Fort Collins bans fracking

Fort Collins now has an ordinance that bans hydraulic fracturing within its city limits.

The city council in the northern Front Range municipality approved the law Tuesday evening, defying a threat from Gov. John Hickenlooper that the state would sue to prevent local regulation of the oil and gas industry.

Hickenlooper told a Denver TV news reporter last week that litigation in which the state would argue that only the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission can set rules for the industry would likely be pursued against any city that attempts to ban fracking.

The state's principal oil and gas industry trade group, Colorado Oil and Gas Association, may also challenge the ordinance in court.

"COGA is evaluating taking legal action; the State Supreme Court has clearly stated that drilling cannot be banned within a city, county, or municipality," Tisha Schuller, the organization's president and chief executive officer, said. "Because any new wells in Fort Collins would be hydraulically fractured, a ban on hydraulic fracturing is a ban on oil and gas development."

The ordinance extends further than just a fracking prohibition; it forecloses any oil and gas exploration in Fort Collins.

Fort Collins is now the second municipality in Colorado to ban fracking. Longmont did so last November.

Hickenlooper threatens anti-fracking Colorado cities and towns with lawsuits

Gov. John Hickenlooper staked out Wednesday an aggressive stance in favor of state control of oil and gas exploration.

According to a report by Denver television station KCNC, Hickenlooper told reporter Shaun Boyd that his administration would launch court fights against any municipalities that ban hydraulic fracturing within their city limits.

The state has already started down that path. In December attorney general John Suthers' office sued the city of Longmont, arguing that only the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission can regulate where fracking occurs in the state.

The litigation with the Boulder county municipality followed a decision by the community's residents to approve an anti-fracking referendum in the November election.

It was the second lawsuit launched by the state against Longmont. Suthers sued on behalf of COGCC after the city adopted rules last summer that limited the areas in which exploration could occur.

Fort Collins might be the next target. Its city council initially approved on Feb. 19 an ordinance that would ban all oil and gas exploration within the city limits.

PUC puts last nail into coffin of Denver-area coal-fired power plants

By 2017 there will be no more coal-fired power plants in or near Denver.

The Public Utilities Commission entered an order Wednesday that requires Xcel Energy to close five coal-powered plants, open a natural gas-fired plant in Denver, and convert two other coal-based facilities to natural gas.

The agency also approved a request from Black Hills Energy to close two coal-based power plants near Canon City.

The order is based on the Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act, the landmark legislation enacted last year that aims to dramatically lower the state's nitrogen oxide emissions to the atmosphere.

Excel's actions will raise electric bills by an average of 2.5 percent by 2020.

Black Hills Energy customers could see an increase of five percent in their electricity rates.

The Washington Post has a story on the PUC's action.

GOP Legislators Attack Salazar's Stand on Energy Development

Several GOP state legislators attacked U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar's positions on energy development on federal lands yesterday, calling on him to be more accommodating to Bush Administration plans for more drilling on the western slope and off U.S. coasts.

Salazar has been a vocal critic of those administration plans, calling on the Departments of Interior and Agriculture, who manage federal lands, to be give more consideration of environmental impacts and to give less weight to gas prices at the pump.

"Ken Salazar has missed a golden opportunity to become Colorado's quarterback for common sense energy policy," Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, said. "He could be genuinely helping families meet their budgets for gas and utility bills, but I guess he would rather be a punter than a quarterback."

Salazar has opposed development on Colorado’s Roan Plateau and the Vermillion Basin. He has also opposed allowing environmental rules to be established so the feasibility of commercial oil shale production can be determined.

The Republicans' criticism of Colorado's junior senator was included in a letter sent to Salazar Wednesday by, among others, Kopp, senate minority leader Andy McElhany of Colorado Springs, and senate assistant minority leader Nancy Spence of Centennial.

REA Energy Efficiency Bill Gets Committee Nod

The House Transportation & Energy Committee approved Tuesday a bill that will require the state's rural electric cooperatives to set aside money for energy efficiency programs.

HB 1107, sponsored by Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, would force the cooperatives to set aside a portion of their revenues for the purpose of helping their customers conserve energy.

The bill provides that the set-aside is not required in any year in which the revenues earned by a cooperative decline from the previous year. It applies only to cooperatives that serve at least 5,000 customers.

The amount of revenue required to be devoted to energy efficiency promotion is one percent in 2009 and two percent in subsequent years. Expenses that would be considered related to promotion of energy efficiency would include program planning, administration, marketing, technical assistance, consumer education, rebates and other financial incentives and evaluation costs related to program design and implementation.

All five Republicans on the committee opposed the bill, while all Democrats supported it.

The bill now goes to the House Appropriations Committee.