Extension Clean Energy Outreach
By Leigh Fortson, Extension Regional Communications Coordinator and REA (Renewable Energy Advocate)
Issue 29
May 10, 2011
CSU’s Nolan Doesken Receives Award for Climate & Water Education
Nolan Doesken, a longtime weather researcher in the Department
of Atmospheric Science, state climatologist and founder of CoCoRaHS,
the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network, has received
the 2011 President's Award from the Colorado Foundation for Water
Education.
Doesken received the award in recognition of his advancement to
greater understanding of Colorado’s climate and water resources.
Doesken founded the volunteer precipitation monitoring program,
CoCoRaHS, as a small local project in Fort Collins soon after an extreme
localized storm in 1997. The storm was not well detected by traditional
weather observing networks and caused devastating flooding. For this
effort, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration honored him
as one of 10 “Environmental Heroes” in 2007.
NOAA's Office of Education awarded CoCoRaHS an
Environmental Literacy grant in December 2006 to make its first formal
push to expand nationally. Since then, CoCoRaHS has grown to include
nearly 15,000 volunteers nationwide.
CoCoRaHS taps volunteers of all ages to document the quantity, intensity, duration and patterns of
precipitation by taking simple measurements in their own backyards. Volunteers only need a cylindrical
rain gauge, some training and an interest in weather to participate in the program.
Doesken received the award during the Colorado Foundation for Water Education’s 2011
President’s Award reception Friday at the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Mesa Laboratory in
Boulder.
The Colorado Foundation for Water Education is Colorado’s only non-profit, non-advocacy
organization that provides water resource information and education. Their mission is to promote a better
understanding of Colorado’s water resources and issues by providing balanced and accurate information
and education.
Crazy Weather and Climate: Do Dots Connect?
Source: millermccune.com
By Bruce Dorminey
Australia's recent flooding can be seen in this NASA image. IPCC meteorologist Kevin Trenberth answers questions
about the world’s recently wacky weather and its connection to climate change. (NASA Goddard Photo)
At the end of one of the Northern Hemisphere’s wildest winters in memory, we thought it would
be a good time to ask a climatologist what’s up with such extreme weather. Even Australia’s normally calm
summer has been anything but: First there was drought, then typhoons and then floods of biblical
proportions.
Granted, such extreme weather has been exacerbated both by recent El Niños (warmer-thannormal sea surface temperatures) and La Niñas (colder-than-normal sea surface temperatures) in the
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equatorial Pacific. But it does give pause to wonder: Is this global warming on steroids, or are we merely
seeing natural cyclical weather variations?
For answers, we turned to Kevin Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section at the National
Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. The climatologist, a leading member on the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 when it was awarded to
the IPCC.
He recently addressed this strange weather in a question-and-answer session with MillerMcCune.com.
Miller-McCune: What’s causing the sudden winter weather extremes we’ve seen both here in the U.S. and
in northern Europe over the last two winters, as well as in Australia?
Kevin Trenberth: Natural variability plays a major role along with human-induced climate change. There
have been strong El Niño to La Niña transitions and natural modes of variability, such as the North Atlantic
Oscillation, that have played major roles. During the latter part of El Niño and the following five months,
heat comes out of the ocean and contributes to warming and is working in the same direction as global
warming from humans. The result has been record-breaking sea surface temperatures and thus moisture in
the atmosphere.
M-M: Is this related to a more southerly trajectory of the Northern Hemisphere’s jetstream?
KT: That’s correct. It is related to the negative phase of the NAO, which allows cold polar outbreaks to
occur more readily. The NAO largely varies through natural processes on weekly, monthly or even longer
timescales.
M-M: Does this negative phase of the NAO allow colder air to come to more southerly latitudes?
KT: In the negative phase, the westerlies [anti-trade winds] across the North Atlantic are weaker than
normal and the cold air over the Arctic can flow more readily into lower latitudes and vice versa. In
particular, there are often cold outbreaks over Europe with high temperatures over northeastern Canada and
Greenland. That was the case in early January.
