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This page contains an archive of the last 100 entries posted to ProgressNow.org Daily News Digest in the Energy Policy category. They are listed from newest to oldest. You can find older entries using the search box below.

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February 29, 2008

Grand Junction Sentinel - Senators delay vote on oil, gas nominees

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/29/022908_1B_COGCC_n...
State senators agreed to delay the final vote on Gov. Bill Ritter’s six appointments to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to allow a handful of lawmakers to continue to question the nominees. Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, in an attempt to appease several Republican lawmakers, said the Senate will not take up its final confirmation vote for Grand Junction ecologist Richard Alward and five others until mid-March. “We had a couple members that felt like they didn’t get their questions answered,” Isgar said. “They felt like we were rushed on time.” Isgar said delaying the final vote on Ritter’s six nominees until March 14 will allow the senators to send written questions to the nominees. The three Republican lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee objected Tuesday to the panel rushing the six nominees to the floor. Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, said he had at least 15 more questions to ask the candidates at the end of the nearly two-hour hearing. “I’m not sure we can make a decision. … I don’t think it’s out of the question to schedule another meeting,” Brophy said near the hearing’s end.
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Durango Herald Online - Energy-tax decision to come in March

http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&articl...
Gov. Bill Ritter and legislative leaders will decide by next month whether to ask voters to raise taxes on the gas and oil industry. Ritter has considered asking voters to fund health care, transportation and higher education. But he's taken health care off the table, and now a tax increase on energy companies is the "most active conversation" inside the Capitol, he said Thursday. "We're looking at next month as the month we really have to decide," Ritter told editors and publishers at the annual meeting of the Colorado Press Association. Ritter has maintained that energy-producing counties must not get shorted in any tax increase. On Thursday, he mentioned colleges and transportation as two places he'd like to send additional money. Colorado's severance taxes are the lowest in the Rocky Mountain region with the exception of Utah. March is shaping up to be a critical month for the energy industry. The Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is scheduled to release a draft of wide-ranging new rules on March 31.
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Glenwood Springs Post Independent - Garfield County Commissioner shares his thoughts on state battle for money

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080228/VALLEYNEWS/999471097...
Colorado’s two U.S. senators have sent out press releases by the dozens about the issue. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., held a roundtable about the matter last Thursday. The crux of the debate: What should be done with the $86.5 million in the Anvil Points oil shale trust fund, which takes in about $1.5 million in gas lease revenues every month? A 1997 law transferring the Roan Plateau near Rifle to Bureau of Land Management authority barred sharing of Roan gas lease revenues with the state until the federal government is fully reimbursed for cleanup of the former Anvil Points research station near Rulison.
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Craig Daily Press / Dispute about oil shale plan brought to City Council

http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2008/feb/29/dispute_about_oil_shale_plan_bro...
Although Moffat County doesn’t have the natural resource stores seen in counties to the south, as a regional player it stands to benefit or falter along with development in those communities. Positives and negatives aren’t always simply identified, however, said Sasha Nelson, Colorado Environmental Coalition northwest organizer, at Tuesday’s Craig City Council meeting. That’s why Nelson appeared before the Council on Tuesday. The Environmental Coalition is circulating a letter around the region asking the Bureau of Land Management to extend its public comment period for a document that stands to affect the future of this area for years to come.
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Ritter upbeat on Colorado's energy future : State and West : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/29/ritter-upbeat-on-energy/...
Colorado is cashing in on its rich energy future and now must figure out how to spend the severance taxes that are being generated, Gov. Bill Ritter said Thursday. He also said the state needs to look at ways to increase the amount of severance taxes the state collects. Ritter said Wyoming and New Mexico tax the mineral industry at about the same rate as Colorado, but Colorado provides a tax credit that is offset against the property taxes paid to local government, giving the state less revenue. He said state lawmakers could increase severance taxes or reduce the tax credits. If lawmakers don't act, others are willing to put a measure on the ballot to collect more money from Colorado's booming energy economy. "If we decide to do nothing at all, there are going to be people out there that I think will push the agenda anyway. The question becomes where you dedicate the money, and that's also a very lively conversation. We have very significant needs around higher education funding, and we have significant needs around transportation funding, and those certainly are on the list. There are people who think we should pursue a health care agenda with severance taxes, others who say we should pursue a K-12 agenda, some who say it should be about open space and another crowd that says it should be about renewable energy," Ritter told Colorado news editors and publishers at their annual convention in Denver.
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Glenwood Springs Post Independent - BLM seeks nominees for several Resource Advisory Council seats

