Colorado is not alone in combating the spread of natural gas bans. Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arizona and Tennessee all passed bills this year that preempt local regulations that prohibit natural gas hookups.
Gas company “portfolio targets” would require minimums of 5% of gas purchased for retail sale by 2025, 10% by 2030 and 15% after January 1, 2035.
New technologies in power generation, including renewables like wind and solar, combined with advanced control systems hold promise for a fundamental change in power generation, distribution, reliability and energy economics.
Microgrids are systems that can provide continuous, uninterrupted power to anything from an office building to a factory to a residential neighborhood.
“It’s very difficult for communities that have become dependent on the wages and taxes that have not planned ahead. There are very few success stories for transition communities.”–Mark Haggerty, Headwaters Economics
According to DOE, adding carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) to the plant would substantially increase reductions in CO2 emissions over those predicted for Xcel’s Colorado Energy Plan approved last year by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
Xcel’s proposals were farcical from their inception, so it’s hardly a surprise that they’re failing before they can even begin.
“Absolutely unconscionable,. We need to hear voices, differing voices. I know the Democrats are going to control everything, but hey, let’s abide by the intent of the statute, which is to have one opposing view.” — Polly Page, former PUC commissioner.
PUC approval of fuel-switching plan by Xcel Energy challenged by three groups requesting reconsideration of the approval to prematurely shut down the Comanche Power Plant Units 1 & 2 near Pueblo.
Walker Stapleton says that Jared Polis’ 100 percent renewable energy mandate for Colorado will burden hard-working Coloradans with the high costs of building windmills and solar panels as Xcel Energy reaps the rewards.
It wouldn’t matter to Xcel if the Comanche plants were 100 percent powered by zero-emission bunny flatulence, the corporatist money is in the closing plants and building new ones.
Xcel Energy’s recently approved Colorado Energy Plan (CEP) is what the company refers to as its “Steel for Fuel” strategy. With a green light from Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC),
