MillerCoors Brewery Goes Landfill Free

MillerCoors Brewery in Golden, CO
Photo Courtesy of Jorge DFW

MillerCoors is the largest brewery in the nation and has recently revolutionized its waste processing system. The Golden brewery creates 100 tons of waste per year and now recycles or re-uses nearly all of it.

The revolution in waste processing was due to the sustainability ethics of one man, a factory worker from Ohio. His name is Kelly Harris who was raised in a family centered on eco-conscious living. He was instilled with the message that you only have one planet, you had better be sure to take care of it.

He redesigned the company's business plan to reduce the amount of waste generated. His plan included easier efforts to incorporate waste materials into beneficial uses, such as animal food. Harris realized that their sustainability efforts had to go outside of their immediate operations to include those processes which yielded their supplies. This line of thought led MillerCoors to work collaboratively with the Nature Conservancy in an effort to reduce the amount of water needed to grow hops.

MillerCoors' ultimate goal is to produce zero waste. They are almost there now, but still incinerate non-recycleables. This is an example of how big companies can do more to help solve or at least reduce environmental problems.

As Harris signs each email: "Save the earth, its the only planet with beer."

Yewande Adeyemo, MRLS‘12, Accepts Position at Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Earlier this year, Yewande Adeyemo accepted a position as an Energy Industry Analyst at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in Washington D.C. Yewande graduated with her Master of Resources Law Studies degree in 2012. She was initially drawn to the ENRGP's small size and the variety of course offerings.

While in the program, she focused her studies on energy specific courses and took advantage of the related networking opportunities. Yewande shared, "After graduating from DU, I interned at the Solar Energy Industry Association. I did work on regulatory and legislative affairs. This combined with my degree helped paved the way for my current position as an Energy Industry Analyst at FERC."

Yewande enjoys the work that she does at the FERC, which is an independent agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, oil and natural gas, as well as associated projects. In addition, the FERC assists consumers in obtaining reliable, efficient and sustainable energy services at a reasonable cost through regulatory and market means. As an analyst, Yewande applies rules and regulations to the analysis of cases. The work varies widely depending on the issues presented by the utility or gas company, meaning she never gets bored.

Yewande offered the following advice for other students in the program: "An internship post-graduation may be a necessary step to getting a foot in the door."

Congratulations to Yewande! We wish her all the best in her future!

Colorado Recovers From Flooding

Two weeks ago, Colorado was hit by an intense storm system which caused flash flood conditions. The state had been in the midst of a drought after battling wildfires earlier this year and was not prepared for the "biblical" rain fall (National Weather Service).

The TIME Science and Space reported that the average rainfall in September for the Boulder area is 1.7 inches, compared with the previous all time record of 9.59; the recorded 17.27 inches of rainfall that fell two weeks ago is extreme.

The flood waters caused damage to private property, contaminated water supplies, destroyed existing infrastructures such as roads, bridges, pipelines and electricity poles. The contaminants in the water mostly resulted from sewage spills caused by flooded septic tanks at the commercial (animal feed plants), private home and at the city level (Lyons). There are also concerns about contamination and cleanup from oil spills.

The floods caused several other energy problems as well. Rushing water damaged electrical equipment, power lines, and pipelines. Xcel is faced with repairing an estimated 20 miles of natural gas pipelines. However, they will need to wait until the flood damaged roads are able to stand the weight of the repair vehicles. In addition, Xcel will need to make strategic repairs in the short term to ensure safe operations and will need to re-engineer entire stretches of the existing infrastructures.

DU is hosting a Flood Relief Fundraising Feast event on October 8th. Please attend and help support the communities hit hard by the flooding.

New NREL Building Dedicated on Wednesday

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado recently became the subject of great interest to the U.S. Department of Energy. NREL has created a new facility that will research issues of generation, transmission, distribution and end-use challenges related to large scale implementation of renewable energy.

The building has been named the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) and will include a new liquid-cooled supercomputer, the most energy efficient of its kind in the world. The supercomputer will enable researchers to perform previously impossible modeling tasks. NREL officials have called the building a "game-changer" for renewable energy.

It is hoped that the new facility will help researchers solve the difficulties of renewable energy storage and transmission. Renewable energy has proven difficult to implement on a large scale due to its variable nature. The amount of power generated varies with each passing cloud or gust of wind. Researchers are now struggling to find a way for the current electricity grid to handle these fluctuations.

Energy Secretary Moniz, oversaw the dedication of the new facility on Wednesday and stated,
“The Energy Department has been at the forefront of large scale computation and modeling, and new NREL supercomputing capabilities will support the groundbreaking science and innovation we need to address the effects of global climate change and pave the way to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future.”

Angelica Oman

Graduate Program Assistant

Program Director Welcomes New Students

Last Friday, new students were invited to attend a gathering at Director Don Smith's house. Despite the previous rainy days, the clouds parted for most of the evening. New students were able to meet continuing students as well as adjuncts, faculty and graduates over delicious appetizers.

The guests mingled throughout the evening with the conversations ranging from professional plans to learning techniques to where to buy the best shoes. The program hopes that these events allow new students to feel more comfortable and connected to their new environment.

Associate Administrative Director, Lucy Daberkow, commented: "It never ceases to amaze us how diverse and incredibly talented our students are. Participating in these get togethers outside of the classroom strengthens their ties to their classmates and the Denver Law community."

A hearty "welcome" to all of our new students and "thank you" to all of the wonderful faculty, staff and adjunct professors who took time out of their busy schedule to meet the new students!

Colorado Moves Toward an "All of the Above" Energy Strategy

A wind turbine blade installed in CO.

Xcel Energy filed a proposal with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to increase its use of renewable energy sources. Xcel will nearly triple its solar power capacity and increase its amount of wind power. If approved, the plan would cut Xcel's carbon dioxide emissions by one third the levels of 2005.

The new proposal is the result of intense bidding from renewable energy developers. Most renewable energy development projects aren't able to compete with the cost effectiveness of natural gas. The robust competition and competitive costs to renewable energy projects in Colorado is exciting to see. Xcel's plan to include more renewable energy at a utilities scale is a big step toward an "All of the Above" energy strategy.

The hope is that with a more diverse energy portfolio, Colorado can begin to significantly reduce the environmental effects of energy development. The diversity of energy sources has led Xcel to also consider shutting down the last coal-fired power plant by the end of 2013.

Angelica Oman

Graduate Program Assistant

2013 LLM Alumn, Sonia Nunez Orduz Collaborates with the Nature Conservancy

Sonia Nunez Orduz, a recent LLM graduate from Colombia, recently began working for the Nature Conservancy. Sonia attended a law school in Bucaramanga City in northeastern Colombia before moving to Denver. She became interested in environmental law during an internship she had with the Municipal Waste Company of Bucaramanga. In this position, she examine environmental pollution and solid waste recycling issues and developed a desire to conserve the environment.

Sonia now serves the Nature Conservancy as Attorney for Latin America, Mexico and the Caribbean. She provides legal advice and support to other attorneys on a variety of legal matters. Sonia stated, "Earning a Masters Degree from the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy program taught me how to analyze, interpret and apply the U.S. laws regulating the environmental industry. In addition, it assisted me to improve my research skills and gave me the opportunity to network with experts in the field."

Sonia is happy that her work for the Nature Conservancy will allow her to continue to develop her expertise in environmental law. She advises current students to look for opportunities to develop their practical skills and to take advantage of networking opportunities while in the program through conferences and seminars.

Congratulations to Sonia! We are confident that she will make the most out of her current position with the Nature Conservancy and wish her all the best in her future endeavors!