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Energy & Environmental Policy

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

Use It Or Lose It Colorado's Oldest and Best Recycling Program
- October 12, 2002
The subject of water rights in Colorado often generates confusion, anger and hysteria, even among those experienced in dealing with it. According to one old timer, “Whiskey’s for drinkin’. Water’s for fightin’.”
Colorado is notorious for the number of water lawyers it has, and it’s easy to criticize a system of law that generates so much conflict. However, much criticism of this system is based on a poor understanding of how and why it works. Some people believe Colorado should more closely follow the model of other western states where water allocation is more tightly controlled by government, and less by market forces. I argue in this paper that its free market origins and traditions are the strength of Colorado water law, based on protecting private property rights against all comers, public and private. This can work as well for streamflow protection as it has for power plants.
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Use It Or Lose It: Colorado's Oldest and Best Recycling Program
- October 10, 2002
IP-3-2002 (October 2002) Author: J. Craig Green PDF of full Issue Paper Scribd version of full Issue Paper Executive Summary The subject of water rights in Colorado often generates confusion, anger and hysteria, even among those experienced in dealing with it. According to one old timer, “Whiskey’s for drinkin’. Water’s for fightin’.” Colorado is notorious
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A New Tool For Automobile Inspection & Maintenance
- January 12, 2002
Federally-mandated emissions testing of automobiles in Colorado has decreased emissions, albeit much less than predicted. Recent breakthroughs in manufacturing low- emitting vehicles and in remote sensing of a moving car’s exhaust could enable Colorado to phase out or drastically increase the efficiency of treadmill-style testing centers.
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The Perils of Publicly-Subsidized Private Piggy Banks
- December 26, 2001
Three separate incidents in the last month have shown that some people have no qualms about using other peoples businesses as their own private piggy banks.

In Denver, officials think that some families of four with an income of $51,000 deserve subsidized housing. Rather than build subsidized housing with general tax revenues, they plan to tax new homeowners by requiring that developers either include affordable units in their projects or pay a $150,000 fee for every housing unit built.[1]
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PUC Regulations Could Dim Colorado’s Lights
- November 12, 2001
Three main regulations unnecessarily restrict the supply of electricity in Colorado.
First, regulations from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission force utilities to create an inflexible plan for building power plants in Colorado, using forecasts based on unreliable and changeable data.
Second, Colorado’s electrical future is subject to bureaucratic whim through the “Public Convenience” doctrine. The future of Parker, Colorado has been put at severe risk because of this law. Without immediate regulatory change, Parker may soon face rolling blackouts and a severe power strain.
Finally, the PUC requires Xcel Energy to collect a tax from all ratepayers and then gives that money to large corporations, so that the corporations have money to buy energy- efficient products that have no benefit to the common electricity consumer.
These regulations are unfairly making electricity more costly.
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Power Drain: PUC Regulations Could Dim Colorado’s Lights
- November 10, 2001
IP-6-2001 (November 2001) Author: Matthew Edgar PDF of full Issue Paper Scribd version of full Issue Paper Executive Summary Three main regulations unnecessarily restrict the supply of electricity in Colorado. First, regulations from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission force utilities to create an inflexible plan for building power plants in Colorado, using forecasts based on
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Contact

Jake Fogleman
Policy Analyst, Energy & Environmental Policy Center
Email: Jake@i2i.org

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