Xcel Rate Increase, EcoFiesta 2021 Recap, Colorado's Ozone Problem, and More! |
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Upcoming Event: Department of Transportation Advocacy Training
Join 350CO, CO Sierra Club, and others for an advocacy training to empower members of the public to influence the Colorado Department of Transportation Greenhouse Gas Pollution Standard rulemaking throughout August and September.
When: Thursday, August 5, 6:00-7:30PM MDT
Where: Virtual
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Upcoming Event: Oil and Gas GHG Roadmap Stakeholder Meeting
This is an opportunity to provide feedback to the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division (APCD) on the draft rule language to address greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas industry, to be presented at the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) request for rulemaking in September.
When: Monday, August 16, 2:00-4:00PM MDT
Where: Virtual
Materials from July 7, 2021 Stakeholder Meeting: HERE
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Upcoming Event: CRES - Mapping Inequality
Join Colorado Renewable Energy Society's Metro Denver chapter for their upcoming talk, Mapping Inequality: the Relationships between Redlining and Climate Justice.
When: Thursday, August 19, 6:00-7:30PM MDT
Where: Virtual
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Suncor Update and Action Alert
EcoFiesta was a great success! It was a celebration and educational event all in one for the Commerce City community. Watch an inspiring five-minute video recap of the event HERE, including CEA's own climate-change-fighting polar bear! You can also read about the event HERE.
Thanks to all of you who have written to the APCD and other officials to urge them to deny the renewal of Suncor's Title V permit to pollute! If you haven't already written, you can still do so HERE.
Thanks also to all who donated to help make the event happen. If you haven't already donated, you can still do so HERE. The money goes to the Latinx and Indigenous groups who provided food and entertainment that you saw in the video.
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Xcel Doesn't Need a $343 Million Rate Increase!
With continually dropping electricity generation costs, Xcel Energy has requested a $343 million per year rate increase in Colorado to go with their record $588 million in after-tax annual profits. Read all of the reasons why they don't need any more money in Leslie Glustrom's op-ed HERE.
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The Ozone Problem in Colorado
The CDPHE has already issued 37 Ozone Action Day Alerts this summer, which indicates ozone levels are Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, at a minimum.
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Poor Air Quality Conditions. Take Action. |
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Value of (Distributed) Solar: Colorado's New Renewables Bill
SB21-261 represents an important step on the road to a just and sustainable grid and will lower barriers to distributed, consumer-owned, renewable energy. Read about changes to net metering, the introduction of virtual net metering, and more HERE.
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Tri-State Sets Exorbitant Exit Fees
After years of refusing to provide exit fees to members, the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association (Tri-State) was told by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that it must do so. And now they have, to the tune of billions of dollars. Compared to negotiated exit fees of $37 million and $136.5 million for Kit Carson Electric Cooperative and Delta-Montrose Electric Association, La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) and United Power have received exit fee estimates of $449 million and $1.5 billion, respectively, which LPEA CEO Jessica Matlock called "outrageous".
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Craig and Hayden Making a Just Transition
The economies of the towns of Craig and Hayden in northwest Colorado have long been driven by coal with two coal plants and two coal mines in the area. With the planned closures of those plants in the next decade, the region is looking to transition to ag-tourism, river recreation, and solar projects. Read more about the construction of 14 solar arrays in the region HERE and the recreational developments HERE.
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PUC Update
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission reviewed the history of its two-year Electric Resource Plan rulemaking and determined that a new rulemaking procedure should be opened. The new rules will reflect advocates' concerns about reflecting decarbonization in utility planning.
The PUC issued an interim decision approving new modeling scenarios for Tri-State, including GHG reduction, early coal retirement, low coal utilization, and carbon pricing scenarios.
The PUC issued an order which directed Xcel to address a variety of topics at a technical conference, likely to be addressed in supplemental testimony as well. Topics included vehicle-to-grid integration; modeling an extreme, widespread weather event in the summer of 2030; and the impacts of a scenario in which the system peak shifts to earlier or later in the day.
A more complete summary of PUC activities can be found HERE.
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What We Are Reading
Adams County Adopts New Oil and Gas Regulations That Critics Say Will Effectively Ban Drilling
Adams is one of the first Colorado counties to adopt new drilling regulations under Senate Bill 181. “Frankly, the time is now. We are looking at the longest streak of poor air quality in the Denver metro in a number of years,” said Adams County Commissioner Emma Pinter. Read more about the new regulations HERE.
Boulder Creates a Solar-Garden First
We Need to Find Other Ways to Revive the Economy Than With a New Coal Mine
The first new coal mine in Colorado in almost a decade fired up operations this month, marking a rare upturn in the steadily declining coal industry. Read more HERE.
California Approves Record 11.5 GW Clean Energy Procurement
Unfortunately, there was still gas procurement, although the utilities themselves pushed back on it because they didn't want to be stuck with all of the risk. Read more on the record-breaking package HERE and utility pushback HERE.
Fracking with Forever Chemicals
In 2011, the EPA approved "forever" PFAS chemicals for fracking, adding to the poisonous cocktail of chemicals released at fracking sites. See the full report HERE.
Colorado Rising for Communities Presents Gaslighting
For your dose of inspiration this month, watch this 8-minute video from Colorado Rising for Communities (the 501c3 arm of Colorado Rising) to learn the history of the oil and gas industry's complicity in destroying our health and the environment, how it has lead to the current situation in Colorado, and why this is a pivotal time to keep fighting!
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Thank you for reading and for fighting the good fight!
- The Clean Energy Action Team
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