Colorado is gaining strength as a national leader in reducing carbon emissions, cleaning up our air and responding to the effects of climate change. This is good news for our public and environmental health, and if done right has the potential to position us as a leader in training and transitioning traditional and new energy workers into new jobs in the clean energy economy. Several recent actions point to this.
In late August, an executive order was leaked from Gov. Hicklenlooper’s office that outlined his climate mitigation and adaptation plans. The order requires a 35 percent cut by 2030 in greenhouse gas pollution from power plants and directs state agencies to require utilities to cut carbon emissions and keep energy affordable.
With 60 percent of Colorado’s electricity currently coming from coal, this sounds like a tall order. If it is coordinated thoughtfully and funded adequately, however, with cooperation among the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, it could be an exciting, if not ambitious, way forward toward a clean energy future.
In fact, it is already in motion. Although the result of a lawsuit for Clean Air Act violations, Tri-State Generation and Transmission, the electric provider to 43 cooperatives including La Plata Electric Association, has recently taken significant steps to reduce carbon emissions.
In early September, Tri-State, state and federal agencies, together with conservation and environmental groups, reached an agreement that will result in the likely retirement of two coal-fired power plants in Craig and Nucla by December 2025, and with them a reduction of millions of tons of air pollution.
Despite the benefits realized to tourism, a vital part of our economy, from cleaner air and clearer vistas in our national parks, or to health care costs associated with poor air quality, there is no denying the plant closures will significantly affect these communities and must be immediately addressed.
Fortunately, organizations like Solar Energy International in Paonia are providing industry-leading technical training and renewable energy expertise to empower people, communities and businesses. And CalCom Solar, our wildly successful hometown hero, is partnering with the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency (4CORE), LPEA, Living Solar and SolarWorks to barn-raise solar projects for individuals and families of all income levels in Southwest Colorado.
Through the Solarize La Plata and Solarize Archuleta programs, 4CORE has provided 117 homes with solar and cut thousands of metric tons of greenhouse gases. LPEA records 884 systems installed in La Plata and Archuleta counties.
The oil, natural gas and coal industries maintain that environmental regulations have crippled them; the reality is that the coal industry has been declining for the past five years, and market forces, including over-supply and lack of investment, has hurt the oil and gas industries.
Renewable energy, such as wind and solar, has benefited from investment tax credits, but the true driver of falling prices is economies of scale. According to Bloomberg, investment in renewables is outpacing fossil fuels 2-to-1 and solar-power generation will continue to dominate because it is a technology, not a fuel. Same goes for wind energy.
The writing is on the wall. Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest energy provider, recently outlined plans to increase wind and solar energy production too. Renewables are the future. We can be on the leading edge or trailing behind. We hope it is the former. Energy independence, the development of renewables, benefits us all.