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080229/VALLEYNEWS/162168530...
The Bureau of Land Management announced on Thursday that the agency is seeking public nominations for five open positions with the agency’s Northwest Resource Advisory Council (RAC). Along with the five open spots for the Northwest RAC, the BLM is seeking nominations for 10 positions on Colorado’s two other RACs, according to the agency. The BLM will consider the nominations for 45 days after Thursday, when the agency published its formal call for nominations in the Federal Register. Garfield County Commissioner Larry McCown, who is a member of the Northwest RAC, said participating on the council gives “everyone a whole new perspective” on the planning that goes into BLM land use decisions. “Anyone who has not been involved with it seems to think that (BLM decisions) are conducted in a vacuum,” McCown. “There is a tremendous amount of time and effort that goes into their planning efforts.” RAC members are chosen for their “expertise in natural resource issues and to help the BLM carry out its stewardship of 258 million acres of public lands,” according to the agency.
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Marilyn Musgrave sends Larimer commissioners letter urging opposition of uranium mine | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080229/NEWS/195838661...
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Fort Morgan, has sent a letter to the Board of Larimer County Commissioners urging them to oppose a proposed uranium mine near Nunn. The letter follows a similar one Musgrave sent the Board of Weld County Commissioners in January asking them to oppose the mine over health and safety concerns. “Like many of my constituents, I am particularly concerned about the impact this mining could have on our groundwater resources in northern Colorado,” Musgrave said in a release. Musgrave also said the in-situ — or “in-place” — mining method that is being proposed has the “potential to contaminate the underground aquifers that our families, communities and agricultural producers rely upon for clean safe water.” Powertech Uranium Corp., a Canadian firm that owns the mineral rights to 5,760 acres between Nunn and Wellington, has said the mining process will be completely safe and will not pollute ground water.
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Glenwood Springs Post Independent - Drilling permit fees adding up nicely

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080228/VALLEYNEWS/411834173...
Before, it didn’t cost a thing. Now, it’s $4,000 a pop. The Bureau of Land Management has been collecting a $4,000 fee for each new application for a permit to drill (APD) on federal mineral leases throughout the nation after the requirement was inserted into a $555-billion spending package that Congress approved Dec. 26. About two months after the requirement became law, the Glenwood Springs BLM field office has already collected about $148,000 from 37 APD permits, said David Boyd, northwest Colorado public affairs specialist for the BLM. Across the state of Colorado, the BLM has received 123 permit applications for a total of about $490,000, Boyd said.
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February 28, 2008

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - More energy efficient programs sought