M-M: What’s causing the NAO’s negative phase?
KT: That’s largely a natural variability, relating to interactions between individual storms and the overall
westerlies in the atmosphere. There is a region of stronger westerlies in the positive in the NAO’s positive
phase and weaker westerlies in the NAO’s negative phase.
M-M: Does climate change or global warming exacerbate these NAOs?
KT: That’s a $64,000 question. In general, under global climate change, it’s suspected that the NAO
becomes a little more positive. But in the last two years, it’s become quite negative, and so the speculation
is about whether the negative phase is in any way related to the decrease in Arctic sea ice.
M-M: Are these current weather events anomalous?
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Temperature gradients for the U.S. over the last 50 years. By the first decade of the 21st century, recordbreaking hot temperatures were running at more than a 2-to-1 ratio to record-breaking cold temperatures.
(Meehl et al 2009; National Center for Atmospheric Research)
KT: One measure of how anomalous things are is whether you’re breaking records. There have been more
record-breaking events than expected. In the U.S., for instance, the number of high temperature events has
more than doubled [in the first decade of the 21st century]. What’s happened is that the ratio of recordbreaking hot events to cold events is about 2 to 1.
M-M: At what point would you be concerned about the freak weather signaling something truly deleterious
about our climate?
KT: I already am. Natural variability is going on all the time and the biggest effects are from the El Niño.
Between May 2009 and May 2010, we had quite a strong El Niño. When the mini-global warming from El
Niño is added on, we really start to break records when the heat starts coming out of the ocean, as in July of
last year. There was record-breaking flooding in China and India and then in August in Pakistan. Last
September was the wettest on record in Australia. Then there was record-breaking flooding in Queensland,
Australia, from December 2010 into January 2011. Those events were associated with quite high sea
surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean and were partly a consequence of the El Niño and the change in
ocean circulation. The residual effects of the El Niño meant there was extra evaporation and extra moisture
available for the monsoons — first in Asia and subsequently in Australia.
M-M: Have these El Niños become more pronounced due to global warming?
KT: We have records of El Niño going back some 150 years, and there was a change in how it evolved
starting somewhere around 1976. Today, the impacts of El Niño due to the floods and droughts around the
world are certainly bigger. So while there are floods in South Asia and Australia, there are droughts in
Africa and Peru and Equador. During El Niño, it tends to be wetter across the southern U.S. and drier in the
north.
Read the rest: http://www.miller-mccune.com/environment/crazy-weather-and-climate-do-dots-connect30059/?utm_source=Newsletter156&utm_medium=email&utm_content=0412&utm_campaign=newsletters
Japanese Nuclear Power Plants Scrapped
Japan will scrap a plan to obtain half of its electricity from nuclear power and will instead promote
renewable energy and conservation as a result of its ongoing nuclear crisis, the prime minister said.
Naoto Kan said Japan needs to "start from scratch" on its long-term energy policy after the
Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was heavily damaged by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami and
began leaking radiation.
Nuclear plants supplied about 30 percent of Japan's electricity, and the government had planned to
raise that to 50 percent by 2030.
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Kan told a news conference that nuclear and fossil fuel used to be the pillars of Japanese energy
policy but now the government will add two more pillars: renewable energy such as solar, wind and
biomass, and an increased focus on conservation.
"We will thoroughly ensure safety for nuclear power generation and make efforts to further
promote renewable energy," an area where Japan has lagged, he said.
Kan also said he would take a pay cut beginning in June until the Fukushima nuclear crisis is
resolved to take responsibility as part of the government that has promoted nuclear energy. He didn't
specify how much of a pay cut he would take.
"I believe the government bears a major responsibility for having promoted nuclear energy as
national policy. I apologize to the people for failing to prevent the nuclear accident," Kan said.
