Electric Utilities

Denver named new program's first official "Solar Friendly Community"

After several negative headlines around solar energy locally -- including the bankruptcy of Abound Solar and news of major delays on a planned Aurora solar plant -- Colorado has some good news to share about renewable energy. Denver officials announced yesterday that the city is the first to be reco ... More >>

Xcel Energy's got a big shovel -- and it's not ashamed to show it off

Denver blog posts mean business. Denver Egotist shows off the giant shovel that makes the new Xcel Energy billboard on the downtown Marriott three-dimensional. Your and My True Stories asks: Did Bob Enyart fib about being a delegate on the radio? The Redheaded Slut wonders if everything has an ex ... More >>

Coal's future so bleak even energy execs starting to admit it

About 40 percent of the nation's electrical grid depends on coal for fuel. But facing increasing state and federal regulations that are shutting down many coal plants, a battery of pesky scientists moaning about climate change, increasing competition from ever-cheaper natural gas and renewables, and ... More >>

Xcel Energy not amused by April Fool's Day letters about Boulder power cuts

April Fool's Day jokes often seem funnier to those pulling them than they do to their targets. That was undoubtedly the case for bogus letters claiming that Xcel Energy would be cutting off anyone who voted to end Boulder's relationship with the power supplier.

Ken Salazar hawking solar "sweet spots" for an energy boost

Ken Salazar.​Yesterday, after three years, more than 80,000 public comments, and countless hours reviewing ponderous economic and environmental issues -- in other words, pretty speedy for government work -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar unveiled the Obama administration's slimmed-down ... More >>

Doug Lamborn retreats as the National Renewable Energy Lab touts its achievements

Doug Lamborn.​Call it a big fat coincidence, but days after Rep. Doug Lamborn backed off his efforts to cut funding for renewable energy research, Golden's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has unveiled a colorful online magazine promoting the practical applications of its work. Now Lamb ... More >>

Japanese radiation worries in U.S.: Health dept. tries to calm fears as media stokes them

​This morning, Peter Boyles spent part of his KHOW morning show wondering if we should be taking potassium iodide to protect ourselves against radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. And at this writing, the main story on the CBS4 home page asks, "Could Japan's Radi ... More >>

Pueblo nuclear power plant proposal hearings against backdrop of Japanese explosions

​Timing is everything. With gas prices going up, up, up due to the chaos in North Africa last month, suddenly a nuclear power plant started looking good to Pueblo County, where the commissioners are considering a proposal to make that county one of the spots in the country vying for a new nuke ... More >>

Lamar coal plant: Trinidad sues to get out of "mismanaged" project

​Trinidad's City Council voted unanimously last week to file a lawsuit against the Arkansas River Power Authority, claiming that the co-op has bungled the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Lamar that was supposed to provide electricity to southeast Colorado. It's the latest in a seri ... More >>

Letters: "Kids should not be anywhere near that monstrosity"

Xcel's plan to convert its coal plants sparks an energetic debate

Black out: Lamar gets steamed over a troubled coal plant -- right in the middle of town

In the weeds: Why did the Colorado health department put a Texas felon on its pot advisory committee?

Xcel employees can win a camera -- by saying how much they love Xcel

Are you ready for your closeup, Xcel employees?​This month, Xcel Energy has launched an internal contest called "Why I Love Xcel Energy," with a hand-held video camera being awarded to the employee who makes the best clip of him or her saying why Xcel is a nifty place to work -- footage that c ... More >>

Xcel Energy, others accused of OSHA violations in incident that killed five

​In October 2007, five employees of RPI Coating Inc. were killed by carbon monoxide generated by a fire at the Cabin Creek Hydro Plant outside Georgetown that's operated by Xcel Energy and Public Service Company of Colorado. Now, a federal grand jury has issued indictments against RPI, Xcel, P ... More >>

Public Service Company of Colorado responds to Cabin Creek charges

Tim Taylor.​Just over an hour ago, we told you about a federal grand jury indictment leveled against Xcel Energy, Public Service Company of Colorado, RPI Coating and two individuals over an October 2007 incident at Cabin Creek Hydro Plant near Georgetown in which five workers died. Since then, ... More >>

Denver gains another wind energy company

Photo by Bodoklecksel​Denver's burgeoning alternative-energy industry will get a boost this September when formerly Portland, Orgeon-based wind energy company REpower USA Corp. moves its headquarters to Denver. The Denver Business Journal reports that the company, the U.S. subsidiary of Germa ... More >>

A sunny day for Secretary Solarczar, but a slog ahead?

​Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar was back in Colorado today, August 4, touring a Longmont solar panel company as a way of pushing the Obama administration's vision of a clean energy economy. But that vision, which involves collecting abundant solar power from a procession of solar farms ... More >>

For Colorado's largest power co-op, going green will mean taking down the King of Coal

Kenny Be's Hip Tip: From the Hip Tip time machine

This Hip Tip was originally published in the February 17-23, 1988 issue of Westword. Now, twenty years later, a look at the bright side means hoping that the environment (and its new energy economy) will be great for (ending) the recession.

Wake-Up Call: Stimulate This

The last time this state's economy went bust, Colorado fought its way back by constructing Denver International Airport. That's not going to be an option this time, Governor Bill Ritter said as he walked along DIA's Concourse B Thursday, off on a fast (less than 24-hour) trip to the East Coast to ... More >>

Memories of Colorado’s atomic age

Who Gives a Dam?

Sauce for the Coal-Fired Goose?

Rich Tower, Poor Tower

Pole Position

Ruby Hill-area residents want to protect their views from eleven-story utility poles, but Xcel thinks it has the juice.

Spring Fever, Bird Flu

Catching errant wildlife with the web.

Purple Haze

While the State Capitol glows, state residents glower over their Xcel bills.

Letters to the Editor

From the week of November 3, 2005

A Mighty Wind

The results of Xcel's wind-power program are still in the air.

Carbon Loading

Xcel’s solution to rising energy prices includes a lot of coal. Is that a bad thing?

Power to the People

The answer could be blowing in the wind.

Power Outage

Xcel Energy faces tough financial scrutiny as power companies nationwide feel the heat.

Bringing on the Heat

The price of natural gas has been on a cycle for years.

Best Festival Dedicated to Electrical Power

Telluride Tech Festival

Blowing Smoke

Is Public Service coming clean about its clean-air campaign?

Fight the Power

Public Service's juiced-up power lines to Park Meadows spark a lawsuit.

Letters

Socket to Me

If Colorado deregulates electricity, Californians will be first in line for the state's cheap power--and Coloradans may get fried.

Dark Days on Black Mesa

The Hopi want one of the largest coal mines in North America to stop using their groundwater. If springs and wells dry up, their ancient culture may disappear.

The Deal's Disputed Line Item