Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Department of Energy

Colorado Responds To Federal Coal Extension Orders With New Emissions Requirements
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Responds To Federal Coal Extension Orders With New Emissions Requirements

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis signed into law a bill in reaction to orders from the U.S. Department of Energy to keep older coal units online. The federal government’s instructions applied to Craig Unit 1 in Colorado, one of five coal units affected nationwide. The state legislation requires installation of modern pollution controls and cost reporting for any Colorado coal-fired power plants that continue operating beyond planned retirement dates. The measure, House Bill 26-1226, also directs the Public Utilities Commission to support resource planning consistent with state clean energy goals. The legislation signed June 4 targets qualifying coal units that emitted significant nitrogen oxides or sulfur dioxide in 2024. It...
Federal Order Keeps Craig Coal Plant Ready As Power Demand Tests Grid
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Federal Order Keeps Craig Coal Plant Ready As Power Demand Tests Grid

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Tri-State still doesn’t want to burn fuel at the northwestern Colorado plant, but is under emergency federal orders. A reluctant Tri-State Generation and Transmission is now burning coal and sending electricity out onto the grid from its Craig Unit 1, after the Western power grid authority said potential for outages at other plants meant the northwestern Colorado power is needed to balance regional resources.  Tri-State had long planned to shutter Craig 1 for good at the end of 2025, but federal emergency orders from the Trump administration required the co-op to instead to keep the generating unit in good repair and available to operate. Craig 1 had been available but idle in the first months of 2026, while Tri-State, the Col...
Trump Administration Taps Global Oil Reserves And U.S. Production To Steady Markets
The Daily Signal, Approved, National

Trump Administration Taps Global Oil Reserves And U.S. Production To Steady Markets

By: Anthony Iafrate | The Daily Signal THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stated during a “Meet The Press” interview Sunday that the U.S. is taking several actions—including increasing oil production in deep blue California—to mitigate rising fuel costs due to the conflict in Iran. After the military strikes of Operation Epic Fury began Feb. 28, Iran sought to block U.S. transport vessels from passing though the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway separating the country from the Gulf States through which an estimated 20% of the world’s oil demand usually flows. The reduction in shipping volume has led to the surge of oil prices in the following weeks. “We have done many, many act...
Taxpayers Left Holding the Bag After $2 Billion Solar Project Fails
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National

Taxpayers Left Holding the Bag After $2 Billion Solar Project Fails

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com A decade ago, three giant companies took advantage of federal incentives to build the world’s largest solar power plant in the Mojave Desert, known as Ivanpah. It was “the wave of the future,” a new technology that focuses 300,000 computer-controlled mirrors to reflect solar rays onto three boiler towers, each the height of a 40-story building. The water inside is heated to produce steam that can generate 392 megawatts, enough electricity to power 140,000 homes. Supposed to last 30 years or more, the technology is already considered obsolete. Obama Administration loan guarantees financed three-fourths of the $2.2 billion cost, making it a safe investment for the three owners – Google, BrightSource Energy, and NRG Energy. I wrote a column ...
Colorado Democrats Push DOE to Restore $600M in Cancelled Energy Grants
Just The News, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Push DOE to Restore $600M in Cancelled Energy Grants

By: Elyse Apel | Just The News Colorado Democrats, including U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, joined together to sign a letter calling for the U.S. Department of Energy to restore over $600 million in funding for 38 Colorado-affiliated energy projects. Colorado Democrats joined together to sign a letter calling for the U.S. Department of Energy to restore over $600 million in funding for 38 Colorado-affiliated energy projects. In the letter, Colorado's U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, and Colorado U.S. Reps. Joe Neguse, Diana DeGette, Jason Crow and Brittany Pettersen argue the cuts are harmful to the state. “By cancelling over $600 million in energy-sector funding, much of which directly supported grid reliability, DOE is making it more di...
DOE report warns of blackout risk soaring amid push to shut conventional power
Power Engineering, Approved, National

DOE report warns of blackout risk soaring amid push to shut conventional power

By Paul Gerke, Kevin Clark | Power Engineering The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) began the week following Independence Day with a bang, releasing a report that the status quo is unsustainable for the U.S. electric grid. According to DOE, blackout risks in 2030 could be 100 times higher if the U.S. keeps shutting down conventional power plants. According to DOE’s analysis, the grid will not be able to sustain an estimated 104 gigawatts (GW) of baseload generation retirements by 2030 and isn’t prepared to meet the growth in electricity demand driven by data centers and artificial intelligence (AI). The DOE expects an additional 100 GW of new peak-hour supply to be needed by then; half of that growth is directly attributable to data centers. The United States has more tha...
Biden’s DOE Played Fast and Loose Rushing to Spend $42 Billion in Taxpayer Cash
National, Approved, Real Clear Politics

Biden’s DOE Played Fast and Loose Rushing to Spend $42 Billion in Taxpayer Cash

By Staff | Real Clear Investigations In its last two working days, the Biden administration’s Energy Department signed off on nearly $42 billion for green energy projects – a sum that exceeded the total amount its Loan Programs Office (LPO) had put out in the past decade. The frenzied activity on Jan. 16 and 17, 2025, capped a spending binge that saw the LPO approve at least $93 billion in current and future disbursements after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election in November, according to documents provided by the department to RealClearInvestigations. It appears that Biden officials were rushing to deploy billions in approved funding in anticipation that the incoming Trump administration would seek to redirect uncommitted money away from clean energy projects. The...
114 laid off from federal energy lab in Golden as Biden-era programs face scrutiny
Approved, kdvr.com, Local, National

114 laid off from federal energy lab in Golden as Biden-era programs face scrutiny

By Heather Willard | Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — On Monday, 114 employees of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory were “involuntarily separated” from the agency. The mass layoff was confirmed in an email from an NREL spokesperson, who said NREL is dealing with “a complex financial and operational landscape shaped by the issuance of stop work orders from federal agencies, new federal directives, and budgetary shifts.” “As a result, NREL has experienced workforce impacts affecting 114 employees across the laboratory, including staff from both research and operations, who were involuntarily separated today,” the statement read. “We appreciate their meaningful contributions to the laboratory. NREL’s mission continues to be critical to achieve an affordable and secure energy future. We a...
Senator praises Trump’s energy ‘dream team’ nominees, Wright and Burgum
Approved, Fox Business, National

Senator praises Trump’s energy ‘dream team’ nominees, Wright and Burgum

By Breck Dumas | Fox Business Freshman Sen. Jim Justice began his first week on the job warning that America faces a "crisis" unless the country addresses its energy policies – and fast. But he expressed confidence in two of the nominees President-elect Trump has selected to tackle the issue. The Republican from West Virginia, who was sworn in several days later than other senators in order to complete his term as governor of the state, sits on the upper chamber's Energy & Natural Resources Committee, which held confirmation hearings for Trump's picks to lead the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior this week. Trump's nominee for energy secretary, Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright, and the president-elect's pick for interior secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug B...

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