Energizer Newsletter
June 24, 2008
Volume 1, Issue 10
The Live Wire EmPowered E3 (Extension’s Energy Exchange)
by Leigh Fortson
Extension Regional Communications Coordinator and REA (Renewable Energy Advocate)
Extension
Recent and Interesting
As most of you probably know, 25x25 is a leading and innovative force in helping to bring people in agriculture together with policy makers, land grant universities and the general public to support a new energy economy. Their goal is that by the year 2025, we’ll get 25% of our energy from agricultural resources.
In a recent newsletter, 25x25 reported this:
Gale Buchanan, USDA Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education and Economics, cites the work of the nation's land grant universities in taking the lead on crucial renewable energy research. Buchanan admits that the land grant university system was "a bit slow getting out of the chute," but says academic and extension research is "rapidly catching up." He also acknowledges that making curriculum changes to jump-start renewable energy research and education is tough, but adds that he has warned land-grant university presidents, "If you don't get your curricula developed to turn out society-ready graduates for the new bioeconomy, someone will do it for you."
The article goes on to describe an event in Washington DC where 90 land grant universities participated in “The Grand Challenge” where they were rewarded for innovative renewable energy research and programs. CSU was among the winners for our Clean Energy Supercluster. To find out who the other Land Grant winners were, go to: www.ree.usda.gov/news/bead/grand_challenge_winners.pdf
Alternative Energy Resources in Colorado
25x25 also provides the following information that may be useful for your purposes.
- Biomass
Studies indicate that Colorado has fair biomass resource potential. For more state-specific resource information, see Biomass Feedstock Availability in the United States: 1999 State Level Analysis. - Geothermal
Colorado has high-temperature resources that are suitable for electricity generation, as well as direct use and heat pump applications. For more information on geothermal resources, including resource maps, visit GeoPowering the West. - Hydropower
Colorado has a good hydropower resource as a percentage of the state's electricity generation. For additional resource information, check out the Idaho National Laboratory's Virtual Hydropower Prospector (VHP). VHP is a convenient geographic information system (GIS) tool designed for assisting in locating and assessing natural stream water energy resources in the United States.
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According to Americans for American Energy: There are approximately 5,400 sites in the U.S. that could potentially be developed as small hydropower plants. The combined power of these sites is more than 18,000 megawatts. These sites could more than double hydroelectric genplants. The combined power of these sites is more than 18,000 megawatts. These sites could more than double hydroelectric generation in the nation.
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- Solar
To accurately portray your state's solar resource, we need two maps. That is because different collector types use the sun in different ways. Collectors that focus the sun (like a magnifying glass) can reach high temperatures and efficiencies. These are called concentrating collectors. Typically, these collectors are on a tracker, so they always face the sun directly. Because these collectors focus the sun's rays, they only use the direct rays coming straight from the sun.
Other solar collectors are simply flat panels that can be mounted on a roof or on the ground. Called flat-plate collectors, these are typically fixed in a tilted position correlated to the latitude of the location. This allows the collector to best capture the sun. These collectors can use both the direct rays from the sun and reflected light that comes through a cloud or off the ground. Because they use all available sunlight, flat-plate collectors are the best choice for many northern states. Therefore, this site gives you two maps: one is the resource for a concentrating collector and one is the resource for a flat-plate collector.
What do the maps mean? For flat-plate collectors, Colorado has very good resources throughout the state. For concentrating collectors, Colorado has very good resources, especially in the southern part of the state. - Wind
Wind Powering America indicates that Colorado has wind resources consistent with utility-scale production. Significant contiguous areas of good resource with embedded regions of excellent resource are found in the eastern quarter of the state. The excellent resource areas within the eastern quarter of Colorado are concentrated near the New Mexico and Nebraska borders. An area of excellent to outstanding resource is located along the Wyoming border north of Fort Collins. The exposed ridge crests of the Front Range, the Continental Divide, and in western Colorado also have good to outstanding wind resource. In addition, small wind turbines may have applications in some areas. For more information on wind resources in Colorado, visit Wind Powering America's U.S. Wind Resource Map.
