The Old Economy
Commercializing Energy From The Sun
DOE Funds Cheap-Solar Research
Aiming to jump-start the U.S. solar-power industry, the Dept. of Energy will put up $13.7 million in the next three years to support university-led projects to bring less expensive solar technology to market.
Hit in recent months by falling stock prices and the cost of commercializing sophisticated photovoltaic technology, the solar industry needs to find ways to hasten the development of cheap, wide-spread arrays. Under its "Solar America" initiative, the Bush Administration has set a target of bringing the cost of solar energy down to levels competitive with conventional electricity production by 2015.
All together, the projects could reduce the cost of electricity produced by photovoltaic systems from the current levels, 18-23 cents per kilowatt hour to 5-10 per Kw/hour.
In other energy news: Sen. Salazar sponsors a bill to recover and treat "produced water" from oil and gas production; Colorado lawmakers finally figure out how to distribute revenues from federal mineral leases; Colorado School of Mines' mountainside 'M' goes green with LEDs.
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energy
Outcry Muted Over New Colorado Oil and Gas RulesAfter all the griping and gnashing of teeth over the new rules for oil and gas production in Colorado, it was perhaps inevitable that the actual draft regulations, which were released this week, were less inflammatory than the industry rhetoric would have led you to believe.
Brian Macke, regulatory compliance manager for Denver-based Delta Petroleum, told The Denver Post his company is "encouraged" by certain aspects of the proposed regulations, which call for more scrutiny of the potential environmental aspects of proposed drilling, among other changes.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Association, the most vociferous opponent of the new regime, was not mollified.
In other energy news: state legislature tries to save federal mineral leasing revenue for higher ed; NASA scientist James Hansen challenges Duke Energy CEO; Bank of America adopts clean –energy principles.
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energy
Despite Demand, Oil and Gas Value DropsWith the price of a barrel of oil zooming past $106 and likely to continue rising, you would think that the value of the oil and gas coming out of the Rocky Mountain West would be setting records. That's not happening, mainly due to a lack of transport options to get the fiuel to big markets in the Midwest and East.
Colorado produced $6.63 billion worth of oil and natural gas in 2007, dropping 24 percent from '06, according to the Colorado Geological Survey.
Meanwhile, the opening of new pipelines from the producing fields of the Mountain West should relieve the pressure on prices.
In other energy news: state legislators over energy-efficiency bill; wind power producer relocates to Northern Colorado; coal demand soars, outstripping supplies.
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a posthumous presidential address
Mining Law Reform Movement Summons Ulysses S. Grant
No, you weren't caught in a time warp Wednesday morning if you drove past the Missoula County Courthouse. That was Ulysses S. Grant speaking behind the podium. As part of a campaign called "Farewell to 1872," the eighteenth president of the United States (or at least a very convincing look-alike) was in the Garden City to speak about reform of the Mining Law of 1872, which he passed himself, 136 years ago.
The speech was organized by the Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining, and Missoula was the first stop in the former president's four-city tour. With wife Julia standing by his side, the president formally bid farewell to the law by reading from and signing a proclamation. The law, which was passed seventeen years before Montana became a state, gives mining of gold, uranium and other hardrock metals priority over other land uses on most public lands regardless of the environmental impact the mining may have.
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Sun Power Stocks Sinking
Colorado Moves to Support SolarPassed by a 43-21 vote by the Colorado House this week, HB 1164 requires the state Public Utilities Commission to "consider" the construction of large- scale solar plants, rather than coal or natural gas stations, to supply the state's future energy requirements. Whether the PUC can actually force big utilities like Xcel to change their supply plans the bill does not say.
Also unaddressed by the legislation is whether solar plants will be a wise business decision, as opposed to prudent public policy, in coming years. After enjoying a two-year run-up, solar company stocks have taken a beating in the recent market downturn.
In other energy news: CSU's "Clean Energy Supercluster" gets its first unveiling; mineral rights owners say new state regs on oil and gas won't damage the industry; and Xcel plans a pair of big new gas turbines.
