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Tag: Renewable Energy

Green Energy Fell Short When Winter Storm Fern Tested the Grid
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Daily Wire, Approved, National

Green Energy Fell Short When Winter Storm Fern Tested the Grid

By Amanda Prestigiacomo | The Daily Wire The analysis backs up Trump's recent moves regarding wind energy. With America’s power grid stressed by a historic winter storm, expensive “green” energy sources like wind and solar proved unreliable. A new report on power use over the days of Winter Storm Fern, which brought both massive snow accumulation and damaging waves of ice, found that traditional power sources like natural gas, coal, and nuclear provided 80% of U.S. electricity during the storm’s most destructive days. Wind, by contrast, contributed single-digit percentages, and solar was largely unattainable during the coldest and darkest hours. Data from some 500,000 federal electricity records, analyzed by nonprofit Power the Future, show the ...
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State Regulators Set Hearing on El Paso County Rejection of Xcel Power Line Permits
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

State Regulators Set Hearing on El Paso County Rejection of Xcel Power Line Permits

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Proposed routing for Xcel’s Power Pathway project in eastern and southeastern Colorado (Courtesy of Xcel Energy)      Colorado regulators plan a public hearing next week on Xcel Energy’s appeal to override El Paso County’s rejection of permits for a major transmission line segment. The hearing renews debate over a statewide renewable energy project that rural residents argue threatens property rights, wildfire safety and local landscapes without delivering benefits to their communities. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission scheduled the in-person session for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at Swink Hall in the El Paso County Fair and Events Center, 366 10th St., Calhan, to gather comments on Xcel’s request to build 45 mil...
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State signals renewed push to override local control on renewable energy siting
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State

State signals renewed push to override local control on renewable energy siting

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Both the Colorado Sun article linked first below, and the video which they likely drew from for the article which is linked second, have our governor saying essentially the same thing. Quoting form the article: “Democrats also plan to make energy and the environment priorities at the Capitol this year, though the details of their plans remain in flux. ‘You’re going to hear a lot about energy this session,’ Polis said, ‘including making it easier to permit energy projects and get them done. One of the reasons we can’t have nice things is we don’t let them be built.’ Some of those changes may be tied to a rewrite of the laws governing Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission, which oversees how much some consumer...
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Report Warns Renewable Mandates Could Cost New England Ratepayers Hundreds of Billions
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Boston Herald, Approved, National

Report Warns Renewable Mandates Could Cost New England Ratepayers Hundreds of Billions

By Tim Dunn | Boston Herald The study found Bay State ratepayers would bear the highest costs in New England for renewable energy plans. A new study has found that New England ratepayers would save an estimated $400-$700 billion by replacing planned offshore wind and solar projects in the region with natural gas and nuclear power. The study, Alternatives to New England’s Energy Affordability Crisis, estimated the economic effects of meeting the region’s energy needs through 2050 with nuclear and natural gas plants, modeling the cost of energy portfolios in the six New England states to reflect the result of decarbonization plans in the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO-NE). “New Englanders are being asked to bankroll an energy experiment tha...
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EPA Says Colorado Overstepped Law By Using Haze Rules To Close Coal Plants
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

EPA Says Colorado Overstepped Law By Using Haze Rules To Close Coal Plants

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun The federal government said the coal plants were needed for “grid reliability” and a regional haze-fighting plan violated the Clean Air Act. The Trump administration Friday further eroded Colorado’s longstanding mandate to close coal-fired power plants by 2031, saying the state’s required regional haze-fighting plan goes too far and violates the Clean Air Act. But the regional haze plan covers everything from emissions at the Suncor refinery and Colorado’s three major cement kilns to natural gas power and other pollution sources. In rejecting the entire plan, the EPA may throw many of Colorado’s pollution fighting plans into regulatory purgatory for years. Colorado’s coal plants are needed for “grid reliability,” the federal g...
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All Electric Mandate Or ‘All of The Above’ Energy Policy? You Decide
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