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1204213176/11...
A measure requiring municipal power companies and rural electric cooperatives to spend more money on energy efficiency programs narrowly squeaked out of the Colorado House on Wednesday. On a 33-32 vote, HB1107 would force REAs and city-owned power companies that serve more than 5,000 customers to spend 1 percent of their sales revenue in 2009 on programs that reduce their need to purchase or generate more power, upping that requirement to 2 percent by 2010. Opponents argued that government shouldn't be telling private businesses what to do, and that it would increase consumers' electric bills. Rep. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, said it would cost Colorado Springs Utilities an estimated $14 million to comply over the first two years. "This bill really is uneconomical for a lot of the municipal-owned utilities," Liston said. "We already meet this 1 percent mandate. (The increase) is going to come out of the ratepayers' pockets."
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Process may reduce mercury emissions : More Business : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/process-may-reduce-mercury-emi...
First-round tests on its chemically treated activated carbon showed promising results, ADA-ES Inc. said Wednesday. Littleton-based ADA-ES intends to sell the product to coal-fired power plants for reducing mercury emissions. The company performed the tests at a power plant burning Western PRB coal. While operating with the activated carbon, the plant was able to reduce mercury emissions by greater than 90 percent at a competitive feed rate.
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Solar mirrors could array near DIA : Energy : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/solar-mirrors-could-array-near...
Vast swaths of brown, barren land near Denver International Airport could soon become decorated with a dizzying array of mirrors reflecting sunlight. SolarTAC is evaluating sites around the airport to establish a major solar energy research center. A spinoff of the newly established Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, SolarTAC will be launched in the coming months. Colorado's major academic and research institutions spawned the Collaboratory last year to bolster the state's prowess in new energy technologies and transfer those advances to the free market. It is backed by the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, the Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
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Aspen Times News - Basalt to collect new energy fee

http://aspentimes.com/article/20080227/NEWS/452353441...
Basalt will collect a new fee from Holy Cross Energy that could fund projects ranging from the undergrounding of power lines to conserving energy. The town government and Holy Cross are negotiating a new franchise agreement that will increase the amount of the annual fee that Holy Cross pays to provide the town with power.
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The Coloradoan - Students encourage steps to cut energy consumption

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/NEWS01/802280387/1002/...
The five girls and sixth-grade teacher Mary Laszlo also tracked the energy usage of the elementary school, including water, gas and electricity. Utilities use at Werner produces 105 tons of greenhouse gases each year, the team found. "I think it's really shocking," said Anne Bonhoure, a fifth-grader. "We are using a lot of energy." The team began to think of alternative ways to generate energy for the school and presented their findings to District Superintendent Jerry Wilson. They also made a presentation to the school, encouraging students and teachers to turn off lights, computers and other electronic devices when they are not in classrooms. "We give awards for classrooms at the end of the day that don't have their computers turned on," said Kate Monahan, a sixth-grader.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Xcel to replace faulty equipment

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/27/022808_7b_Xcel.ht...
Plagued with a history of power failures along Horizon Drive and around Grand Junction Regional Airport, Xcel Energy is investing more than $1 million to replace underground lines and equipment in an effort to eliminate power troubles in the area.
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February 27, 2008

Durango Herald Online - Senators OK new oil, gas commissioners

http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&articl...
Senators approve hundreds of the governor's appointments to boards and commissions every year, and the hearings are usually quick and end with a unanimous "yes" vote. But most commissions are nothing like the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Gov. Bill Ritter oversaw a wholesale remake of that commission last year, and Tuesday, his six new choices for the panel appeared before the Senate Agriculture Committee for their confirmation. After a sometimes-heated 90-minute hearing, they squeaked by on a 4-3 vote. Both Republicans and Democrats are worried that new rules the oil and gas commission will adopt this summer will hurt the energy industry. But the Agriculture Committee's four Democrats voted for Ritter's nominees, while the three Republicans voted no, saying they needed more time for questions. Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, led the questioning and asked Chairman Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, to delay the vote. "This is a commission that's going to oversee the biggest industry in the state of Colorado," Brophy said. "I don't think it's appropriate at this time to send the names forward." But Brophy lost that bid, and the full Senate will now consider the appointments.
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Glenwood Springs Post Independent - Party-line vote advances Garfield County commissioner's hopes for COGCC

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080227/VALLEYNEWS/355971990...
She has been doing the work for almost eight months. Now Garfield County Commissioner Tresi Houpt is one step closer to officially being named as a Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation (COGCC) commissioner. The Democrat-controlled state Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee on Tuesday approved — but on a party line, 4-to-3 vote — sending a motion to the full Senate that recommends senators approve the confirmation of Houpt and five other people as COGCC commissioners. The day the Senate will vote on the motion wasn’t immediately clear late Tuesday, Houpt said. She said that she was “hopeful” that the motion would be approved. Those in the committee who voted against the motion had made objections that senators did not have enough time to interview the prospective COGCC commissioners during a committee hearing Tuesday morning, Houpt said.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Nominees: We wouldn't try to shut out oil and gas

