Colorado’s Green Hydrogen Boondoggle
In 2024, the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) commissioned a report from Ascend Analytics, entitled Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in Colorado’s Electric Sector by 2040, to evaluate the potential to achieve near-zero and zero greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector by 2040. The study examined a business-as-usual—or Economic Deployment—scenario and six other scenarios that achieve […]
Colorado Energy Office’s Economic Hindenburg: The Ballooning Costs of the Hydrogen Transition
In October 2023, the Biden Administration awarded $7 billion of taxpayer dollars to kickstart the development of regional hydrogen hubs. These hydrogen hubs will independently explore new ways to lower the cost of producing so-called clean hydrogen and find new and innovative uses for hydrogen fuel. While Colorado’s proposal for a Western Interstate Hydrogen Hub […]
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 […]
Polis Admin Unveils Latest Electric Vehicle Policy, Avoids California-Style Gas Vehicle Ban
The Polis administration appears to favor the carrot over the stick to encourage electric vehicle adoption. The administration on Thursday released its updated roadmap for encouraging the electrification of the state’s transportation sector, which includes a goal of “nearly 100% of light-duty vehicles being electric by 2050, 100% of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles being zero emissions, […]
Governor Polis Again Downplays Nuclear Energy…But with a Catch
Colorado’s Governor may not be a huge proponent of nuclear energy, but he at least isn’t ruling it out either. Fresh off his resounding reelection victory earlier this month, Governor Jared Polis took to the national stage with an appearance on the popular HBO political talk show “Real Time with Bill Maher” last week. During […]
Fudging the Numbers: How Colorado Policymakers Mislead on Energy Costs
An increasingly common theme of the energy policy debate here in Colorado, particularly among renewables advocates, is the trumpeting of cost statistics purporting to show the affordability benefits of transitioning to wind and solar over legacy fossil fuel plants. Take, for instance, a recent statement made by Governor Jared Polis during a gubernatorial debate late […]
Building Energy Code Board Members Announced
The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) has released the names of the final members of the state’s new Energy Code Advisory Board tasked with implementing the recently passed HB 22-1362, a cost raising piece of the legislation that seeks to encourage building electrification. Here’s the final make up of the board, per the CEO website: Board […]
California Finalizes Gas-Vehicle Ban. Is Colorado Next?
In 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D.) signed an unprecedented executive order banning the sale of new gas-powered cars and trucks after 2035. The order was then kicked to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), a state regulatory agency dedicated to air pollution, to formalize the rules in order to make Newsom’s decree a reality. […]
Beware of global warming opportunists in conservative clothing
There is a new, Colorado-based, self-described “conservative” group The Western Way (TWW) with an enticing tag line “conservative stewards of the Western environment.” Sounds good, right? Until you try to find out who these “conservative stewards” really are. If you are attending the Western Conservative Summit (and you should), you will see these guys there. […]
The real reason for special session may be blowing in the wind
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Rumor has it that the real reason our banjo picking Governor wants a special session has more to do with industrial wind – meaning his favorite monopoly Xcel Energy – and less to do with fixing our damn roads! Governor John Hickenlooper publicly says he may call a special session “to deal with topics that […]
Energy Policy Center testimony on HB17-1116
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Michael Sandoval. I am the senior energy policy analyst for the Independence Institute, a state-based, free market think tank, headquartered in Denver. The Independence Institute is opposed to HB17-1116 not in intent, but in process. We do think […]
Time for Colorado Energy Office to receive more than an audit
The Colorado Energy Office continues to show some irregularities in its spending and handling of tens of millions of dollars, according to a newly released performance audit. A 2011 Independence Institute investigation of the CEO, formerly the Governor’s Energy Office, sparked the call for a 2012 audit by the Office of the State Auditor that […]