The operator of the stricken power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co., has been struggling for nearly
two months to restore critical cooling systems that were knocked out by the disaster. Some 80,000 people
living within a 12-mile (20-kilometer) radius of the plant were evacuated from their homes on March 12,
with many living in gymnasiums.
Photo: Mari Yamaguchi
On Tuesday, about 100 evacuees were allowed into that exclusion zone briefly to gather
belongings from their homes.
Read entire article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/10/japan-nuclear-powerplans_n_859834.html?ir=Green
What Do Westerners Really Want?
Source: Denverpost.com
By Walter E. Hecox and Mark Barna
Last month, Republican lawmakers participated in hearings in Washington with U.S. Forest
Service and Bureau of Land Management officials on BLM's new "wild lands" policy.
The hearings were especially pertinent for residents of the Western states because BLM owns and
manages a whopping 264 million acres in the West. In Colorado, 37.4 million acres, or 39 percent of the
state, is BLM land.
House Republicans are concerned that the new policy, ordered by Secretary of the Interior Ken
Salazar, a former Colorado senator and attorney general, will further cripple the West's economy and
eliminate jobs by increasing restrictions on public land use for businesses.
During the hearings, some Republicans said they were carrying out the will of Westerners by
saving jobs through reducing environmental restrictions and demanding that more public land be opened
for mining, timber and oil companies.
Yet a recent poll released by the State of the Rockies Project at Colorado College in Colorado
Springs suggests that when it comes to conservation many House Republicans are out of sync with
Colorado residents and other Westerners.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_17850582
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Can We Build Our Way Out of an Energy Crisis?
Source: Electric Light & Power www.elp.com
While the world stares down Japan in an attempt to seal off nuclear containment with collective
Superman eye lasers none of us actually possess, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu touched on the crisis
for just a moment in his speech to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He discussed how the U.S.
is helping Japan with detectors, experts and assessments of contamination.
Nuclear may have been on his mind, of course, but not just in the form of the ongoing Japanese
issue. Chu was on Capitol Hill to discuss nuclear and other forms of energy within the context of the
President’s budget plans for the Department of Energy.
Diversity was key for Chu’s speech. He included nuclear, despite the crisis, along with fossil fuels
and renewable efforts. But, what the President and Chu really want to do is make stuff.
“President Obama has a plan to win the future by outinnovating, out-educating and out-building the rest of the world.” Chu
said.
Can we build our way out of an energy crisis? Well, you can
spend your way out of a financial crisis. So, I guess it’s technically
possible, depending on what, exactly, you want to build. The
President, it seems, wants to build lots and lots of clean energy bits--so much so that we could get 80 percent of our power from clean
sources by 2035.
Biofuels, the smart grid, R&D and carbon capture are all
mentioned in this long-term goal, along with loan guarantees for renewables and energy efficiency tech.
Nuclear got a push, too---up to $36 billion to help deploy a “new generation of American nuclear reactors.”
Whether that will be in the final budget is hard to say. It likely depends on how well the Japanese walk the
tightrope between potential meltdowns and how scared the average American is by all of that front page
news.
This push up for renewables and nuclear loan guarantees is balanced by the elimination of some
fossil fuel subsidies that have been deemed “unnecessary.”
This plan of Obama’s is lean and green, but is it mean? I get where he’s going. There’s a great
logic to unhooking ourselves from fossil fuels and imports, creating power from the wind and sun that
blesses most of the American landscape daily. But, to get to 80 percent is quite a lot of building. And, the
one area that might have helped bridge that gap---nuclear power, which doesn’t emit greenhouse gases--may be sidelined.
And all renewables goals aside, we’ll never get to that 80 percent without significant
improvements in energy storage---or building the world’s largest battery - or both.