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/26/022708_1b_COGCC_a...
Gov. Bill Ritter’s six nominees to join the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission assured state lawmakers Tuesday they are not out to shut down Colorado’s lucrative oil and gas industry. Nominee Richard Alward, a Grand Junction-based environmental consultant, said he is committed to balancing public health and wildlife habitat concerns with fostering the state’s energy industry, “We always hope to have cleaner air, cleaner water … but other things are important to us also,” Alward said. Garfield County Commissioner Tresi Houpt told the Senate panel she wants to balance the “economic driver” of energy development with the Western Slope’s tourism and hunting industries. “I’m looking for a good solution for everyone,” Houpt said.
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Six oil and gas commissioners get preliminary confirmation - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8369039...
Six nominees to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission were confirmed by a Senate committee on Tuesday, despite protests from Republicans that they weren't given enough information on their views. The six were nominated by Gov. Bill Ritter after lawmakers expanded and revamped the commission to make it more responsive to environmental, safety and community concerns. The Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources & Energy Committee voted 4-3 to recommend that the full Senate confirm the nominations. A Senate vote has not been set. Lawmakers last year altered the commission's role, expanded it to nine members from seven and added new requirements for member expertise and backgrounds. The changes came after complaints the commission had become too cozy with the industry amid an energy boom that was putting straining local communities.
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Durango Herald Online - Executive: County, state talk in private

http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&articl...
A representative for the oil and gas industry on Tuesday accused La Plata County officials of possible backroom machinations in the state's process to come up with new rules for gas and oil production. Christi Zeller, executive director of the La Plata County Energy Council, appeared before La Plata County Commissioners during their regular meeting to voice concerns about the county exerting its influence to try to push for regulations that she said would be harmful to gas development. "Have you given direction to your staff to impede natural-gas development and insert roadblocks that affect our ability to do business in La Plata County?" Zeller asked commissioners during the portion of the meeting reserved for public comment.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Pipeline proposed from Meeker

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/26/022708_1boverland...
A 153-mile pipeline proposal reflects western Colorado’s increasing production of not only natural gas, but its byproducts. The federal government is seeking comment on a proposal to build a pipeline from the Meeker area to Wyoming to transport natural gas liquids such as propane and butane. The Overland Pass Pipeline Co. wants to build a 14-inch-diameter pipeline from the proposed Willow Springs natural gas processing plant 20 miles southwest of Meeker to the Echo Springs Pump Station near Wamsutter, Wyo. The line would cross Rio Blanco and Moffat counties in Colorado, the Bureau of Land Management said in a news release Tuesday. All but 15 to 20 miles of the conduit would follow existing pipeline rights-of-way, and 84 miles would cross federal or state land, with the rest being built on private land.
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Metro: Proposal pushes energy efficiency | utilities, efficiency, energy : Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/articles/utilities_33597___article.html/efficiency_energy...
Colorado Springs Utilities could have to raise another $14 million over the next four years through rate increases if a bill promoting energy-efficiency programs passes today, area legislators warned Tuesday. Advocates of HB 1107 called such talk a ruse, however, and argued that the utilities affected by the bill will save money because they will not have to build as many power plants. The measure by Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, would require municipally owned utilities and rural electric associations to put 1 percent of their budgets to energy-efficiency programs in 2009 and double that to 2 percent by 2010. Utilities can choose how to spend that money — such as on education or rebate programs — and can administer the efficiency-promoting programs or can contract with a private company.
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Glenwood Springs Post Independent - BLM now accepting public input on pipeline proposal

