Environmental News
Environmental News from Boulder, Colorado
Boulder facility goes ‘off the grid’ generating total power from non-fossil fuels for first time
Oct 29th
Less than two weeks after celebrating the implementation of solar photovoltaic panels just outside its gates, Boulder’s Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) reached a new milestone, going “off the grid” completely for two and a half hours on Thursday, Oct. 28. Going “off the grid” means that all power necessary to operate the facility came from sources other than Xcel’s traditional fossil fuel supply.
In this case, Coordinator of Wastewater Treatment Chris Douville explained, the plant was able to draw all of the energy it needed, roughly 1,200 to 1,400 kilowatts at any given moment, from the solar array and from its two co-generation (co-gen) system engines. The co-gen engines capture and burn the gas that is coming off the anaerobic digester process tanks, using that gas to generate additional power instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. The solar system, when at its peak on Thursday, was generating close to 800 kilowatts.
Douville said the success was attributable to a combination of factors, including relatively low wastewater flows, less demand than usual, a clear solar day and cooler temperatures. Data captured at the plant shows the milestone was reached at 11:30 a.m. The plant did not start drawing power from the traditional source again until 2 p.m. Attached is a screen grab that shows the solar photovoltaic production for the day.
“This is a great example of what we can get to,” said David Driskell, executive director of Community Planning and Sustainability. “It shows it is possible to really change our energy mix, and that will have long-term economic and environmental benefits to us as a community.”
While going “off the grid” is impressive, the ultimate goal for the WWTF is for 50 percent or more of the facility’s power to come from alternative sources, over a monthly or annual basis, Douville said. The city hopes to meet this goal through a combination of energy efficiency efforts and maximizing its alternative supplies.
SOURCE: CITY OF BOULDER NEWS RELEASE
Weather Red Flag Warning! #Boulder Trees down all over Boulder
Oct 26th
Boulder Police department reports to Boulder Channel 1 news that trees are down all over Boulder. Community weather watchers say gust as high as 75mph in Table Mesa.
Red Flag Warning
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 129 PM MDT TUE OCT 26 2010
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING OR IMMINENT. PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE
OFFICIALS AND FIRE CREWS IN THE FIELD OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING.
COZ238>251-270100- /O.NEW.KBOU.FW.W.0016.101026T1929Z-101027T0100Z/ LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY- BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD COUNTY- NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY- ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET- NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY- CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES- NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN COUNTY- SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY- LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY- 129 PM MDT TUE OCT 26 2010 ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES 238...239... 240...241...242...243...244...245...246...247...248...249... 250 AND 251... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM MDT THIS EVENING. * AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 238...FORT COLLINS... HEREFORD...LOVELAND...NUNN...WEST PAWNEE GRASSLANDS...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 239...ARVADA...BOULDER...GOLDEN...LAKEWOOD... LONGMONT...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 240...AURORA...BRIGHTON...CITY OF DENVER...DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...HIGHLANDS RANCH... LITTLETON...PARKER...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 241...CASTLE ROCK... ELBERT...FONDIS...KIOWA...LARKSPUR...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 242... BRIGGSDALE...EAST PAWNEE GRASSLANDS...GROVER...PAWNEE BUTTES...RAYMER...STONEHAM...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 243...EATON... FORT LUPTON...GREELEY...ROGGEN...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 244... BRUSH...FORT MORGAN...GOODRICH...WIGGINS...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 245...BENNETT...BYERS...DEER TRAIL...LEADER...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 246...AGATE...HUGO...LIMON...MATHESON...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 247...FORDER...KARVAL...KUTCH...PUNKIN CENTER...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 248...CROOK...MERINO...STERLING...PEETZ...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 249...AKRON...COPE...LAST CHANCE...OTIS...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 250...JULESBURG...OVID...SEDGWICK...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 251...AMHERST...HAXTUN...HOLYOKE. * TIMING...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL EARLY THIS EVENING. * WIND...NORTHWEST 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS BETWEEN 40 AND 50 MPH. * HUMIDITY...AROUND 15 PERCENT. * IMPACTS...THE VERY WINDY CONDITIONS AND DRY FUELS WILL ALLOW ANY GRASS FIRES TO SPREAD RAPIDLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING OR IMMINENT. PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS AND FIRE CREWS IN THE FIELD OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING. && BARJENBRUCH $$
Ned forestry dump to close
Oct 20th
Boulder County, Colo. – The community forestry sort yard on Ridge Road near Nederland will close for the winter on Saturday, Oct. 30.
Residents may drop off logs, branches and slash, including “hot” beetle-infested wood Tuesday-Saturday during the hours of 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through Oct. 30.
The site is located at 286 Ridge Road, north of Nederland off of the Peak-to-Peak Highway.
Due to the ongoing fire ban, Boulder County has been unable to burn slash at the sort yard and has accumulated a large pile of branches that will need to be chipped. Residents living close to the sort yard should expect to hear grinding operations at some point during the first two weeks of November and are thanked for their patience during the end-of-season sort yard cleanup. Grinding is anticipated to take one or two days, but may take longer.
The Nederland site had a successful first year of operation, taking in more than 600 individual loads of biomass. The yard has seen a noticeable increase in the number of people creating better defensible space around their homes since the Fourmile Canyon wildfire.
Despite recent wetter weather, forests remain extremely dry and the chance of wildfire remains high. Long-term weather forecasts are predicting a windier-than-average winter and residents are advised to remain vigilant about creating better defensible space around their homes.
“The Chinook winds that are predicted this winter combined with our extremely dry forests means that fire danger will remain high,” said Ryan Ludlow, Outreach Forester with the Boulder County Land Use Department. “Right now is the best time of year to create better defensible space and protect your home against future fires.”
The community forestry sort yard program was established to give residents a free-of-charge place to dispose of wood cut on private lands, to remove hazardous beetle-killed trees, to improve defensible space around homes, and to create a healthier forest ecosystem. The Nederland sort yard is anticipated to reopen in the spring.
For more information, visit www.bouldercounty.org/foresthealth, call Ryan Ludlow at 720-564-2641, or email pinebeetle@bouldercounty.org.
SOURCE: Boulder County news release