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Changing The Rules
Strange Bedfellows in O&G FightThe "simmering battle" between Colorado state regulators and the oil and gas industry took a couple of strange turns this week as the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission got closer to publishing new draft rules for energy production Colorado – which industry officials have criticized in advance for giving too much authority to the Division of Wildlife.
"Tempers flared and text messages flew Wednesday as lawmakers tried to figure out if the state oil and gas commission was about to get the authority to override landowners' wishes," The Rocky Mountain News reports.
In other energy news: solar thermal plants take off in the deserts of the Southwest; Canadian regulators question the environmental effects of a huge oil-sands project; oil prices reach "unimaginable" levels.
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Symbolic Vote
Tax Breaks Cut for Big OilThe bill to eliminate $18 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas producers passed by the U.S. House this week is largely symbolic, since the measure faces opposition in the Senate and a likely president veto. But as symbolic gestures go, it's a fairly powerful one.
Passed by 236-182, with 17 Republicans voting in favors, would use the savings from rollback of tax break for big oil companies to finance incentives for renewable energy, including wind and solar power. Several existing tax credits for renewable-energy investments will expire at the end of this year, unless Congress extends them.
It's time to "stop the madness of subsidizing oil companies," said Rep. Jim McDermott, a Democrat from Washington.
In other energy news: University renewable-energy center plans big solar installation near DIA; Colorado House votes to require utilities to spend more on energy efficiency; new Oil and Gas Commission members narrowly pre-confirmed.
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Which is more of value?
Historic Armory to be Demolished in the Face of Economic Vitality
Downtowns are fragile areas in our Western landscape as the increase of big box stores sprout up and retailers sprawl outward from our cities’ core. Local commissions and groups seek out economic infusion, and sometimes as the cost of historic preservation.
In a hard decision on Monday night, the Bozeman City Commission decided to give the green light for the destruction and demolition of the 1941 Bozeman Armory, an art-deco style building listed on the National Register of Historic Places located in Downtown Bozeman.
The replacement will be a new 4-story, brick and glass façade building highlighted to have environmental qualities including an earth-covered roof laden with trees, water features and a glass lounge.
“We need to encourage investment downtown,” said Commissioner Jeff Krauss. “We need to look at what downtown needs now and in the future. It’s not just about building east and west, but also north and south.”
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Big Oil Steps Up
Louisville Gets Renewables R&D CenterGov. Bill Ritter's drive to make Colorado a center of renewable energy got a big boost from the private sector this week when ConocoPhillips said it's purchasing the former StorageTek campus in Louisville. Houston-based ConocoPhillips, the nation's No. 3 oil company, will use the 432-acre campus as an R&D center focusing on "renewable energy and high-tech carbon-fuels recovery," according to the Post.
"This will push the new energy economy for Colorado," said an ebullient Ritter in announcing the $55.6 million purchase.
In other energy news: Scientific American puts the cost of a fully renewable energy industry at $400 billion; big energy co.'s buy up land for shale-oil operations on the Western Slope; and legislators grapple with water issues surrounding in-situ leech mining of uranium.
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When do we shake hands?
Redefining Urban and Rural: Cooperation in a Time of Local NeedNeighbors need each other, just as agriculture and urban areas need each other. “When they don’t get along, it threatens the security of everyone,” says Susan Duncan. In this column, she discusses our imminent dependence on local resources where rural and urban areas will be looking to each other for products and needs. Where does this leave cooperation?
So far, the efforts to control "growth" have been based on competition. Why didn't those measures work? One side wants to control the behavior of the other, and only dollar values count. The result is conflict between "good guys" and "bad guys." The rancor produces lots of heat, little enlightenment and not nearly enough progress.
Let’s look at it another way. Think of urban and rural land uses as indispensable, complementary halves of one — a whole community structure. Agriculture thrives on urban markets and expertise: Urban areas thrive on the amenities offered by agriculture. Through integration, urban and rural land uses build a strong foundation of interdependence and a stable community.
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