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Tag: Renewable Energy

Taxpayers Left Holding the Bag After $2 Billion Solar Project Fails
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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 ...
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Colorado’s clean-energy crusade looks a lot like Germany’s—and that should scare us
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Substack, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s clean-energy crusade looks a lot like Germany’s—and that should scare us

By Michael Hancock | Commentary, Michael Hancock’s Undercurrent A warning for Colorado before it repeats Europe’s green mistakes. Germany tried to save the planet — and ended up saving nothing, not even itself. The same ideology that shut down its nuclear plants, drove up energy prices, and gutted its industries is now being repackaged in Colorado under the banner of “climate justice.” The warnings are flashing red, but our leaders seem too busy chasing virtue to notice the cliff ahead. Germany once led the world in renewable energy. It also now leads it in self-inflicted economic decline. After spending hundreds of billions of euros to “go green,” the country that once symbolized industrial excellence now faces soaring energy prices, factory closures, and an exodus of jobs. ...
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Pueblo Fights Back as Colorado’s Coal Plants Close and Jobs Disappear
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Pueblo Fights Back as Colorado’s Coal Plants Close and Jobs Disappear

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics As Colorado darts toward a future powered by “clean” energy, a battle is brewing in Pueblo, where coal closures, union jobs and lost tax revenue collide with a community demanding a solution as its power plants are a primary target for a shutdown. Between 2025 and 2031, six more coal-fired power plants in Colorado are scheduled to be shut down or converted to another energy source, such as natural gas. With more than 800 jobs to be affected, another three plants are on the list for future closures. The closures are raising alarm bells, notably for the unions that count the power plant workers as members. A group has put forward an action plan called the Colorado Energy Compact, calling for a “balanced and sustainable energy policy” and a...
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Colorado’s climate agenda: Not about emissions but about ending fossil fuels
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s climate agenda: Not about emissions but about ending fossil fuels

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The point of climate change is to shut down fossil fuels, not deal with emissions. I don't know the full story, but apparently someone (or some entity) proposed a nuclear power reactor be sited at DIA. The idea, per the Sun article at bottom, was quickly quashed. I am loathe to speak with too much conviction about the DIA saga since I'm not too familiar with all the dynamics. What is pretty obvious from the article that there are multiple concerns residents had. Quoting the article: "...Why waste money on an unproven, enormously expensive, extremely toxic nuclear power plant, with no place in the nation accepting the eventual radioactive waste, in a spot with hundreds of thousands of neighbors and 100 million visi...
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Critics Warn of Blackouts and Rising Costs as Polis Accelerates Green Agenda
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State, Approved, completecolorado.com

Critics Warn of Blackouts and Rising Costs as Polis Accelerates Green Agenda

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER — Information obtained by Complete Colorado shows that Gov. Jared Polis continues to double down on a 100 percent renewable energy plan for the state by 2040, despite late last year admitting his current plan is already on a dangerous course for energy ratepayers. In a letter obtained by Complete Colorado in October 2024, Governor Polis admitted he’s concerned Colorado is on track for the same large rate increases that are happening wherever “beneficial electrification” is tried, if the transition is not “carefully managed.” Yet, on July 16, the governor’s Clean Energy Office (CEO) held a Zoom meeting with as many 100 “stakeholders” to discuss further legislation in the coming year to push Colorado towards full decarbonization of the stat...
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“A deadline without a plan”: how rural Colorado is building the energy future the state won’t
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories

“A deadline without a plan”: how rural Colorado is building the energy future the state won’t

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice In May 2023, Gov. Jared Polis signed HB 23‑1247, directing the Colorado Energy Office to study advanced energy solutions — from nuclear and geothermal to long-duration storage — in regions facing coal-plant closures like Craig Station. The law included $50,000 from the Just Transition Fund and federal support to study firm energy options in northwest Colorado. Within months, coal facilities began closing across the state—including Craig Station, now set to shutter by 2028. While studies are underway, comprehensive transition plans are still being reviewed. Facing job losses and shrinking tax bases, rural communities are taking charge. “There’s a closing schedule—but no roadmap,” said Matt Solomon, project manager for the Northwest Colorado En...
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