As the U.S. Senate now prepares to consider a new climate bill, Congress can consider how readiily climate action can take hold, through the example of Colorado.  This politically diverse state has aggressively embraced climate action as a way to grow its economy.

By Craig Severance/The Energy Collective

Bipartisan Support. Colorado’s action plan is noteworthy because key elements of the plan have received strong bi-partisan support, in a “purple” Swing State that is
neither dependably  Democratic nor Republican.  As an example, the latest measure adopted — a  bill to encourage conversion of older coal-fired power plants to cleaner natural gas — was co-sponsored by the Republican Senate Minority Leader Sen. Josh Penry and several other Republicans, along with most Democrats and Democratic Governor Bill Ritter.  

This strong support for climate action is remarkable, considering Colorado is one of the nation’s most heavily coal-dependent states. 

Coal Was King.  As recently as 2005, Colorado relied upon coal to supply over two thirds of its electricity, making Colorado far more dependent on pollution-spewing coal than the nation as a whole, which averages around half of  total electricity from coal.  Coal has been cheap yet produces massive carbon dioxide emissions which cause global warming.  The idea of a major coal-dependent state such as Colorado becoming a climate change leader was thus a daunting challenge.   

Colorado is nevertheless now leading the way to achieve one of the highest reductions in carbon emissions anywhere in the world.  Colorado is on track to achieve a total 30% reduction by 2020 in CO₂ emissions from its electric power industry.  This is far ahead of 17% reduction by 2020 greenhouse gas reduction goals set in Congressional climate legislation — showing that even a “coal state” can far exceed those goals.

As the nation’s 8th largest coal-producing state, Colorado could have chosen to resist climate change action like many other states with strong coal lobbies.  However, led by Colorado’s own citizens through a 2004 renewable power initiative, strong leadership by Governor Bill Ritter and bipartisan action by the Colorado legislature, Colorado is instead showing “how it’s done” to the rest of the country and the world. 

Coal will still be an important part of Colorado’s economy for many years to come  However, the state has chosen to also develop plentiful new energy resources which stand to produce far more jobs and economic growth.  

Colorado leaders also realized that if climate change was not addressed soon, other major Colorado industries such as agriculture and the ski industry would be seriously damaged by runaway global warming.

Renewable Energy Initiative Led the Way.   In 2004, Colorado voters approved a citizen Initiative to require Colorado’s large utilities to supply a minimum 10% of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2015 for investor-owned utilities and by 2020 for municipal utilities serving over 40,000 customers. 

At the time, Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility, opposed the citizen Initiative.   Xcel had just signed a contract to construct the state’s largest power plant, Comanche 3, an advanced 750 MW coal-fired plant near Pueblo, CO, now scheduled to come on line in 2010.  The utility at that time regarded renewable power mandates as impractical and costly.

Cost Control Key to Renewable Standard.   To keep the cost of conversion to renewables low, the Colorado Renewable Energy Standard set up a maximum rate increase limit of 2%/year to consumer electric rates that could be used to fund the extra cost of renewable energy resources. The Colorado Public Service Commission set rules to require each utility to show the cost of power production that met the Renewable Energy Standard vs. the cost from non-renewable power sources, and utilities were not allowed to collect more than a 2% higher rate increase per year to meet the RES requirement.  (When Rural Electric Cooperatives were added with a lower Standard in 2007, their cost control was set at 1%/year).

These strict cost controls have been key to the wide public support for the Renewable Energy Standard.  

Two Upgrades to Renewable Standard within Six Years.  As renewable energy advocates predicted when the Initiative was passed, if Colorado utilities tried renewable energy, they would like it. 

Xcel Energy has since become the nation’s “greenest” utility.   Xcel became the nation’s leading provider of wind energy, and offered powerful rebates to its customers to install on-site solar photovoltaics.

Xcel acquiesced to a 2007 upgrade to the Renewable Energy Standard by the Colorado Legislature that increased the Colorado RES to a minimum 20% renewables for investor-owned utilities by 2020.  That legislation also for the first time imposed an RES on Colorado’s Rural Electric Cooperatives (REC’s), to achieve 10% renewables by 2020.

This year, Xcel announced it was ahead of schedule and could actually achieve a 30% Renewable Energy Standard by 2020, while still staying within the 2%/year cost control. 

The Colorado Legislature responded to this good news by increasing the Colorado Renewable Energy Standard to 30% by 2020 for Colorado’s investor-owned utilities.  Governor Ritter signed the new 30% Standard into law on March 22, 2010.  The new Renewable Energy Standard places Colorado 2nd only to California’s 33%-renewables-by-2020 requirement.  

Renewable Energy Resources Abundant.  As Dr. Arjun Makhijani author of the book Carbon Free and Nuclear Free, has stated, “”The United States is a renewable energy paradise.”   Colorado exemplifies this abundance of renewable power sources.

the rest of the story …