Alternative Fuels Company to Move to Colorado

Cool Planet hopes to expand its biomass materials to include beetle kill pine.
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture

Cool Planet Energy Systems, a California based company, announced that it will move its headquarters to Greenwood Village, Colorado. The company has created an efficient process to to generate gasoline out of plant waste and biomass.

In addition to relocating its headquarters, the company is also looking to create a manufacturing plant in Aurora. The manufacturing plant is hoped to have the capacity to produce about 10 million gallons per year from organic waste.

The company's move will create new job opportunities for Colorado. Cool Planet applied for tax credits that equate to approximately 400 jobs. Cool Planet has financial backing from Google Ventures, BP, and ConocoPhillips among others.

Wesley Chan, a general partner at Google Ventures said, "Cool Planet is on the cutting edge of advancements in alternative fuels, and this expansion into Colorado brings them one step closer to making their fuel available to anyone who drives a car."

Cool Planet is also expanding their focus to use Colorado's beetle-kill trees as a fuel source. The char remnants from the process would be used to strengthen the forest soil and prevent erosion.

Angelica Oman

Graduate Program Assistant

Professor K.K. DuVivier Writes for Solar Today

Professor K.K. DuVivier, professor at Sturm College of Law, was recently published in Solar Today. She teaches energy law and renewable energy law courses as part of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program. DuVivier has done considerable research into the field of solar energy while working on her book, The Renewable Energy Reader, (Carolina Academic Press 2011). DuVivier has focused her attention on the many legal impediments to the development of renewable energy resources.

She recently partnered with Dan Staley, a green infrastructure consultant in the Denver area to author an article in Solar Today. The article, "Managing the Dark Side of Trees," advocates for a more comprehensive planning strategy. This strategy involves evaluating the benefits of both trees and solar energy. With these considerations in mind, more effective planning can take place early in the process and avoid conflict.

To read the publication, follow this link:
http://www.omagdigital.com/publication/?i=164079&p=28

To access the article directly, follow this link:
http://www.omagdigital.com/display_article.php?id=1432533