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080227/VALLEYNEWS/368577936...
The Bureau of Land Management will begin seeking public “scoping” comments on a proposal to build a 153-mile pipeline from southwest of Meeker to Wamsutter, Wyo. The agency says that the comments will help the BLM identify issues related to the proposed pipeline as it works to complete a draft environmental assessment on the project, which will also be released for public review and comment.
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Glenwood Springs Post Independent - Garfield County denies deadline extension for hearing request

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080227/VALLEYNEWS/29136560...
Garfield County officials have told residents who live near the Project Rulison blast site that the county will not seek an extension to request a hearing before the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for 11 drilling permits near the nuclear detonation area. Three couples asked the county to request a 20-day extension because a deadline to request a hearing on the permits was fast approaching. Judy Jordan, the county’s oil and gas liaison, wrote a letter to Gunnison Attorney Luke Danielson, who is representing the couples, telling him the county will not request an extension to ask for a hearing before the COGCC over the permits. “I received opinions of two members of the Garfield County Board of Commissioners (BOCC), both of whom are against requesting a hearing at this time,” Jordan wrote to Danielson.
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The Coloradoan - Commissioners approve plan to allow county to sell methane gas

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/NEWS01/802270302/1002/...
County commissioners approved a plan Tuesday that will allow Larimer County to sell methane gas released from its landfill. A Colorado-based energy company will buy the gas, clean it and sell it as natural gas to companies such as Xcel Energy Inc. or Platte River Power Authority.
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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Utility bills shock Walsenburg residents

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1204126358/13...
Residents received a shock when they opened their last city utility bills and saw that the amount they owed was much higher than they anticipated. Councilman Larry Patrick said that when the city changed its gas, water and sewer billing system to incorporate a new software program in January and at the same time began using automated meter readers, it never expected delays that caused the normal four-week billing cycle to extend to almost seven weeks. "We had to re-read all the meters for the (software) to work properly," he said. Entering that automated information into the system delayed bills, causing a significant increase in the amounts billed to customers. Those factors coupled with a cold, windy month sent natural gas bills skyrocketing.
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February 26, 2008

Summit Daily News - Geothermal energy, Power from the underground

http://summitdaily.com/article/20080225/NEWS/443354159...
Geothermal sources now generate nearly 3,000 megawatts per year in the U.S. - more than any other nation, but still only 0.4 percent of total energy use, roughly equivalent to two large coal-fired power plants. The investment risk is still too high for a commercial-scale geothermal industry to flourish, according to Jefferson Tester of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the projects take years of planning and construction and don't get the large government subsidies that other energy producers do. But adequate federal funding for research and development would smooth out operational kinks, slash the risk and give investors more confidence, he says. "We know the resources are there, it's just a matter of developing them," says Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association. "The solution isn't black-and-white, and we have a long way to go, but we have all the pieces - they just have to be put together."
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Larimer Commissioners to consider resolution against proposed uranium mine | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080226/NEWS/66784516...
The Larimer County Commissioners may soon chime in on a proposed uranium mine in Weld County, although the board has no authority over the project. The Larimer Commissioners heard public input on the proposed mine Monday night, but tabled any proposed resolution against the mine for a few weeks while different commissioners go out of town. The city of Fort Collins passed a resolution against the mine in December as has the town of Timnath. U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., has also come out against the mine. The Weld County Commissioners, in conjunction with state and federal agencies, will have ultimate say on if the mine goes in. Powertech Uranium Corp., a Canadian company, owns the 5,670-acre site situated between Nunn and Wellington, about 25 miles north of Greeley. Powertech officials have said the mine's in-situ leaching method using chemically treated water will be completely safe.
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The Coloradoan - Commissioner Eubanks opposes uranium mine

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080226/NEWS01/802260334/1002/...
A proposal to mine uranium from beneath the prairie between Wellington and Nunn received a thumbs down Monday night from a Larimer County commissioner. In response to comments from the 27 people who spoke on the proposal during a meeting, Commissioner Randy Eubanks said he plans to sponsor a resolution opposing uranium mining in the region. The resolution may be considered by the commissioners in a few weeks.
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Glenwood Springs Post Independent - DOW still hoping to halt drilling in wildlife habitat near New Castle

