ENERGY - Renewable Energy - Independence Institute

Stringent Building Codes For Thee, But Not For Me 0
- October 19, 2022
The solar and wind industries (and Xcel Energy) are really, really mad that the International Codes Council (ICC) is considering beefing up resiliency standards for new wind and solar builds in the next iteration of its triennial building codes. According to Utility Dive: A Federal Emergency Management Agency advisory panel proposal that would increase construction
READ MORE
Energy and Land-Use: Rural Communities Continue to Spurn Renewables 0
- October 14, 2022
Robert Bryce has a great piece in RealClearEnergy today on the latest land-use conflicts roiling planned wind and solar buildouts across rural middle America. From the piece: The hype about wind and solar energy keeps colliding with the hard reality of land-use conflicts. Nowhere is that more obvious than in Ohio, where 41 townships have
READ MORE
Gone with the Wind: Weather Dependent Energy Puts Residents at Risk 0
- July 12, 2022
The power grid in Texas is a little bit under the weather. A major heat wave has arrived just as the wind stopped blowing, creating a perfect storm for residents looking for relief from the blistering summer sun in the country’s second-largest state. As Bloomberg reports: Wind power — a key source of electricity in
READ MORE

The Colorado Energy Plan: A proposal that benefits all but the consumer 0
- August 30, 2018
Xcel Energy’s recently approved Colorado Energy Plan (CEP) is what the company refers to as its “Steel for Fuel” strategy. With a green light from Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the CEP is a giant capital investment program to shutter Comanche I and II generating units a decade ahead of schedule. The CEP will replace
READ MORE
Coloradans are taking on the state’s largest monopoly utility 0
- March 7, 2018
With COPUC approval, Xcel, the state’s largest monopoly utility, plans to shift its generating portfolio from away from majority hydrocarbons (coal and natural gas) in favor of industrial wind, solar, and battery storage.
READ MORE
The Cost & Impact of a 100 Percent Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard for the State of Colorado 0
- December 13, 2017
As the 2018 Colorado governor’s race intensifies, two Democrat candidates have proposed extending Colorado’s existing Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) from 30 percent by 2020 to 100 percent by 2040. The purpose of this study is to highlight some of the main costs and impacts associated with a hypothetical 100 percent RPS in Colorado. Because few details have been released regarding the design of such a policy, this study evaluated the costs associated with two very different 100 percent RPS scenarios.
READ MORE

Contribute