Energy: Is offshore wind power finally coming?

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Will the U.S. finally start developing its promising offshore windpower potential?

Feds prepare to lease about 245,000 acres off  New England Coast

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Nine companies are lined up to bid on the first-ever sale of leases for offshore wind power, with two big parcels about nine miles south of Rhode Island and Massachusetts on the auction block.

According to a report from the Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory, development of the 245,000-acre area could generate up to 3,400 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 1 million homes and up significantly from previous estimates for the area.

While development is still a few years off, the projects could finally help the U.S. start catching up to countries like Holland, Germany and Denmark, which have been producing significant amounts of offshore wind energy for many years. The auction is scheduled for July 31. Information and documents on the projects are compiled on this website. (more…)

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Colorado: Dems launch push for more renewable energy

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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More wind power in Colorado’s future? Photo courtesy UCAR.

New bill would expand renewable energy standards to rural electricity co-ops

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — New legislation proposed by Colorado lawmakers could help refocus the energy debate by shifting more demand to renewable sources.

Under the Ritter administration, Colorado took significant steps to move toward renewable sources, but that momentum has faltered under Gov. Hickenlooper, widely seen as tilting toward the fossil fuel industry.

Senate Bill 252 would expand Colorado’s renewable energy standard by raising the percentage of retail electricity sales that must be achieved from renewable energy resources by cooperative electric associations that provide service to 100,000 meters or more from 10 percent to 25 percent starting in 2020. (more…)

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Energy: Congress wants to boost hydropower production

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Turbine shafts at the Hoover Dam. Photo courtesy U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Bipartisan measure has backing of river conservation group

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — With huge potential for increased hydropower generation, a bipartisan U.S. Senate bill and a companion measure in the house could help reduce some the red tape currently required to bring new hydropower sources online.

The bill, co-sponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), would remove licensing barriers for smaller hydropower development and would require a study on a streamlined permitting process at existing dams and pumped storage products.

“In Colorado and the rest of the West, water is an extremely important resource for our families and the industries that drive our economy.” Bennet said. “This bill will accelerate development of hydropower resources as a part of a clean and diverse energy portfolio.” (more…)

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Does renewable energy permitting need streamlining?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

House bill could put renewable energy on equal footing with fossil fuels

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Will Congress consider a renewable energy development bill this session? Photo courtesy BLM.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — On the heels of a do-nothing obstructionist Congress, it’s hard to say whether any public lands bills will get a fair committee hearing during the current session, but that hasn’t stopped U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) from taking a shot a promoting renewable energy on BLM lands.

Along with nine co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle, Polis is promoting renewable energy development act that would streamline the process for leasing public lands for solar and other renewable energy projects. (more…)

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Feds map wind, solar energy zones in Arizona

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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New plan focuses on previously disturbed sites with few resource conflicts

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — The Obama administration’s push to develop more renewable energy resources reached another milestone this week, as the Interior Department finalized designation of 192,000 acres in Arizona as potentially suitable for utility-scale solar and wind energy development.

Any subsequent proposals for specific solar or wind energy projects will still need to undergo a site-specific environmental review.

According to the Interior Department, the lands identified in Arizona include previously disturbed sites (primarily former agricultural areas) and lands with low resource sensitivity and few environmental conflicts. Federal land managers in Arizona spent three years analyzing  disturbed land and other areas with few known resource conflicts that could accommodate commercial renewable energy projects. (more…)

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Drastic energy overhaul needed to stop climate change

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

‘Our emissions are not being held constant or even slowing; they’re growing faster than ever.’

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Alaska and a portion of Canada were the only significant land areas reporting below-average temperatures in the autumn of 2012.

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Piecemeal changes to energy policy, like switching from coal to natural gas, are not nearly enough to stop the buildup of greenhouse gases that’s driving global warming.

What’s needed is “a fundamental and disruptive overhaul of the global energy system” to eradicate harmful carbon dioxide emissions, not just stabilize them, according to new findings by UC Irvine and other scientists.

