How work underway at Crested Butte may enable better prediction of spring runoff
A warming, drying West will need a better understanding of the dynamics of runoff from mountain topography. Research at Crested Butte hopes to deliver answers.
Extreme weather? Yes, and the events were interrelated
Heat waves, bad air, flash floods, debris flows and drought—these were separate but interrelated parts of climate change in Colorado and beyond during 2021.
On the road to New Mexico — and back
Traveling along I-25 toward Santa Fe on the eve of Thanksgiving, we stopped at Las Vegas to refuel. Cathy went inside and returned with a report that was surprising, even shocking: Everyone was wearing a mask. This, we observed during our four days in New Mexico, was...
Visiting Bishop’s Lodge and the Colorado River Compact
A visit to where the compact was conceived in New Mexico in 1922 provokes questions about whether the agreement needs to be remodeled—or razed.
How renewables are scrambling electrical generation portfolios and lowering rates
Six towns and cities in SE Colorado will be getting electricity from a new wholesale provider, Guzman Energy, which is developing a portfolio of renewables.
Electric highway to the Front Range from the heart of the Dust Bowl?
Xcel Energy wants to spend upwards of $2 billion delivering wind and other renewables to Front Range customers. But what motivates Colorado’s largest utility?
How global warming will make Aspen wealthier
The actual poor of the world are suffering from global warming, while we Aspenites get richer, says Roger Marolt. This is not a crisis for mountain resorts and likely never will be.
Colorado energy gleanings
A dead-end on Aspen’s natural-gas sabotage, solar moves forward in Yampa Valley, hydrogen plan released, Vail Resorts hits 85% renewables, Fort Collins blows past emissions goal.
Air conditioning now in a Park called Winter
Mid-November and still the flowers bloom, awaiting the killing frost. It will come, of course, but this warmth verges on eerie. During my midnight walk I wore a thin jacket that, I decided, was more than necessary. On Sunday, in Winter Park, we prowled around the...
County officials say state stalls gas production from the Piceance Basin
Colorado officials were accused of stalling development of natural gas in the Piceance Basin. Meanwhile, was the public improperly excluded from a meeting?
A vision for the energy equivalent of locavore
Why produce your electricity locally when it can be imported more cheaply? A new study makes the case for community solar in Colorado’s Garfleld County.
Mt. Front Range Trash
I sure know how to show a girl a good time. Cathy and I took off for our Sunday-afternoon drive, heading north from Denver on Interstate 25 until, just short of the Erie exit, I spied a photo I wanted to take of rapidly-rising housing set against the backdrop of the...
Wyoming energy gleanings: coal and nuclear
An essayist makes the case that Wyoming shouldn’t expect nuclear to save its energy economy, and another essayist describes the way that Wyoming legislators have been desperately trying to save the state’s coal economy.
New Mexico gleanings: Hydrogen and securitization
Securitization an issue in plans regarding coal plant in New Mexico Public Service Co. of New Mexico, the state’s largest electrical utility, plans to get out of the Four Corners Power Plant near Farmington by the end of 2024. But its plan for doing so is drawing...
United Power looking for a partner to create a pilot microgrid in service territory near Denver
United Power, an electrical cooperative near Denver, wants to find a partner to develop a pilot microgrid. Other utilities have had similar thoughts.
Tri-State has cleaner energy, Logan County has a broader tax base, landowners have more secure income
A new wind farm in northeastern Colorado will give Tri-State Generation and Transmission 200 megawatts of capacity, helping the wholesaler pivot away from coal.
Japanese-American internment camp of Amache can teach us much
A Japanese-American prison camp called Amache in southeast Colorado can teach us much about mass hysteria and wartime racism. Volunteers have kept its memories alive, and now, Congress needs to act to make this place of privation a national historic site.
Colorado transportation and hydrogen gleanings
Colorado hydrogen report recommends pilot projects; state looks at how to reduce emissions from medium and heavy-duty trucks; and new transportation boards.
How new solar farm has made Aspen more resilient
A new 5-megawatt solar farm will give Holy Cross Energy greater ability to create a microgrid near Aspen, as might be useful in case of wildfire.
Another big solar project in Pueblo as questions loom about Comanche 3
Work wraps up on one major solar project at Pueblo as work soon begins on a second. Looming is the question of whether coal or nuclear will supplement them.
