In 1915, travel from Colorado to San Francisco had lots of dust and bumps. But 15 years later much had changed…
Author: Allen Best
Allen Best publishes the e-journal Big Pivots, which chronicles the energy transition in Colorado and beyond.
BIG PIVOTS: Colorado Goes Big on Solar, Part Two
“If you’ve been a student of this for a long time, we’ve had the “solar coaster” where we’ve ramped up and hired a bunch of folks and then the bottom dropped out and we let a bunch of folks go…”
BIG PIVOTS: Natural Gas to Remain in Colorado’s Energy Mix?
At a convention of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, one of the speakers was discussing the future of natural gas in electrical generation…
BIG PIVOTS: What Constitutes a Just Transition for Pueblo, Colorado?
Pueblo lacks consensus about its future. That was clear during a recent town hall in Pueblo attended by more than 600 people…
Federal Money for Colorado Electrical Cooperatives
Durango-based La Plata Electric is also getting federal aid, but its $13.4 million is coming from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022…
BIG PIVOTS: Where Colorado Oil & Gas Legislation Goes to Die
It was, he explained a “messaging bill,” which he did not define except to say that bill sponsors never expected it to pass…
BIG PIVOTS: Colorado Legislature Looking to Limit Non-functional Turf
The Colorado Senate on Tuesday voted in favor of a bill that would prevent thirsty turf species from being planted in places that rarely, if ever, get foot traffic…
BIG PIVOTS: Carbon Capture… a Waste of Money?
Gov. Jared Polis to talk it up at a conference in Denver. But in Aspen, Joe Romm says the case for CCS is incredibly weak…
BIG PIVOTS: Solar Industry Seeks Changes to Electrical Grid Planning
“We have a mid-20th century way of doing things as we hurtle through the 21st century…
BIG PIVOTS: A New Name for Kit Carson Peak?
It’s called Kit Carson, but a state advisory board in January will review alternatives more acceptable to the Diné and others…
BIG PIVOTS: Fifteen Years Ago, Coal was King… What Does That Say About Natural Gas?
I vividly remember attending the annual meeting of the Delta-Montrose Electric Association in 2008…
Tri-State Generation & Transmission Hoping for Federal Help in Energy Transition
Tri-State Generation and Transmission wants to hasten its exits from two coal plants and add a ton of new wind and solar generation plus battery storage…
BIG PIVOTS: Colorado Exceeds Its Goal for EV Adoption
“We are looking at Chevy Blazers, Bolts and Equinoxes, some of the models that are a little more cost-effective…”
BIG PIVOTS: Dealing with Less Water in Colorado, Part Two
The takeaway, she said, is that communities can have vibrant landscapes and protect property values – and still use less water…
BIG PIVOTS: Dealing with Less Water in Colorado, Part One
The Western Slope delivers 70% of the Colorado River water. So why do Aspen, Vail and other places want to replace thirsty turf?
BIG PIVOTS: Squeezing Water from Urban Landscapes in Colorado, Part Three
After planting buffalo grass in their yard in Colorado Springs, Don and Jill Brown rarely need to mow it and give it little water…
BIG PIVOTS: Squeezing Water from Urban Landscapes in Colorado, Part Two
In southeast Denver, Meredith Slater took a break on an August morning, to explain why she and her husband had replaced the lawn of their brick home…
BIG PIVOTS: Squeezing Water from Urban Landscapes in Colorado, Part One
The pace of transition has accelerated, deepened and broadened as the ‘headwaters state’ struggles to embrace limits of the water supply…