While it’s very nice to see the Administration taking a long-haul look at energy, I’m still left
wondering exactly what we’re going to build to go from our current energy portfolio (with coal leading at
45 percent and renewables---not including hydro---at 4 percent, according to the Energy Information
Administration) to that whopping 80 percent renewables. Like our attempts to stop Japan’s nuclear disaster,
we may need some super powers for that.
http://www.elp.com/index/kathleens-blog/blogs/elp-blogs/elpblogs/post987_1155041041371176819.html
US Senators Want a National Renewable Energy Standard
Source: www.argusmedia.com steelguru.com
Argus reported that democratic senators Mark Udall (Colorado) and Tom Udall (New Mexico)
have introduced a bill to create a national renewable energy standard, taking up the effort started in 2002
when the cousins were in the US House of Representatives. The bill would amend the Public Utility
Regulation Act to require retail electric suppliers selling 1mn MWh/yr or more to meet 25% of their load
by 2025 through generating renewable electricity, purchasing renewable energy credits or making
alternative compliance payments to a state renewable energy account. Covered utilities would face an
initial target of 6% by 2013, which will rise to 8.5% in 2014, 11% in 2016, 14% in 2018, 17.5% in 2020,
21% in 2022, 23% in 2024 and 25% in 2025 through 2039.
Solar, wind, biomass, ocean, tidal, geothermal, landfill gas, incremental hydroelectric generation
or hydrokinetic power would qualify as renewable resources.
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Unlike most existing state renewable mandates, which award RECs to every MWh generated by a
qualifying renewable energy resource, federal RECs would be granted for every kWh of renewable energy
generated by a qualifying facility.
In releasing their bill, the Udalls emphasized it would not preempt states that have stronger
standards. Utilities' renewable energy or REC purchases or alternative compliance payments made to
comply with a state renewable energy program would receive credit equal to one federal REC kWh. More
than half of the US electricity market is covered by renewable generation standards in 29 states and the
District of Columbia.
Any utility that installs an onsite renewable generation facility of 1 MW or less will receive three
federal RECs kWh. Renewable energy facilities on Indian tribal lands would get two federal RECs kWh
and facilities that co fire biomass with other fuels could receive two RECs kWh if the biomass is grown
onsite.
Federal RECs could be banked for four years, and utilities would be
able to borrow RECs from up to three years in the future. Any retail electric
supplier unable to meet its renewable obligation could pay an alternative
compliance payment, which would be set at either 200% of the average
market value of federal RECs in the current compliance year or 3 cents per
kWh, whichever is lowest. Publicly owned power plants, including municipal
utilities, and rural electric cooperatives are exempt.
The bill specifies that at least 75% of the monies paid through the
alternative compliance payment would go toward grants, incentives or other
state renewable energy or energy efficiency programs.
The Udalls won passage of an RES amendment in the House in 2007, but it failed in the Senate.
Several attempts have been made to pass an RES in the Senate, including a bill sponsored by Senators Tom
Udall and Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) that passed the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, but
never reached a vote by the full Senate.
President Barack Obama has called for an 80% clean energy standard by 2035, which would
include nuclear, natural gas and advanced coal generation along with renewable resources. Senator
Bingaman is working with the White House to develop a clean energy proposal, and together with Energy
and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) recently called for
stakeholder input on the design of such a mandate.
Senator Udall said, "We believe our legislation will help inform their process by showing the
support and potential for a renewable energy standard to play a major part in any energy legislation."
According to Senator Mark Udall's press secretary Jennifer Tallhelm, the bill was introduced on
April 6th 2011 but no votes or hearings have been scheduled.
The Promise of Renewables
Source: Chemical & Engineering News
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/89/i20/8920news3.html
Nearly 80% of the world's energy supply could come from renewables by 2050 if governments
adopt policies to accelerate deployment of these technologies, says a new U.N. report.
The report released on May 9 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says
government actions play a crucial role in the growth of renewable energy. But there is no one-size-fits all
approach.
Instead, the report says, a combination of policies can be more effective and efficient. These
include incentives for R&D, renewable energy quotas, favorable tax policies, rebates, and grants. Other
examples are policies to help renewable energy developers locate projects and get
financing.
