Country’s First ‘Enhanced’ Geothermal Plant Comes Online
Enhanced geothermal electricity is now a reality in the United States. Late last month marked a new breakthrough in next-generation clean energy technology. Fervo Energy, a Houston-based geothermal project developer, announced that its first commercial “enhanced” geothermal plant went online and began producing usable electricity in Nevada. According to a Canary Media report: A next-generation geothermal […]
Bootleggers, Baptists, and the Clean Energy Transition
Independence Institute has a long track record of warning against the unhealthy incentives that can arise from the relationship between monopoly electric utilities and green policymakers. Once viewed as rivals of one another, the two sides realized a few years back that coexisting as fellow travelers on the road to the so-called clean energy transition […]
Green Industrial Policy Faces Threats of its Own Creation
The early supply-side sugar high induced by a raft of clean energy-related subsidies is starting to show signs of wearing off. From electric vehicle makers to offshore wind developers, producers spurred along by the Biden administration’s ambitious green energy goals and lavish tax incentives have suddenly been forced to confront pesky market forces that have started to cool […]
Colorado’s Quixotic Push to Boost Recycling Rates
Colorado’s environmental watchdogs are back with their latest report on the state’s progress in boosting recycling, and the results are about what you would expect. The Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG), the state chapter of the Ralph Nader-founded liberal advocacy organization, released the 2023 edition of its “State of Recycling and Composting in Colorado” […]
AQCC: In Less Than a Decade, 82% of Car Sales Must Be Electric
The Polis administration intends, by hook or by crook, to see the electric vehicle industry succeed. Last Friday, unelected regulators on the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) voted to adopt the so-called Colorado Clean Cars standard. The new regulations, which would more aptly be named the California-lite Clean Cars standard, largely replicate the California Air […]
EIA: Renewables Dominate Federal Energy Subsidies
Corporate welfare has long been a feature of U.S. energy policy. A recent government report highlights how much that corporate welfare redounds to the benefit of wind and solar over the resources that form the backbone of the country’s energy economy. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its latest Federal Financial Interventions and Subsidies in […]
Poll: Majority of Colorado Likely Voters Favor Nuclear Energy
Colorado voters are broadly in favor of the country’s largest source of clean energy, according to a newly released Independence Institute/Cygnal poll. Likely general election voters across Colorado favor nuclear energy more than 2:1 (53% support, 25% oppose). 54% said they favor including nuclear power in Colorado’s clean energy mix by 2040, with support crossing […]
Colorado Policymakers Looking to Crack Down on Oil & Gas Industry Once Again
Colorado lawmakers and regulators are set to turn their attention back toward a familiar target: the state’s oil and gas industry. On Thursday, Governor Jared Polis announced that he was directing regulators at the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission (COGCC), the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), and the Air Quality Control Commission […]
Denver Post Article on Green Building Codes Misses the Point
Green building codes are back in the news again in Colorado. The Denver Post has a new report updating readers on how the rebuilding process is going for Marshall fire victims in Louisville and Superior. Evidently, many homeowners are choosing to rebuild under the latest and most stringent building energy code standards that featured heavily in the […]
Members of New Joint Committee to Investigate Utility Rates Announced
The state has announced the official makeup of a new legislative committee dedicated to investigating rising utility bills. Comprised of lawmakers of both parties from each legislative chamber, the members of the six-person Joint Select Committee on Rising Utility Rates will be as follows: From the Senate- President Steve Fenberg (D.) Lisa Cutter (D.) Minority […]
Current Pain at the Pump of Preview of Potential Colorado Policy Future
Gas prices are high. You probably don’t need me to tell you. It’s plainly obvious that prices at the pump have been steadily creeping up for weeks. But you might not be aware that prices in Colorado have experienced a meteoric rise far beyond what the rest of the country has been experiencing. In fact, […]
Colorado Communities for Climate Action, Boulder County Line Up to Oppose Nuclear Energy Bills at the Capitol
In one of the strangest ironies of the modern climate debate, those who ostensibly care the most about combatting climate change are often the most vociferous opponents of nuclear energy. I’ve documented in a previous post how the community that nominally would have the most to gain from embracing the country’s single-largest source of carbon-free […]