All Electric Mandate Or ‘All of The Above’ Energy Policy? You Decide

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice “The problem with Democrats is not that they are ungenerous. The problem is that they are so generous with other people’s money.”  (Jeff Childers)  In December, Excel Energy shut down electricity along the CO Front Range due to “high winds.”  It’s difficult to estimate the costs and impacts for individuals, businesses, homeowners, hospitals and grocery stores. Those who had propane, natural gas or diesel-powered generators were able to weather the storm. Everyone else was out of luck. High winds along the Front Range are normal according to the experts and scientists at NOAA, which is based in Boulder, CO. I lived in Boulder County for 39 years (1976-2015) and do not recall a single planned power sh...
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Colorado Blackouts Offer a Stark Warning About the State’s Energy Future
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Blackouts Offer a Stark Warning About the State’s Energy Future

By: Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado For those of you who shared this magical experience, congratulations — you’ve now had a sneak preview of Colorado’s 100% renewable energy lifestyle. No waiting. No reservation required. For us fortunate 110,000, the reality of “unreliable energy” arrived quickly: The house goes dark; people get cold; refrigerated food and medicines quietly die; folks on home oxygen machines fumble around in the dark for backup tanks; no cooked meals; garage doors refuse to open; Teslas sit silently, judging their owners, and worst of all — no electronic entertainment. Nirvana. Absolute green, renewable Nirvana. There’s a certain poetry in chasing a wind-powered energy future only to be plunged into darkness by a little wind. It’s l...
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Study Shows Electricity Costs Rising Fastest in States Pushing Green Mandates
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Just The News, Approved, National

Study Shows Electricity Costs Rising Fastest in States Pushing Green Mandates

By Kevin Killough | Just The News As Trump kicks off his affordability tour, new analyses show that states with renewable energy mandates have higher electricity rates than states without. President Donald Trump kicked off an affordability tour in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, and among the concerns he’s discussing at the events is the cost of energy.  It’s a big concern for Americans. A recent poll conducted by Ipsos, a marketing research and consulting firm, found that 73% of U.S. residents were concerned about increases in their electricity and gas bills this year.  A new analysis by Always On Energy Research and the Institute for Energy Research shows that residents of blue states see higher electricit...
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Regulators Keep Pueblo Comanche Coal Unit Running While Xcel Repairs Newer Plant
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Regulators Keep Pueblo Comanche Coal Unit Running While Xcel Repairs Newer Plant

By Alexander Edwards | The Denver Gazette The Comanche Power Plant in Pueblo will continue to operate a coal-powered electrical generating unit that was slated for retirement this month for one more year. The move comes after Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility company, petitioned in November to keep one generator operating after an outage at the coal-fired power plant. Gov. Jared Polis backed the petition. On Wednesday, the Public Utilities Commission approved a variance submitted by the utility. This allows Comanche 2, which was slated to be retired on Dec. 31, to continue operating as Xcel fixes the Comanche 3. “The Commission found that the outage at Comanche 3 was the sole justification for the extension of Comanche 2,” a fact sheet released by th...
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State Regulators Move Colorado Toward All-Electric Heating by 2050 at Any Cost
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

State Regulators Move Colorado Toward All-Electric Heating by 2050 at Any Cost

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Xcel and other utilities must make 41% cuts to natural gas heating emissions in 10 years, transition fully by 2050. Colorado officials are making another major push toward electrification of home heating and deep cuts to carbon from natural gas, despite consumer cost concerns and the Trump administration’s attempt to revive the use of fossil fuels.The Public Utilities Commission on Monday finalized a state Clean Heat framework requiring Xcel and other utilities supplying natural gas for home and building heating to cut the carbon emissions from their systems by 41% in 10 years. The utilities are expected to reach 100% decarbonization of building heating by 2050, an ambitious goal celebrated by the environmental and clean energy groups who had...
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