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080226/VALLEYNEWS/783642594...
A protest that the Colorado Division of Wildlife placed against the sale of a federal mineral lease parcel underneath the Garfield Creek State Wildlife Area near New Castle may take up to six months to resolve. Jamie Gardner, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management, said the agency will conduct a full “review and analysis” of the DOW protest. “We will look back through our documentation, make sure that we didn’t miss anything and check that against what the protests say and do an evaluation of whether their concerns are adequately covered by the analysis we have already done and the protections we have in place,” Gardner said. The DOW wrote a letter to the BLM in late January, asking that the sale of a mineral parcel underneath the habitat be delayed indefinitely because the land on top “provides crucial winter range for deer and elk that are finding fewer and fewer places to inhabit without conflict.”
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Evaporative-pit policy emerges, as rules OK'd

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/25/022608_1B_evapora...
Putting aside one man’s accusations that Mesa County Commissioner Craig Meis has a conflict of interest and that actions by Meis and his two colleagues were more show than substance, the commissioners Monday unanimously approved new rules governing evaporative wastewater ponds. Several members of the audience rose to Meis’ defense and the commissioners Monday. Bill Hugenberg, a frequent face at the commission meetings, criticized the commissioners after they had spent hours hashing out policy regarding the permitting of evaporative wastewater ponds for the disposal of fluids used in drilling for oil and gas — ponds similar to Black Mountain Disposal, near De Beque. Hugenberg specifically pointed a conflict-of-interest finger at Meis, who owns an energy industry consultant business, Cordilleran Compliance Services. Immediately after Hugenberg spoke, Mark Bonella, the vice chairman of the planning commission, said no one on the planning commission has the expertise that Meis does to even understand the issue.
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Airlines long for green fuel - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_8362658...
A test flight of a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 airliner running on biofuel Sunday was a promising development for the airline industry, though U.S. industry leaders studying the issue say there are many hurdles yet to be overcome. The flight from London to Amsterdam, Netherlands, was done with a biofuel made of babassu oil and coconut oil. Among the organizations leading the effort on researching alternative fuels is the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Air Transport Association airline-industry group and other organizations. Its goal is to improve environmental sustainability and security of the energy supply for aviation through alternative fuels. "Alternative fuels for aviation have been looked at for a really long time," with efforts to secure a domestic supply underway since the energy crunch of the 1970s, said Richard Altman, executive director of the initiative. With all U.S. airlines pointing to rising fuel costs as a financial challenge, the issue is again drawing more attention.
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February 25, 2008

Grand Junction Sentinel - More energy money could be on its way

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/22/022308_1b_DOLA.ht...
More money to deal with the impacts of the energy industry could soon be flowing into Mesa County. Local elected officials say they are encouraged by a recent letter from Colorado Department of Local Affairs Executive Director Susan Kirkpatrick to the Mesa County Commission that concludes by saying minerals are a “state asset. However, priority in funding will be given to jurisdictions of origin for grant awards.” And that’s not the only reason for their optimism. The maximum amount of an energy and mineral impact assistance grant may be on the verge of skyrocketing by $9.5 million. “Both of these policy changes came as a result of the task force and the interim committee that met last year,” said Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction. The committee was co-chaired by Mesa County Commissioner Craig Meis and Rebecca Frank.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Oil firm plans DeBeque facility

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/22/022308_1a_Schlumb...
The world’s largest oil-field services company is buying 350 acres near De Beque for what company officials said will be a base of operations for North America. The site, however, “is not for oil shale production,” Rod Nelson, Schlumberger’s vice president for innovation and collaboration, said in an e-mail. The company will begin construction on a new facility to serve the Piceance Basin, one of the busiest regions in the country for the natural gas drilling industry, Nelson said. Schlumberger now operates an oil-field services center along 22 Road near Fruita. The site near De Beque sits on the south side of Interstate 70 near the De Beque exit. Moving closer to the heart of the Piceance Basin makes sense, said Diane Schwenke, president of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce. The energy industry “is not going to be centered just in Grand Junction, and it’s not going to be centered just in Parachute,” Schwenke said. “It would make sense to have a base in De Beque.”
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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Bill would preserve subsurface mineral rights

