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Energy and Environmental Policy (E2P) at the Independence Institute

By all measures, life is better. Because of our ability to safely, responsibly and efficiently develop natural resources, our standard of living is up, life expectancy is up, and our environment is cleaner. Individuals prosper while also enjoying a healthy planet. If we create an atmosphere where human potential flourishes and we dare to imagine, then everyone can reap the benefits of affordable, reliable, abundant, and safe power and revel in the beauty of a thriving environment.

Our Vision

Access to affordable, reliable, abundant, safe energy and a clean environment are not mutually exclusive. At E2P we envision a Colorado where every person is in control of his or her own energy and environmental destiny. Private property owners are in the best position to protect their land and environment, and the choice of energy resources and how they are utilized should come from the demands of an innovative and free market.

What is the role of government? To remain neutral, let markets work, let individuals innovate, limit regulations, and refrain from picking winners and losers.

Our Principles

  • People first
  • Celebrate prosperity
  • Innovation over regulation
  • Commonsense conservation
  • Primacy of private property rights
  • Results over rhetoric
  • Reject cynicism

 

Free Market Energy and Environmental Policy

  • Embraces our entrepreneurial spirit and optimism that we can have affordable power, responsible domestic energy development, and a clean environment.
  • Puts individuals in the driver’s seat and allows them to control their own energy future.
  • Lets the choice of energy resources come from the demands of the free market, and not from the preferences of policymakers, lobbyists, or special interest groups.
  • Champions private property rights.
  • Challenges the 80-year-old, monopoly utility model of electricity generation and distribution.
  • Puts states ahead of Washington, D.C.
  • Encourages limited and consistent regulations.
  • Rejects taxpayer funded subsidies.
  • Doesn’t pick winners and losers.
  • Welcomes transparency.

 

Latest Posts

  • Fast Facts About Electricity in Colorado in 2023

    Fast Facts About Electricity in Colorado in 2023

    • March 18, 2024

    Newly released federal government data offers insights into Colorado’s electricity sector last year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently published its latest Electric Power Monthly report with additional data gathered through December 2023. The data is preliminary and will continue to be refined by the agency until it releases its final Electric Power Annual report

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  • Colorado Lawmakers Reignite the State’s ‘Oil and Gas Wars’

    Colorado Lawmakers Reignite the State’s ‘Oil and Gas Wars’

    • March 14, 2024

    Upon signing legislation to usher in a new regulatory paradigm for the industry, Governor Jared Polis famously declared an end to Colorado’s oil and gas wars in 2019. The state’s saber-rattling legislature has other ideas in mind for 2024. Emboldened by historic majorities in the legislature, Colorado Democrats have introduced Senate Bill 159, a measure to

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  • Pricey Electrification Gets a Boost from Local Media

    Pricey Electrification Gets a Boost from Local Media

    • February 6, 2024

    Many Democratic lawmakers, climate activists, and progressive academics see so-called beneficial electrification as the wave of the future for climate action. As such, there has been a growing chorus among this community in recent years calling for the end of natural gas heating systems and appliances and propping up their electric alternatives as superior options. Occasionally,

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  • Energy & Environmental Policy Center’s Testimony on Bill to Classify Nuclear as ‘Clean Energy’

    Energy & Environmental Policy Center’s Testimony on Bill to Classify Nuclear as ‘Clean Energy’

    • January 25, 2024

    On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, Independence Institute’s Energy and Environmental Policy Analyst Jake Fogleman testified on SB24-039 in the Colorado Senate Transportation & Energy Committee. The bill would have amended the state’s statutory definitions of “clean energy” and “clean energy resources” to include nuclear energy. The committee ultimately voted not to pass the bill at

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  • Colorado Lawmakers to Consider Pro-Nuclear Bill

    Colorado Lawmakers to Consider Pro-Nuclear Bill

    • January 22, 2024

    Colorado lawmakers are set to consider their first nuclear energy bill of the 2024 legislative session later this week. SB24-039, dubbed “Nuclear Energy as a Clean Energy Resource,” is scheduled to go before the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee for first reading on Wednesday. The bill seeks to level the playing field for carbon-free energy

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  • Colorado PUC Trims Xcel’s Unprecedented Renewables Plan

    Colorado PUC Trims Xcel’s Unprecedented Renewables Plan

    • December 21, 2023

    Ratepayer interests received a small win from Colorado regulators overseeing Xcel Energy’s latest resource plan. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) pared back Xcel’s $15 billion request to build wind, solar, batteries, and new transmission lines by around $3 billion last week. The PUC’s trimming of Xcel’s request came as it approved an alternative resource

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