"The report shows that it is not the availability of the resource, but the
public policies that will either expand or constrain renewable energy development
over the coming decades," says Ramón Pichs Madruga, cochairman of the IPCC
working group that produced the report. He is an economist at the Center for
World Economy Studies in Havana, Cuba.
Increasing renewables' share of the world's energy supply is important
because it could help restrain the growth of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil
fuels, the report points out.
The proportion of renewable energy deployed worldwide is likely to expand even if governments
at local, state, and national levels don't enact new policies, the report says. But past experience shows that
policies to encourage renewables provide bigger increases than doing nothing.
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The report examined six types of renewables. One is bioenergy, which includes crops grown for
fuel, agricultural residues, and livestock manure. A second is solar, such as photovoltaics and concentrated
solar power, which involves mirrors or lenses focusing sunlight to heat water and create steam that drives a
turbine. Another is capturing energy from the ocean's waves, tides, currents, and heat and salinity gradients.
The other renewables covered in the report are geothermal energy, hydropower, and wind.
Deployment of renewable energy technologies in the future is anticipated to be highest in
developing countries, the report says. Currently, developing countries are now home to more than half of
the world's renewable energy capacity, it adds.
Hybrid Cars Are Cleaner Than Joggers
Source: Environmental News Network
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/42648
This finding will leave you breathless. A physiology professor at the University of Milan
concluded that four men running, walking and riding bicycles emit more carbon dioxide than hybrid cars.
He also compared it to gas and diesel cars, which beat the men in terms of carbon emissions.
Of course the research carried out by Alberto E. Minetti is just illustrative of how clean hybrid
cars have become. As one commentator questioned in the Scientific American, where the original article
appeared, "does the carbon dioxide total with each vehicle used include the CO2 released by the four men
sitting at rest within the vehicle? From the earth's point of view, it should."
Nor did the study take into account the C02 produced during the manufacturing of the car. But
then, we could also factor in the food consumed by the runners in order to get the energy to do all this
running. Or, as Dvice notes, cars can be turned off and temporarily stop emitting carbons, while humans
can't.
As Dvice also highlights, the point of the comparison is to show that vehicles running on green
technology have come a long way and are definitely leaving a lighter footprint on the planet. That's good
news. And you can start breathing again..
Upcoming Events & Ongoing Tidbits
Classes:
Teacher training:
The Governor’s Energy Office, the US Department of Energy, and CSU Extension are offering a new clean
energy curriculum for middle and high school Science, Technology, Engineering and Math teachers as well
as information environmental educators. Trainings will be offered in El Paso, Otero, Jefferson, Routt, and
La Plata counties; and in Sterling, Fort Collins, Grand Junction. Learn more including how to register at:
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/energy/k12.html
Solar Energy Int’l is offering the following classes during the month of May.
