Colorado Well Positioned For Pollution Standards

DENVER (AP) – Out of all the states in the nation, Colorado offers the best sneak peek at what the nation would look like once President Barack Obama’s energy regulations take effect. But critics warn it’s too soon to say Colorado’s energy plan won’t have negative consequences. Colorado got high praise Monday in a plan from the Obama administration aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by nearly a third over the next 15 years. Colorado was cited repeatedly as a model for reducing carbon emissions while managing to “dispatch power effectively in the short term and to ensure adequate capacity in the long term.”

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One Giant Leap – Green Denver Scrambles on Building Energy Codes!

Greenest City Denver
By Melissa Baldridge

Denver touts itself as one of the nation’s greenest cities — from bike ridership to outdoor lifestyles to mass transit to number of LEED buildings per capita. As recently as 2011, was named fifth nationwide in an overall green-city ranking, sixth for its buildings, and first for environmental governance. But that which doesn’t grow, dies.

The Queen City is now a laggard – both in its building energy codes, which haven’t changed for years, and in enforcement. Many of the metro area building departments have moved their building codes to the 2012 version. That means their energy codes are 15 percent more stringent than the 2009 codes. Denver’s residential energy codes are stuck in time in 2009, and its gutted residential requirements don’t require building envelope or duct testing – labor-intensive work that shows whether homes and duct systems leak. Nor does Denver require “commissioning” of commercial building systems like hot water heating, lighting and the building “shell” – making sure they function as designed.

Yet the city plans to implement 2015 building and energy codes next year – a gigantic leap for builders trying to squeak by swamped code officials doing clipboard walk-throughs, to an era of advanced home and building performance testing.




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Breakthrough Renewable Energy Forecasting Coming To US Grid By 2015

Breakthrough Renewable Energy Forecasting Coming To US Grid By 2015
by Silvio Marcacci

Breakthrough renewable energy forecasting technologies may be two years away from revolutionizing the efficiency of wind and solar generation on America’s grid. Storm front image via Shutterstock The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is adding to its already impressive list of renewable energy innovations with a new two-year plan to develop custom forecasting systems for wind energy and solar power.

NCAR scientists and engineers will develop technology to improve wind power output by predicting sudden changes in wind speed, help wind farm operators avoid curtailment during icy conditions, and predict the amount of energy generated by small-scale solar energy installations.

Pushing Past State Of The Art To Probabilistic Forecasts
This new batch of renewable energy forecasting systems will be deployed at Xcel Energy regional control centers in Denver, Minneapolis, and Amarillo to help the utility increase renewable energy output to the grid while reducing costs and ensuring a reliable power supply. “This is pushing the state-of-the-art still further,” said Sue Ellen Haupt, NCAR program director. “Every improvement to the forecasts results in additional savings.” The new phase of renewable energy forecasting technology will provide “probabilistic forecasts,” meaning utility managers will be able to make decisions based on high-accuracy predictions of certain weather conditions at a wind farm on the next day. Forecasts will focus on wind “ramp” events, ice and extreme temperatures, and distributed solar.

Anticipating Wind Ramp Events
Of the three, predicting ramp events could mean the most for overall generation. Ramp events refer to sudden and significant changes in wind conditions over the span of a few hours due to passing weather fronts or atmospheric events. NCAR’s Variational Doppler Radar Analysis System (VDRAS) will combine radar data with computer simulations to create accurate forecasts for specific wind farms and reduce intermittency. Wind ramp event image via Atmos News VDRAS forecasts will allow utilities to accurately estimate how much electricity wind farms can generate, and ramp other baseload generation up or down according to overall demand on the grid. “We are able to power the system using wind more often, and aggressively, than we have in the past,” said Gabriel Romero of Xcel.

Preventing Cold-Weather Effects On Turbines
While ramp events may mean the most for generation, predicting extreme weather conditions could do the most to prevent sudden wind farm shut downs. NCAR is partnering with Pennsylvania State University to develop a 48-hour forecasting system to predict extreme temperature swings as well as the impact of freezing rain and fog on turbines. Both of these weather conditions can force wind farms to stop operation, and can potentially damage turbine blades. NCAR is applying similar computer models and specialized algorithms as the ones used to keep aircraft safe from potentially lethal in-flight icing conditions. Predicting Small-Scale Solar Output If you thought solar was being left out of the forecasting mix, don’t worry – NCAR is also developing a forecasting system to help utilities anticipate the output of small-scale solar installations. The system will predict when customers with rooftop solar will supply their own demand, when they’ll be contributing excess electricity to the grid, and when they’ll need to pull power from utility sources. This new solar forecasting system will augment NCAR research already underway to forecast sunlight conditions and predict power at 15-minute increments for large-scale solar installations. The existing research will use an array of observational tools to predict cloud cover at solar facilities and the effect different types of clouds will have on generation.

