Energy Outfits Fueled for Growth in Metro North
Published Apr 17, 2007
The Brighton headquarters of United Power is a model of energy efficiency, with geothermal heat pumps and environmentally friendly lighting.
From the largest oil refinery in the Rocky Mountain region to an entrepreneurial venture called Blue Sun Biodiesel that produces environmentally friendly diesel fuel, companies with power connections are energizing the Metro North economy and generating jobs.
“Biodiesel doesn’t work unless – and ‘unless’ is highly emphasized – you do it right. Done right, it’s the best fuel you can use for a diesel engine, bar none,” says Blue Sun President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Probst, who founded Blue Sun with four partners in 2001.
Headquartered in Westminster, Blue Sun is the region’s leading supplier of biodiesel, which is a combination of conventional diesel and plant-derived oils, plus additives. Unlike other biodiesel fuels on the market, Blue Sun’s products use oil from a seed specially engineered by company researchers.
Probst says oil from the seed, a member of the mustard family, is vastly superior to soybean oil, which is fattier and thus oxidizes quickly. Thanks to Blue Sun’s special seed, its fuel boasts a longer shelf life and burns cleaner.
“What really motivated me was healthier air,” says Probst, adding that the company’s launch was prompted by several “megatrends” – environmental concern, declining oil reserves, dependence on imported oil and a need to salvage agrarian economies.
“Our rural economies in Colorado and in the High Plains are hurting,” he says. “We have to provide farmers with sustainable markets that provide a decent income.” Growing Blue Sun’s oilseed does just that.
Blue Sun products – available only from authorized distributors to ensure quality – are sold in 10 states and Ontario, Canada.
Several cities including Denver, Colorado Springs and Fort Collins use Blue Sun exclusively to power their diesel vehicles and generators.
Refining traditional diesel, gasoline and jet fuel is the charge of Suncor Energy’s sprawling Commerce City operation, with a capacity of 90,000 barrels per day.
In June 2006, the company completed a $445 million upgrade to meet clean-fuel regulations and to reduce emissions. Called Project Odyssey, the renovation had a tremendous impact on the Metro North economy. The project employed a peak construction workforce of 1,300, and about 75 percent of the budget was allocated for goods and services purchased from Colorado businesses.
The Suncor refinery itself employs about 400 people.
Nearly the same number of people work at the Westminster headquarters of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a wholesale electric power supplier for more than 1 million consumers.
“Even though no power is generated in the Metro North area, it certainly is the hub of our operations,” says Jim Van Someren, Tri-State’s corporate communications manager.
Tri-State electricity is derived from coal, natural gas, and oil-fired and combustion turbines within its 250,000-square-mile service area. Tri-State is owned by the 44 electric cooperatives that it serves.
One of the largest of those cooperatives is United Power, serving a horseshoe-shaped area west, north and east of Denver. Its new Brighton headquarters, which opened in May, is a model of energy efficiency, with geothermal heat pumps, automatic dimmable lighting, occupancy sensors to conserve energy in empty rooms and skylights with tubing to reflect natural daylight.
As one of the fastest-growing electric cooperatives in the nation, United Power reflects the nature of the communities it serves. Says Troy Whitmore, United Power director of external affairs, “Things here are popping.”
Story by Sharon H. Fitzgerald
Photo by Antony Boshier
Current Weather Conditions In Denver, CO (80234)
Cloudy and Windy, and 37 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