May 9-13
Full PV101 Solar Training - Solar Electric Design and Installation (Grid-Direct) Boulder, CO
5 Days $995
May 9-13
PV201L Solar Training - Solar Electric Lab Week (Grid-Direct) Paonia, CO - 5 Days $1,495
May 16-Jun 26
PVOL101 Solar Training - Solar Electric Design and Installation (Grid-Direct) - Online
6 Weeks $695
May 16-Jun 26
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PVOL202 Solar Training - Grid Direct Design and the NEC - Online - 6 Weeks $795
May 16-20
ST101 Solar Training - Solar Hot Water Design and Installation Carbondale, CO - 5 Days $895
May 16-20
MH101 Micro-Hydro Training - Micro-Hydro Design & Installation Paonia, CO - 5 Days $895
May 23-27
PV301L Solar Training - Solar Electric Lab Week (Battery-Based) Paonia, CO - 5 Days$1,495
XCEL 2011 Business Energy Efficiency Road Show
May 4, 8:00 am – 1:00 pm
Hotel Colorado, Glenwood Springs Free. Breakfast, lunch and parking provided
Please join us when our team of energy efficiency experts will share their best tools and technology to help
you save money and lower your energy bills, while learning about business energy efficiency programs at
Xcel Energy. Whether you're just getting started on discovering your efficiency potential, or diving into
rebate application forms, we have something for you! Register at www.xcelenergyevent.com/roadshow
Biodiesel Technology Workshop
July 18-22, 2011
Ames, Iowa
A five-day Biodiesel Technology Workshop co-sponsored by the University of Idaho and Iowa State
University covers business management for biodiesel producers, biodiesel analytical methods, and
biodiesel production technology. For more information and to register:
http://www3.me.iastate.edu/biodiesel/
2011 ACEEE National Conference on Energy Efficiency as a Resource (EER)
September 25 - Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Sponsored by Xcel Energy
Hyatt Regency Tech Center
Denver
Energy efficiency's importance as a utility resource has never been greater. Improving energy efficiency in
our homes, businesses, and industries reduces energy costs, creates jobs, and improves the environment.
Energy efficiency programs offered by utilities and related organizations are seeking unprecedented
savings driven by both economic and environmental concerns. The 2011 ACEEE National Conference on
Energy Efficiency as a Resource (EER) will highlight the latest legislative and regulatory developments in
the energy efficiency field, and review the important advances being made in the design and delivery of
customer energy efficiency programs. This is the number one forum for addressing the many issues facing
utilities as they seek to acquire and integrate this resource into their planning and operations. Make plans
now to attend this important and unique industry event! http://www.aceee.org/conferences.
Resources:
Thanks to Teller County Extension Director Mark Platten for these links:
Two new NREL documents on geothermal technologies for policy makers have been issued:
1. National Renewable Energy Laboratory Policymakers' Guidebook for Geothermal Electricity Generation
is a six-page fact sheet that was published February 2011. This guidebook describes five steps for
implementing geothermal policies that may reduce barriers and result in deployment and implementation of
geothermal technologies that can be used for electricity generation.
2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory Policymakers' Guidebook for Geothermal Heating and Cooling,
a six-page fact sheet, was revised February 2011. This document describes five steps for implementing
geothermal policies that may reduce barriers and result in deployment and implementation of geothermal
heating and cooling technologies, such as ground source heat pumps and direct-use applications.
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Residential Efficiency Strategies
EnergySavers.gov: Stay Cool, Save Money is a website, revised (and re-named) seasonally, from the
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office of the U.S. Department of Energy. The site is now
offering many tips for energy savings for the spring.
FYI
Thirteen school, municipal, medical and commercial buildings from rural and urban Colorado are
competing in this year’s Energy Star Battle of the Buildings.
Town Hall Dillon, CO
Fruita 89 School Fruita, CO
Larimer County Justice Center Fort Collins, CO
Brush Creek Elementary School Eagle, CO
Career Center Grand Junction, CO
Coal Ridge High School New Castle, CO
Palisade High School Palisade, CO
North Suburban Medical Office Building Thornton, CO
Denver Financial Center Denver, CO
Golden Hill Office Centre Lakewood, CO
Highlands Ranch Highlands Ranch, CO
Republic Plaza Denver, CO
Hellems Arts and Sciences Building at University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO
Crystal River Elementary School in Carbondale not only placed 7 th in the national competition last year,
they also saved $19,000 in just six months in a 80,000 square foot building constructed in 2006. Twelve
math students made up the Energy Champions team. See a newspaper article at http://www.valleyjournal.com/article/20101116/NEWS/101119997/1059&parentprofile=1001 .
For the 2010 Competition Summary, go to
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/buildingcontest/NBC_report_final.pdf.
CSU Energy Website
To learn more about wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels, visit our energy website at:
http://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 energy efficiency and
renewables. We need to keep our colleagues up to date on what’s going on in Extension and the
value of our role.
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