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1203746400/13...
Oftentimes when government entities condemn private land to build public projects, they also steal the mineral rights beneath it, a state senator says. Under a bill that won preliminary Senate approval on Friday, those same entities no longer would be able to condemn subsurface rights unless they can show doing so is absolutely necessary for the stability of whatever project they are building on the surface. Sen. Bill Cadman said such entities as the Colorado Department of Transportation have long made money off those "stolen" mineral rights that the Colorado Springs Republican said they don't deserve. "They've actually taken it from one person and are selling it to someone else," Cadman said. "The only thing this should stop is an illegal activity. This just says they can't condemn more than they need." Currently, CDOT allows mineral development under about 135 areas of the state it has leased mineral rights to, earning it about $600,000 a year.
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City attempts to block drilling at the Poudre Learning Center | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080225/NEWS/519908723...
Ray Tschillard looked out the window from the Poudre Learning Center the other day and saw more than a dozen Canada geese land. The sight made him shake his head. The geese landed 300 feet from the building, at the exact spot where Ed Orr wants to drill for oil. "They were eating and hunkering down," Tschillard said. "That would not happen if that well was there." That's partly the reason why the officials from the Poudre Learning Center and the city of Greeley have filed an attempt with the state to block Orr's efforts.
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Wind-energy broker drops certification : County News : Boulder Daily Camera

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/24/wind-energy-broker-drops-certification/...
In dozens of shops and restaurants around Boulder, customers can find signs proclaiming "This Business Is Wind Powered" above the logo for local company Clean and Green. The whole idea may strike some customers as counter-intuitive -- after all, where are the windmills? Clearly, not on the roof, not in the yard and not even in the city limits. It's possible the windmills aren't even in Colorado. Clean and Green is one of many brokers in the United States selling renewable energy credits, or RECs, which allow customers with no direct access to wind power to buy the environmental benefits of renewable energy produced elsewhere. But at the end of last year, the Boulder-based company dropped its nationally recognized certification that lets customers know they're actually getting what they're buying. Buying RECs helps financially support renewable energy, allowing start-up wind and solar companies to compete more easily with traditional coal- and gas-fired power plants. To assure customers that their money is actually going to new renewable energy development, and that the RECs are not being double sold, many companies have sought validation from the country's major third-party certifier, Green-e.
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The Coloradoan - Utility pilot program works to hook solar power producers up to energy grid

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080223/NEWS01/802230353/1002/...
The 1 kilowatt-hour Don Haywood knocks off his electrical energy use each month because of solar panels isn't making his head or his energy meter spin backward. But Haywood estimates within another six years, he'll get back the money he invested. Haywood and his wife, Kathleen Strong, one of the few pioneers of a Fort Collins Utility pilot project, built and installed 432 square feet of solar panels in 2006. Because the couple created their own system by buying panels off eBay and constructing the panels themselves, it only cost them approximately $2,000. "It kept the cost down," Haywood said. "It comes down to being patient and knowing how to solder." Haywood said that most people would have to pay more for solar panel installation, taking longer to recoup their investment.
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The Coloradoan - Ethanol byproduct scrutinized

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080224/NEWS01/802240329/1002/...
As ethanol production increases, some researchers are questioning the effect the alternative fuel's byproduct grains have on cattle and the safety and quality of beef. Distillers grains, the leftovers from producing corn ethanol, have been linked to a 50 percent increase in E. coli when fed to cattle, according to a recent Kansas State University study that looked at dried distillers grains. E. coli is a foodborne fecal contaminant that can cause food poisoning or worse if consumed by humans who eat undercooked meat, raw dairy products or produce contaminated with cow manure.
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February 22, 2008

