Tag: solar

An ambitious bill that would offer grants and subsidies to communities that adopt quicker and more efficient methods of installing solar panels was introduced today by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.).

As Colorado generates a third of its energy from renewables, forecasts are that much higher percentages could come soon at relatively low cost.

Xcel Energy is manipulating Colorado's renewable energy policies to reap profits from ratepayers above and beyond the allowed amount, according to a Public Utilities Commission renewable energy expert.

Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility and a key backer of Colorado’s aggressive renewable energy standard (RES), reacted with skepticism to Monday’s lawsuit seeking to overturn a state law mandating 30 percent of Xcel’s electricity be produced by renewable sources by 2020. “... We understand that [the complaint] was made by a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization,” Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz told the Colorado Independent. “We would be surprised if a federal court would overturn Colorado's legislatively approved Renewable Energy Standard.”

Delaying the acquisition of additional solar resources could save ratepayers money and open the door for projects smaller than the 95-mile transmission line proposed...

Under a new agreement awaiting approval by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), solar purchasers would see upfront rebates for the purchase of solar units reduced or eliminated.

An advertisement went out today that may provide a preview of the Solar Rewards Program rates to be offered by Xcel Energy.

Backers of a bill that would have prompted the study of a “feed-in-tariff” program in Colorado to connect renewable energy generators to the grid say the state’s major utilities quietly killed the legislation in committee last week because of their “continuing love affair with fossil fuels.”

A phone survey of 2,200 registered voters in five western states, including 600 in Colorado, found that a majority of western voters think the amount of their state’s electricity being produced by renewable energy sources should “dramatically increase,” even if it means paying more on their utility bill.

To some, stimulus money has been a godsend. To others, it has been an overreaching waste of taxpayer money. One thing that is hard to argue, though, is that it has pumped billions of dollars into the Colorado economy.