In a paper to be published Jan. 9 in Environmental Research Letters, UC Irvine Earth system scientist Steve Davis and others say a fundamental overhaul of energy policy is needed to develop carbon-free power. (more…)

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Wind energy production tax credit gets 1 year extension

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Bob Berwyn
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Wind turbines near Lamar, Colorado. Photo courtesy NREL.

Congressional vote may help prevent additional wind energy layoffs in Colorado

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — Surprisingly, and in part because of the persistence of Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), the wind energy production tax credit made it through the federal budget fiasco, gaining approval for a one-year extension that could help protect Colorado’s burgeoning renewable energy industry.

After giving 27 speeches on the Senate floor in support of the tax credit, Udall said the extension  gives manufacturers in Colorado and throughout North America the signal they need to create jobs, make capital investments in the United States, and ensure that wind energy remains a strong part of our national energy strategy, although a one-year extension isn’t likely to spur significant long-term investments.

“The extension of the wind Production Tax Credit is excellent news for workers in Pueblo, Windsor, Brighton and across the country. Thanks to the PTC extension, I am confident the wind industry will be able to create jobs and help revitalize our American manufacturing sector,” Udall said. (more…)

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Energy: Key East Coast grid could be powered with renewable sources by 2030 — at an overall cost savings

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Bob Berwyn
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Offshore windpower could be a critical part of a renewable East Coast power grid. Photo courtesy Hans Hillewaert.

Smart planning, with mix of sources and adequate storage the key to renewable energy future

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Powering the U.S. with renewable energy sources has always seemed to be a long-term dream, so distant that the temptation to stick with fossil fuels — despite the obvious environmental costs — has so far outweighed to motivation to move into a greener future.

That perception is, of course, supported by heavy duty lobbying and advertising by the fossil fuel industry, but evidence continues to mount that a renewable energy future is attainable in the foreseeable future, with existing technologies and at a cost comparable to today’s electricity expenses.

One of the most recent studies comes from the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College, finding that a well-designed combination of wind power, solar power and storage in batteries and fuel cells would nearly always exceed electricity demands while keeping costs low, the scientists found. (more…)

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Sen. Udall to appear on live-streamed energy policy panel

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Sen. Mark Udall.

Will Obama’s second term see progress on energy issues?

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — After a presidential campaign that featured contentious debates on energy issues, the time has come to translate some of those campaign soundbites into policy.

Exactly how that will come to pass in divided Washington has yet to be seen, but a Politico panel discussion may offer a few clues, and Sen. Mark Udall, a long-time advocate for renewable energy, will help shape that discussion in a session that will be streamed live on the web at http://www.POLITICO.com/livestream.

Udall will appear as a guest panelist on Politico’s panel presentation called Energy & the Presidency: The Shift from Campaigning to Policymaking. Udall will be joined by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.).

Politico Pro’s Darren Samuelsohn will moderate two panels, starting with Frances Beinecke, President, Natural Resources Defense Council; Jack Gerard, CEO of American Petroleum Institute; Karen Harbert, President and CEO, Institute for 21st Century Energy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Jeff Holmstead, former assistant administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  The congressional panel will follow.

Udall has been a longtime and steadfast advocate for extending the wind Production Tax Credit, and a vocal proponent for a balanced, all-of-the-above energy policy that will create jobs, treat energy security as national security and keep the United States as a leader in energy innovation.

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Will new English Channel wind farms harm gannets?

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Gannets in the English Channel could be affected by proposed offshore wind power developments. Photo courtesy NOAA.

Early data suggests proposed sites may interfere with foraging

By Summit Voice

FRISCO — University of Liverpool biologists say a slew of proposed new offshore wind power developments could affect the foraging behavior of northern gannets that nest on Alderney in the Channel Islands.

The tracking suggests that energy planners need to take a closer look at the proposed installations.

“We found that the area where the gannets traveled for food overlapped with nine sites earmarked for offshore marine energy developments which suggests that the feeding habits of these birds could be affected, as well as the potential for collision with wind turbine developments,” said Louise Soanes, with University of Liverpool’s School of Environmental Sciences. “These sites also fell across three different territorial waters in the UK, France and the Channel Islands,” which has implications for international collaboration and cooperation,” Soanes said. (more…)

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