Colorado Daily News - CU-Conoco: Partnership potential

http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2008/02/21/news/c_u_and_boulder/news1.txt...
It wouldn't be fair to start calling it CU-Southeast, but it might be fair to expect some level of partnership between CU and a future ConocoPhillips operation in Louisville. ConocoPhillips, a giant Houston-based energy corporation, recently announced that it had purchased the 432-acre former StorageTek campus from Sun Microsystems. The announcement ended speculation that information technology giants such as Microsoft or Google might purchase the campus. Detailed plans weren't available yet, but a Thursday Rocky Mountain News (RMN) story said the site would be used for energy research and education. The research could include work on hydrogen fuel cells, wind power, solar power and clean diesel fuel made from renewable resources - while the education component could include a learning center to train employees from more than 40 countries.
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Schlumberger buying land for oil shale - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_8329977...
After searching for a site in the area for more than a year, the company recently put the parcel under contract, said Stephen Harris, a spokesman for Schlumberger, which has its North American headquarters in Houston. "We will begin construction later this year on a new facility to serve the Piceance Basin," Harris wrote in an e-mail to The Denver Post. "The De Beque facility will serve as a significant base for our North America operations." He wouldn't disclose financial terms of the deal, which has yet to close. The land sits on the south side of Interstate 70 near the De Beque exit, about 200 miles west of Denver. "It puts them in a very strategic location because it's closer to most of the energy activity," said Kathy Hall, the Western Slope representative of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association.
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Big potential for ConocoPhillips site : Real Estate : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/22/big-deal-on-road-ahead/...
The 432-campus in Louisville purchased by ConocoPhillips could be rezoned to easily handle 10,000 or more people, several experts said Thursday. That would be 3,000 people more than Storage Technology employed at its peak at the site along U.S. 36, which Conoco Phillips, the giant energy company, purchased for $58.5 million in January from Sun Microsystems. Gov. Bill Ritter on Wednesday revealed that ConocoPhillips purchased the site for a new Global Technology Center and Corporate Learning Center but said Conoco didn't know how many people will work there.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Energy, enviros at odds about new rules for state

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/21/022208_1b_Club_20...
Western Slope industrial and environmental interests split as a regional promotional organization passed a preliminary statement urging the state not to hinder the energy boom. The Club 20 energy and natural resources committees split sharply on the resolution advising the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on new rules, but both adopted the resolution, which next goes to the full organization in April. The final product might take a less strident approach, however, as Club 20 Chairwoman Kathy Hall agreed to meet with industry critics to work on different wording. Industry representatives pushed a resolution asking that new regulations not delay the permitting process for drilling. Environmental representatives complained that the organization was rushing headlong to aid an industry that didn’t need help. The organization was going out if its way “to slap the face of the governor,” said San Miguel County Commissioner Art Goodtimes, “again.” Club 20 last fall greeted Gov. Bill Ritter with a critical resolution as it gathered.
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State gas is cheap, relatively speaking : More Business : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/22/state-gas-is-cheap-relatively-...
At $3.002 a gallon, Colorado's average gasoline price Thursday was the 10th-cheapest in the nation. That's relatively good news, since this is the first time that Colorado's average gas price in February has climbed over $3, according to AAA Colorado spokesman Eric Escudero.
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PUC seeks to prod efficiency : Energy : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/22/puc-seeks-to-prod-efficiency/...
Colorado Public Utilities Commission Chairman Ron Binz on Thursday recommended that the PUC examine how best to provide energy-efficiency incentives to utilities and consumers. "In my view it's a back-to-basics question . . . what are we trying to achieve?" Binz said of incentives to utilities to promote energy efficiency. His comments came during a special meeting in which the three commissioners talked about issues they'd like to tackle this year. Some critics charge that investments in renewable energy translate into higher prices for consumers because utilities such as Xcel continue to receive their guaranteed rate of return, or profit. Binz said he would like to look at the fundamental question of how a utility's profitability should be decided.
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