Questions about Baker’s ability to serve on the PUC
Conventional wisdom in energy policy circles says that Governor John Hickenlooper will re-appoint current Public Utilities Commissioner Matt Baker to another four-year term on the PUC. His State Senate confirmation will be a mere formality, but it shouldn’t be. Serious questions linger about his lack of honesty regarding energy costs and his ability to be […]
Commerce City should consult with Greeley before fracking vote
Commerce City is twisting itself in knots over whether or not to allow hydraulic fracturing within its city limits. The City Council delayed the moratorium vote for another month so it could discuss the issue further according to reports from 9 News. Commerce City officials would be wise to head north and seek counsel from […]
Energy in 2012 GA: Legislators address HB 1365, tiered rates and the PUC
Two years after the passage of the fuel-switching bill HB 1365, Governor Bill Ritter’s “crown jewel” of the new energy economy, supporters would like the debate to go away. But like a nagging cough, it just won’t. Several bills in the 2012 legislative session address issues raised surrounding the collusion to draft HB 1365, the […]
Rate increase request exposes hypocrisy of tiered rates
Xcel Energy’s recently denied $142 million interim rate increase request exposes the hypocrisy of tiered rates, which were implemented out of fear that high demand would require the building of additional power plants. Yet, more than 37 percent or $52.6 million of Xcel’s request was to cover the cost of excess capacity. In other words, […]
Cozy relationship between Xcel and PUC?
In a surprising move to anyone who has watched the cozy relationship develop between Xcel Energy and the Public Utilities Commission, yesterday the PUC denied Xcel’s $142 million interim rate request. Colorado News Agency columnist Peter Blake (then with Face the State) initially exposed how the PUC, Xcel, and Governor Ritter’s administration colluded on the […]
More problems Abound
Lux Research, a self-described “independent research and advisory firm providing strategic advice and ongoing intelligence on emerging technologies” including solar, predicted that 2012 will not be kind to Colorado’s Abound Solar. Lux’s Matt Feinstein wrote in PV Magazine: Abound. One of the more prominent CdTe start-ups, Abound has been plagued recently by several departures from its […]
Rare economic honesty regarding Canada's green machine
Sound familiar? fuel switching promise of green jobs that never materialize no cost-benefit analysis or business plans refusing to allow “cost-cutting alternatives that would have saved ratepayers at least $8-billion.” allowing the “green-industry lobby to dictate the structure of the province’s electricity sector in its favour.” “high level of fiscal negligence and abuse of process” […]
Rare economic honesty regarding Canada’s green machine
Sound familiar? fuel switching promise of green jobs that never materialize no cost-benefit analysis or business plans refusing to allow “cost-cutting alternatives that would have saved ratepayers at least $8-billion.” allowing the “green-industry lobby to dictate the structure of the province’s electricity sector in its favour.” “high level of fiscal negligence and abuse of process” […]
Golden eagles versus wind turbines
Time for golden eagles to relocate? The West Butte Wind Project in Oregon is asking for “the first programmatic eagle take permit application that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has received…” USFWS just released a draft assessment in what it calls “the first analysis of such a permit that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service […]
Vestas stock gets blown away following bad news
This morning’s market headlines out of Europe aren’t kind to Vestas Wind Systems. The Copenhagen based wind turbine company with a significant presence in Weld and Pueblo Counties saw its stock drop 16 percent by the end of trading to closing under $59 per share, reflecting a trend investors have suffered since the end of […]
Market not keen on green energy stocks
This article originally appeared in the Estes Park Trail-Gazette. Author Jon Nicholas discussed it in more detail on The Amy Oliver Show on News Talk 1310 KFKA. Vestas, Green Energy Sold Short By Jon Nicholas Colorado has become a leader in government subsidizing green jobs. A major beneficiary of those state and local subsidies has […]
Finally some outrage over the New Energy Economy
I may have underestimated the outrage over two recent Xcel Energy rate increase requests. The first, an attempt to recover the final $16.5 million in cost for Boulder’s Smart Grid City program. Ratepayers are not thrilled about paying for a Boulder project with massive cost overruns. Check out these comments: From Phil Carson, editor of […]
