Advanced Energy United News

Colorado Sun (Opinion): The pieces are in place to turn Colorado’s clean energy transition into an economic boom

Written by Emilie Olson | Dec 3, 2022
The Colorado Sun ran Emilie Olson's column on how the General Assembly can work together to lower costs and drive more jobs to Colorado using new federal funds. Read snippets below and the full article here

Colorado lawmakers will return to the Statehouse in January with an enormous opportunity to lower energy costs and improve electricity reliability for Coloradans. Yes, inflation will likely still be high, but so are the opportunities for Republicans and Democrats to work together on the energy issues facing our state.

Thanks to new federal legislation, billions in federal dollars and private investment are going to flow to the state, and our elected officials in the General Assembly, along with Gov. Jared Polis, will be in an ideal position to turn Colorado’s clean energy transition into an economic boom for the entire state.  

The Inflation Reduction Act and last year’s bipartisan infrastructure law are designed to reduce energy costs for households and businesses. Electricity costs have a lot to do with where we get our energy from, and more local clean energy means Coloradans will be protected from the price volatility associated with fossil fuels...

Lawmakers in the General Assembly have already demonstrated the ability to find common ground on the state’s energy issues.

Two years ago, Colorado passed bipartisan legislation designed to strengthen energy affordability and reliability. The state has set the wheels in motion with the Colorado Electric Transmission Authority to build out new and updated transmission infrastructure that will function as a renewable energy highway. And by modernizing local energy infrastructure and working with other states across the West to better connect our electricity system, our state is on a promising path...

Today, Coloradans are facing rising energy costs due to the price of natural gas, which is particularly high now but always volatile. But with bipartisan cooperation, forward-thinking energy policies, and the incoming federal investments to help support them, our lawmakers can lower costs and make sure all Coloradans can tap into the benefits of a clean energy economy.

 Read the full article here