The modern world is inconceivable without cheap and abundant energy. Total and per-capita energy use have both been rising, almost without pause, since the Industrial Revolution, supported mainly by the worldwide extraction and development of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas). Today the market in energy is vast and complex, with oil, coal, natural gas and electricity all traded in huge volumes across national borders. This commerce takes place in a politically contentious environment buffeted by powerful forces, including climate change and the threat of scarcity, especially of oil. These forces raise the urgency of reducing fossil fuel consumption (via conservation and efficiency) and transitioning rapidly to renewable energy sources. At the same time, however, scarcity has also triggered a scramble to lock up supplies of oil, find untapped crude-oil reservoirs, develop environmentally costly sources such as tar sands and oil shale, build dozens of new coal-fired power plants, increase production of natural gas, and revive nuclear power.
These themes can all be seen playing out in Colorado. For instance, climate change is already threatening to reduce the
Rocky Mountain winter snowpack, which is not only critical to the state’s ski industry but is also a crucial source of stored water for tens of millions throughout the Southwest. One response is
Colorado’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, enacted in 2004 and expanded in 2007 and 2010.
The other issues have Colorado aspects as well:
- Oil and natural gas exploration—This activity is extensive in Colorado, especially on the Roan Plateau in the northwestern part of the state, with thousands of drilling permits issued in recent years. The use of the extraction technique called hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) has raised concerns about drinking water contamination and other problems.
- Mining—Colorado has always been a mining state, as the state seal (with its mining tools) and place names such as Leadville, Gold Hill and Silverton attest. Colorado ranks seventh nationwide in coal production and has significant deposits of rare earth metals and uranium.
- Energy efficiency—Projects such as the smart-grid experiment in Boulder and the Alliance Center and Living City Block project in Denver signify a strong interest in energy efficiency in the state. Colorado ranked 19th among all states and the District of Columbia in energy efficiency measures in 2010, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
- Renewable energy—The National Renewable Energy Laboratory ranks Colorado 11th among all the states in windpower potential. In recent years several wind farms have been sited in the eastern and northeastern parts of Colorado. The Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas opened a turbine blade plant in the northern Colorado town of Windsor in 2008.
- Nuclear power—Although the state’s major utility, Xcel Energy, operates two nuclear power plants, 95 percent of Colorado’s electricity comes from coal, natural gas or renewable sources. However, various mines in the state have produced significant quantities of uranium over the years and a good deal remains in the ground. A proposed new uranium-vanadium processing mill, to be built near Naturita in western Colorado, has stirred controversy.