 

Renewable Energy Forecasting Equals Economic Benefits
All of NCAR’s efforts will ultimately benefit consumers as much as they will benefit the climate. Since electricity can’t yet be stored in large quantities, every time solar or wind system generation suddenly decreases, utilities are forced to turn on coal or natural gas facilities. In addition to higher emissions, these generation units may be more expensive than renewables, and if they are unavailable due to maintenance or can’t be turned on in time to meet demand, the utility is forced to buy power on the expensive electricity spot market. Colorado wind fram image via Shutterstock NCAR’s approach to renewable energy forecasting has already been proven to save millions. A wind forecasting system it developed for Xcel in 2010 saved utility customers over $6 million that year by developing 35% more accurate forecasts for wind farm output. “By creating more detailed and accurate forecasts…we can produce a major return on investment,” said Thomas Bogdan, President of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. “This type of cutting-edge research helps make renewable energy more cost competitive.”

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Denver Cleans Up in Ranking of “World’s Best Oil and Gas Cities”

Call this bit of news a “blast from the past” that will make people in Colorado’s oil and gas industry smile—and could leave environmentalists and members of the clean energy industry shaking their heads. Rigzone, an online industry news and analysis publication based in Houston, has named Denver the best oil and gas city in the U.S. and third-best oil and gas city in the world. The only cities to beat out Denver were second-ranked Calgary, Alberta, which is the center of Canada’s energy industry, and top-ranked Dubai, the booming United Arab Emirates city that is the hub for the oil and gas industry in the Persian Gulf. While the rankings aren’t an authoritative measure—Rigzone said about 8,000 readers participated in its survey—it is another indicator that the “old school” energy industry is booming while new industries such as wind and solar are struggling.

Rigzone’s introduction to the rankings said it looked at two factors—the economic potential of the area and its attractiveness as a place to work.

The Denver area did well on both measures. Companies including Halliburton, Noble Energy, Anadarko Petroleum, and EnCana have significant operations in the area. Estimates created by industry groups estimate oil and gas accounted for 77,600 jobs in the state in 2012, along with value-added economic activity of more than $11 billion. They project that by 2035, those numbers could swell to 175,363 jobs and $26 billion in impact. The report also cited the Denver area’s quality of life, opportunities for outdoor recreation, and good weather. What’s good for employees in the oil and gas world is to the consternation of environmentalists and some local communities.

New improvements to technologies such as directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are contributing to the boom. Together they have opened up new areas for exploration, but those fields often are near communities on the Front Range, where most Coloradans live. For the past few years, opponents have been organizing against the industry.

Michael Davidson
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Renewable Energy Outlook Looking Brighter!

Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that comes from resources which are continually replenished on a human timescale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat.


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Colocation Providers, Customers Trade Tips on Energy Savings

 

Colocation and Energy Unite
PALO ALTO, Calif. –
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Customers of colocation facilities don’t always see eye to eye with the companies whose infrastructure and energy they depend on, but at times, their interests do align. At the 2013 Data Center Efficiency Summit on Tuesday, representatives of both groups shared ideas about how they could improve energy efficiency and rely more on renewable power.

Nicole Peill-Moelter, director of environmental sustainability at Akamai, called on colocation providers to share data on power usage with customers.

Sharing Best Practices
Then again, a colocation customer could share best practices with other companies running infrastructure in the same facility. “I think that would break down some of the barriers that we face,” said Tom Fisher, a sustainability manager at Salesforce.com. Colocation providers could also assist their customers by offering incentives for energy-efficient practices or helping to trouble-shoot obvious inefficiencies that could worsen site-wide Power Usage Efficiency (PUE). To some degree, that’s already happening.

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Winter Checklist: Button Up Your Home With These Energy-Saving Tips!

Energy Tips to Help During The Winter Time
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The Furnace
•Move materials away from the furnace, especially flammable materials.
•Check your pilot light. If it isn’t burning, follow the instructions for relighting which are typically printed on access doors. You can also find information on the manufacturer’s website—that’s where you should go to learn about maintenance requirements for your equipment. If you have difficulty, call a qualified heating contractor for advice.
 •Vacuum out any dust or debris in and around the unit, especially the blower. Replace the filter if needed.
 •We recommend that you have your furnace professionally inspected each year by a qualified professional. These are some things they might do: ◦Lubricate the blower motor with a non-detergent motor oil. ◦Remove the flame shield and check the burner for corrosion. ◦Check the flue for gaps or dents and make sure it is venting properly to the outdoors. Around the House
•Set your programmable thermostat for winter! Click here to see recommended settings from

ENERGY STAR.
 •Create a clear area around the heat registers by moving furniture, rugs, drapes, etc. Vacuum out dust in registers.
 •Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Be sure to keep extra batteries on hand.
•Check that your fire extinguisher is fully charged; replace if needed.
•Check windows and doors for drafts, and install weather stripping where it’s needed. A qualified contractor can also help you test for leaks and seal them, and can also add insulation to your attic and walls if needed.
•Check your fireplace for soot or creosote build-up. Schedule a visit from a reputable chimney sweep if needed. Outside the House
•Shut off valves to outdoor faucets. Open spigots and drain and store hoses.
•Make sure furnace intakes and outputs are clear (nothing is crowding them) and keep snow away from them.
 •Take advantage of the sun’s warmth; trim back bushes and trees around your windows.


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