The Renewable Energy Atlas of the West estimated the annual wind electricity generation potential in Colorado to be 601 billion kWh. The estimate excludes 100% of the following areas, which are assumed to be infeasible for wind development:
- Landforms – land with a slope greater than 20%.
- All National Park Service lands.
- All fish and wildlife lands.
- All Forest Service or BLM lands with "special" designations, such as national recreation areas or national wilderness areas.
- All bodies of water.
- Wetlands.
- Urban areas.
CSU Energy Website
To learn more about wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels, visit our energy website at: www.ext.colostate.edu/energy.
Legislative Updates
When working with your communities, it’s helpful to know what kind of policies, legislation and incentives there are to help them get more involved in integrating clean energy in their homes and businesses. Here are some recent bills that may be of help and spark some new activities, as well as some information for low-income families.
- House Bill 1350 (Madden/Romer) allows local governments to provide below-market-rate loans to homeowners to finance home improvements for small-scale renewable energy projects, such as energy efficiency retrofits and the installation of renewable energy fixtures.
- HB 1368 (Buescher/Brophy) supports Colorado's growing solar industry by aligning state and county property valuations and encouraging small-scale developers to build green and install solar energy systems.
- HB 1387 (Buescher/Veiga) helps low-income families with their energy bills in both the short and long-term. This legislation provides $6.5 million for emergency assistance through the state's Energy Outreach Colorado program and $6.5 million toward the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP).
- Senate Bill 147 (Gordon/Hodge) adds low-income housing to the list of state buildings that have to be built to high performance energy standards.
- SB 184 (Romer/Levy) helps low-income homeowners finance energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements through the creation of the Colorado Clean Energy Finance Program.
- HB 1164 (Solano/Schwartz) encourages the Public Utility Commission to fully consider new solar technologies when they are evaluating new power generation construction projects.
For a complete list of all 2008 legislation Gov. Ritter has signed into law, visit www.colorado.gov/governor
For more information on Colorado’s financial incentives for going Green, go to: www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/map2.cfm?
CurrentPageID=1&State=CO&RE=1&EE=1
GEO Update (www.colorado.gov/energy)
Gov. Bill Ritter announced the kickoff of a statewide energy efficiency and conservation campaign called "The New Energy Economy: Bringing It Home," which will feature television and radio advertisements to educate homeowners, individuals and consumers about low-cost and simple steps to save energy.
"We are bringing the New Energy Economy home to Coloradans," Gov. Ritter said. "This campaign offers simple steps that any of us can take to save energy and money. Small changes in how we use energy make big differences in reducing energy costs and carbon emissions."
Gov. Ritter said the campaign will provide basic advice and tips on how to save money at home and at work.
Of Interest
Iowa State University is now producing a newsletter specific to agriculture and renewables. Some of the topics they cover are:
- The Impact of Biofuels on the Economy
- Ethanol: How significant is it in higher food prices and the “world food crisis”?
- Global Warming, the Science
Here’s what they have to say: The newsletter will provide information and analysis from agricultural economists and others on current issues facing the emerging renewable energy industry. We hope you will find the newsletter of value and look forward to hearing from you about issues and topics.
If you’re interested, you can sign up and get it on a regular basis by going to: visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1102115566977
CSU Energy Website
To learn more about wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels, visit our energy website at: www.ext.colostate.edu/energy.
Furthermore
Go to http://hes.lbl.gov/hes/db/zip.shtml and you can do an online calculation of your own energy use and carbon footprint. It’s easy to use. Tell your communities about it.
Send me anything that’s newsworthy that you’re doing in the world of clean energy and renewables. We need to keep our colleagues up to date on what’s going on in Extension and the value of our role!
Leigh Fortson
Extension Regional Communications Coordinator and REA (Renewable Energy Advocate)
Colorado State University Extension
2764 Compasss Drive, Suite 232
Grand Junction, CO 81506-8746
(970) 241-3346, FAX (970) 241-3643
leigh.Fortson@ColoState.EDU
Updated Monday, August 29, 2011