Jake Fogleman Talks Rising Energy Bills, the Role of State Energy Policy on Free State Colorado
Independence Institute Director of Policy Jake Fogleman appeared on Free State Colorado this week to talk about the forces currently driving increasing energy costs for Colorado households and businesses. He also discussed the role state lawmakers have played in imposing those costs in pursuit of a clean energy transition and what energy policy trends Colorado […]
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 PUC Trims Xcel’s Unprecedented Renewables Plan
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Rotten Political Incentives of the Utility Industry
The monopoly electric utility business model is rife with problems. Chief among them is the regulatory capture it invites. Monopoly utilities tend to reflect the political environment in which they are situated. This is no accident. They know where their bread is buttered and are more than happy to play along with the ambitious energy […]
Colorado’s Energy Future: The High Cost of 100% Renewable Electricity by 2040
Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D.) campaigned for his first term in office on a platform of transitioning the state to 100 percent renewable energy by 2040. In his first year in office, Polis unveiled an official government “roadmap” to do just that. Since then, he has signed into law no fewer than 55 climate bills […]
Dr. Polis Prescribes Even Higher Utility Bills
Primum non nocere. Translation: first, do no harm. It’s a phrase that has been part of the medical ethics lexicon since the 17th century. Coloradans would have been wise to apply it to energy policy some two decades ago, when the eco-left began politicizing energy production, electricity, and our grid. Flanked by low-income customers, Governor […]
Colorado Lawmakers Reintroduce Nuclear Feasibility Bill
The potential for introducing small-modular reactors (SMRs) to Colorado will get a second look at the state legislature thanks to a new bill currently being considered. HB23-1080, sponsored by Representative Ty Winter (R.) and Senator Byron Pelton (R.), would direct the Colorado Energy Office to conduct a feasibility study for the use of SMRs as […]
Fossil Fuels Bail Out Colorado’s Grid Yet Again
Coloradans might want to begin brushing up on their German. At least enough to be familiar with the word Dunkelflaute, which roughly translates to “dark doldrums.” The term describes a weather pattern of low wind and limited sunlight that makes generating electricity from renewables nearly impossible. The event is relatively common in northern and western Europe during […]
EIA: Coal Still King in Colorado
Colorado often fancies itself as a leader in the so-called clean energy transition. And in some ways it has earned that reputation. The state became the first in the nation to enact a renewable portfolio standard by citizen’s initiative, for example, all the way back in 2004. And the Colorado General Assembly routinely passes new […]
New PUC Report Points to Future Reliability Risks to Colorado’s Grid
A new report from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission is sounding alarm bells on the reliability risks posed to the state’s grid as wind and solar continue to replace fossil fuel plants. According to Colorado Public Radio: Heat waves and freezing temperatures won’t be the only risks for Colorado’s power grid in the future, state regulators […]
