Monthly Archive for August, 2010

Gov. & Senate candidates stump at Tri-State

Published on August 30, 2010 in General. 0 Comments

On Friday, Aug. 27, Colorado gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidates made a brief campaign stop at the association’s Westminster headquarters to allow interested employees, member directors and co-op staff an opportunity to hear what they had to say on electric industry issues facing Tri-State and its member-systems.

For the Colorado Governor’s race, Tri-State hosted Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper on the democratic ticket, Tom Tancredo representing the American Constitution Party and Dan Maes, who is the Republican Party candidate. The federal office candidates that appeared at this event were Ken Buck, a Republican running for the U.S. Senate, and Senator Michael Bennet, who is running for re-election.

The “meet the candidates” presentations and Q & A sessions were sponsored by theColorado Rural Electric Association, Tri-State and Colorado Advocates for Rural Electrification.

Operations Center parking lot to get induction lighting

Published on August 24, 2010 in Energy Efficiency. 0 Comments Tags: .

As part of Tri-State’s continuing program to test and showcase new technologies in commercial lighting applications, Westminster building maintenance personnel will soon be installing induction lighting in the Westminster Operations Center parking lot.

Although induction lights are not mercury free like LED lights, they are often less expensive than LED applications and offer a long maintenance-free life in excess of 100,000 hours of operation.

The new lights can be retro-fitted into the operations center’s existing parking lot light fixtures, allowing for easy installation. The induction lights are projected to use only about half the energy of the high-pressure sodium lights that they will replace. Installation is scheduled during the next several weeks.

Kit Carson Electric Cooperative to receive $63 million loan package

Published on August 19, 2010 in Energy Efficiency. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Tri-State member Kit Carson Electric Cooperative(Taos, N.M.) will soon be able to offer broadband Internet access to all of its 22,000 consumers, thanks, in large part, to a $63 million grant and loan package from the Rural Utilities Service. The project will be used as a smart grid platform.

Jonathan Adelstein, administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utility Service, made the announcement yesterday, noting that this northern New Mexico co-op has long been a leader in providing the latest technology to its members. Additionally, he praised the co-op’s general manager, Luis Reyes for his leadership.

Kit Carson Electric has also commissioned a number of commercial-scale solar projects throughout the communities that it serves, including the University of New Mexico’s Taos campus and rooftop parking lot solar array at its headquarters facilities.

Dry Fork Mine Wins National Award

Published on August 17, 2010 in General. 0 Comments Tags: .

The Dry Fork Mine, near Gillette, Wyo., is the recipient of the 2010 Award for Excellence in Surface Coal Mining, awarded by the Department of Interior Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement.

Tri-State is affiliated with the mine through its investments and membership in the Western Fuels Association.

The award recognizes a road and conveyor route project that will deliver coal to the nearby Dry Fork Station when it becomes operational next year. The conveyor corridor was designed around existing wetlands to minimize environmental impact. A large arch-shaped span maintains the existing stream channel of the Little Powder River and allows space for wildlife to pass underneath the road and coal conveyor.

Dry Fork Mine is owned by Western Fuels-Wyoming, a subsidiary of Western Fuels Association. Tri-State is a founding member of Western Fuels, which contracts much of the coal for Tri-State’s coal generation fleet.

Construction on track at new maintenance center

Published on August 6, 2010 in General. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Tri-State’s new Northern Colorado Maintenance Center, now under construction near Frederick, Colo., is progressing well and continues on a timetable for completion by year-end, according to Don Cook, field facilities coordinator.

As of late July 2010, the building’s walls were going up, structural steel was being put in place and concrete paving was underway in many areas outside the new facility. Milender White Construction Co., of Arvada, Colo., is the general contractor on site.

The 37,000 square-foot complex will provide space for 20 to 30 employees when it opens early next year. In addition to providing office space for members of the maintenance and training staff, it will also function as a receiving site for the association’s motor vehicle fleet.

Hickenlooper gets first-hand look at Craig Station

Published on August 3, 2010 in Clean Energy. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

On Monday (Aug.2) Denver Mayor – and Colorado gubernatorial candidate – John Hickenlooper (center in the photo) and some of his campaign staff members stopped by Craig Station for a personal tour, as part of a two-week long statewide “fact finding” tour. Plant operations superintendent Marv Weible (left) showed the guests around the facility, and was joined by CREA executive director Kent Singer and Tri-State’s senior manager of government relations Dave Lock (right).

Hickenlooper spent an hour and a half at Craig Station, his first-ever tour of a coal-based power plant. As a former geologist, he expressed a lot of interest in the inner-workings of the facility and was especially interested in an ongoing project in the region to determine the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide in underground formations on the Western Slope.

Lock reports that Hickenlooper made some very encouraging comments, including that he understands the need for coal to remain a part of the generation mix and, that as a former owner of several restaurants, he understands regulatory red-tape and has fought to diminish unnecessary requirements.