western Slope, “That is a very unusual combination in summer.” See more here.

Solar industry group passes out passel of awards to legislators and others

The Colorado Solar and Storage Association continues to assert itself in the public sphere. It’s latest twist is a call out of “champions.”

This year they include four legislators — President Steve Fenberg, Sen. Chris Hansen, House Majority Leader Monica Durango and Rep. Kyle Brown — who were the prime sponsors of SB24-218, called Modernize Energy Distribution Systems. Climate and energy wonks believe this was easily the most important bill adopted by Colorado legislators in the 2024 session.

“By modernizing our energy distribution systems, expanding access to distributed generation, and creating a market for virtual power plants, we are laying the groundwork for a resilient, sustainable future,” said Hansen. Also credited were the Colorado Energy Office, Natural Resources Defense Council, IBEW Local 111, Western Line Contractors Chapter of NECA, and Xcel Energy.

Fenberg and Hansen also were cited for their sponsorship of two other bills, SB24-212, Local Govs. Renewable Energy Project, and SB24-207 Access to Distributed Generation.

COSSA also cited Mesa County Commissioner Cody Davis and Mesa County Planning Manager Sean Norris for their parts in quickly creating a solar code for Mesa County. Colorado Counties also got a nod for collaboration with the solar industry to develop a pioneering land use code.

Xcel Energy’s Interconnection Breakthrough Project Team, including Brandon Wellcome, also got a nod of approval for streamlining rooftop solarapprovals.

Ian Billick serves notice after almost 25 years at the helm of Rocky Mountain Biological Lab

Ian Billick, the director of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gunnison County, has served notice that he will be moving on – by June of next year.

He has been director of the lab at Gothic since 2000 but first arrived at the laboratory as an undergraduate research student in 1988 and then did his field work for his PH.D.

Billick told the Crested Butte News that he and his wife are looking forward to the graduation from high school of their youngest son next June. That provides a milestone for other changes. “I like to do that as least every 25 to 40 years or so,” he said. He is exploring business opportunities with local partners to support field research and land management building up integration of all the emerging techniques for observing the Earth from satellites to iPhones.

Delta-Montrose Electric plans major solar and battery with fed bucks

Delta-Montrose Electric came close to winning the lottery in the recent funding provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture program.

The electrical cooperative received a loan of $72 million. If Delta-Montrose completes the project, up to 40% will be forgiven. The cooperative also intends to use another provision of the Inflation Reduction Act to potentially defray nearly all the rest, leaving its members on the hook for just 10% of the cost.

The Montrose Daily Press explains that the money will be used to add 80 megawatt-hours of battery storage. Construction will not begin before 2027 with completion expected in 2030.

Mateusz Pena, the cooperative’s chief engineer and energy resources officer, told the newspaper that the 80 megawatts of battery storage will provide electricity for 10% of the cooperative’s overall load.

Where this will go has not been decided. Montrose County has a moratorium on issuing of special-use permits for power generation facilities.

However, ground is to be broken in July for the 80-megawatt solar farm on Garnett Mesa, a short distance east of Delta. It is expected to be operational by the end of 2025. Delta County commissioners had originally rejected the solar farm but then approved it after it was modified to allow some continued agricultural use.

Delta-Montrose was supplied by Tri-State Generation and Transmission until reaching a separation agreement in 2020. Its contract with Tri-State allowed it to generate a maximum of 5% of its own power. Its contract with Guzman Energy allows it to self-generate up to 20%.

Solar project in San Luis Valley a no-go because of conflicts with wildlife

A solar project that would have covered 780 acres just west of Alamosa was rejected by the Alamosa County commissioners.

Two of the three commissioners cited concerns expressed by Colorado Parks & Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The land in question lies within the migratory range of the Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge and Rock Creek and the Playa Blanca State Wildlife Area, the Alamosa Citizen reported.

Korsail, the developer, said its Cornflower Solar project would have delivered revenues of $400,000 annually to the county.

The county commissioners did award a 1041 permit to Xcel Energy to replace an aging transmission line from Alamosa to Antonito. The 69-kv line was built in the 1950s and will be replaced by transition with the same capacity.

Simpson and opponent agree about climate change but also need for phased approach

State Sen. Cleave Simpson, who represents the San Luis Valley and much of Southwestern Colorado, is a Republican who has been an occasional sponsor of bi-partisan energy legislation in Colorado.

This year, he has a Democratic opponent Vivian Smotherman. But it sounds like they have much in common, including their position on climate change.

The Alamosa Citizen reported that in a recent forum they agreed that climate change impacts are dire. Simpson, a fourth-generation alfalfa farmer in the valley, said his surface water rights no longer produce adequate supplies.

But both candidates agreed that the transition from fossil fuels needs to happen in a thoughtfully paced manner. “We cannot turn off all of the gas wells or oil wells tomorrow and just go with wind and solar — it’s not going to work,” said Smotherman. “It has to be done intelligently.”

Smotherman also farms in the San Luis Valley and, like Simpson, had an earlier career in fossil fuels, in her case it was in off-shore oil and gas. Simpson was a coal mining engineer.

Crested Butte struggles a bit with climate action plan

In early June, the Crested Butte Town Council reviewed a draft of the town’s climate action plan. The Crested Butte News reports a discussion about just how valuable the information is and of their wisest strategies for trimming emissions.

A 2022 inventory concluded that 90% of the town’s emissions could be traced to buildings, while 7% came from transportation. Mayor Ian Billick said the town has been pursuing two GHG reduction strategies: encouraging more people to live in Crested Butte, where living can be done more efficiently than in outlying areas; and displacing use of natural gas with electricity.

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