The School District received two grants to explore a potential geothermal well field. Some hope for an even-deeper dive…
Author: Allen Best
Allen Best publishes the e-journal Big Pivots, which chronicles the energy transition in Colorado and beyond.
BIG PIVOTS: Dim View of Colorado River Too Optimistic? Part Two
“Everybody’s pretty much accepted that we’ve got to come up with a new formula for dividing the river…”
BIG PIVOTS: Dim View of Colorado River Too Optimistic? Part One
How low will Lake Powell get while the states try to reach agreement about natural flow formula?…
BIG PIVOTS: Trump’s EPA Clawing Back $156 million for Solar Programs?
Renewable developer says Trump’s energy policies will impair badly needed economic development in rural communities…
BIG PIVOTS: 21st Century Realities Hit San Luis Valley Agriculture
The solutions seem fairly obvious. Executing them is another matter…
BIG PIVOTS: Reflections on Our Current Immigration Debate
Looking back, it’s so easy to see the wrongness of Amache… the “prison on the plains” for Japanese-Americans during World War II…
BIG PIVOTS: The Problem with the Colorado River, Part Two
“By the same token, it’s not at all obvious what the better approach is. So we muddle along, as we do in public policy processes…”
BIG PIVOTS: The Problem with the Colorado River, Part One
Becky Mitchell and Doug Kenney had much to say at Crested Butte. Just as important may have been what they did not say…
BIG PIVOTS: Tri-State Getting Out of the Coal Business? Part Two
This story appeared on BigPivots.com on June 30, 2025. We are sharing it in two parts. Read Part One As it prepares to leave coal mostly behind, Tri-State Generation & Transmission has begun building large amounts of new renewables, including a solar farm in the Axial Basin south of Craig, near a coal mine. This READ MORE
BIG PIVOTS: Tri-State Getting Out of the Coal Business? Part One
Tri-State G&T wants a new 307-megawatt gas plant at Craig. Conservation coalition says it’s costly and unneeded…
BIG PIVOTS: Where the Buffalo Roam
Nicole Rosmarino now heads Colorado’s State Land Board. Is the idea of Buffalo Commons part of the background tension?
BIG PIVOTS: When April Showers Bring May Flowers
We’re on track to a 9 degree rise in average temperatures. That has profound implications for the Colorado River…
BIG PIVOTS: Not Exactly Driving in Reverse, But…
Colorado has been advancing rapidly toward its goals of having 940,000 EVs on the road…
BIG PIVOTS: The Big, Beautiful Bill vs. Colorado Renewable Energy, Part Two
Solar, he said, has become the lowest cost resource and the fastest dispatching. But it does have a vulnerability, as does wind: variability….
BIG PIVOTS: The Big, Beautiful Bill vs. Colorado Renewable Energy, Part One
Not much to like in the big, beautiful bill. But then, it’s only half-time. How hard will key Republicans in Senate push back?
BIG PIVOTS: Shared Risk at the Heart of the Colorado River Debate
But what exactly did they agree upon? That has become a sticking point in 2025 as states have squared off about rules governing the river…
BIG PIVOTS: Climate Change Lawsuit Gets the Green Light
Colorado Supreme Court says Boulder/Boulder County lawsuit can be heard by a state court and is not pre-empted by federal laws. But, there was dissent…
BIG PIVOTS: Tri-State Doesn’t See Coal in Its Future
“Just transition” is also part of Tri-State’s pivot. State legislators in 2019 said that coal-dependent communities should be given aid as they made their career shifts…
BIG PIVOTS: Tons of Questions About a Data Center Bill
A late bill being heard by Colorado legislators is big and complex. And exactly what problem is it solving?