ENERGY/BIOFUEL

A New Mexico company with a novel biofuels niche

Eldorado Biofuels has developed a niche that may not have received much attention so far, but has the potential to make a strong contribution to algal farming. Addressing the issue of growth water for algae, Eldorado is targeting “produced water”—the water that comes up from oil wells along with the oil and gas—and treating it to remove the toxins, while leaving in the nutrients beneficial to the algae’s growth. We recently dropped by the office of Paul Laur, CEO of Eldorado Biofuels, to get the inside story. By David Schwartz

ENERGY/NUCLEAR

A nuclear power expert examines how policy in the U.S. West impacts the world

I think the situation in Japan should create an impetus for the U.S. government to open the Yucca Mountain storage facility in Nevada for interim storage or to put a greater percentage or the used fuel rods in dry storage casks at the reactor sites. I do not think it’s too far-fetched to say that if we had approved our nuclear storage facility, other governments would have followed move. Had we put the used fuel in Yucca 20 years ago like we should have, maybe the Japanese utility they wouldn’t have had them on Fukushima. By Rob Reuteman

ENERGY/SOLAR

Colorado's high-powered solar sensation

The Colorado solar industry continues to grow and innovate. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. in Fort Collins recently broke the industry record for power inverter efficiency, which determines the amount of energy a solar array converts to usable power. The more efficient the inverter, the more kilowatts of energy produced per array. The bottom line is the more efficient the inverter, the more electricity produced, the faster the return on investment for the project. By Martha Young

ENERGY/DEVELOPMENT
The Rocky Mountain states' energy boom: How's it working out?

So how have Western states handled the latest energy boom and bust? The answer, according to a new study by Headwaters Economics, is it depends on the state, the counties, the fuel and the presence, or absence, of political and industrial leadership at the right time and place. The core finding was that tax revenues have greater impact and sustainability than highly volatile energy jobs, which can vanish as fast as they appear. By Brodie Farquhar

WATER IN THE WEST

Commentary: Patience will help Western ag achieve water quality success

As regional water quality boards have undertaken rewrites of water quality programs intended to regulate runoff from irrigated agriculture, those of us who represent farmers and ranchers find ourselves struggling against a series of misconceptions that surround the programs. We must address those misperceptions, to assure that the programs achieve their goal of enhancing water quality in ways that make practical sense on farms and ranches. By Danny Merkley

ENERGY/RESEARCH

Solving the production versus survival conundrum

Advanced biofuels – liquid transportation fuels derived from perennial grasses and other non-food plants, as well as from agricultural waste – are highly touted as potential replacements for gasoline, diesel and jet fuels. Equally touted is the synthesis of these fuels through the use of microbes. However, many of the best candidate compounds for advanced biofuels are toxic to microbes, which presents a “production versus survival” conundrum. By Lynn Yarris