‘If Colorado wants to boost our economy, this is a serious conversation to have’ — Rep. Ty Winter
By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice
A proposal to include nuclear energy in two statutory definitions of clean energy has passed the Colorado House on second reading.
House Bill 25-1040 is a bipartisan measure by Rep. Alex Valdez, D-Denver, and Ty Winter, R-Las Animas, with the goal of adding nuclear to “clean energy” definitions, enabling financing.
“This does not bring nuclear energy to Colorado,” Valdez said, who founded one of Colorado’s largest and now defunct solar energy companies in 2008. “This designates it as clean energy.”
The bill would include nuclear, in definition, alongside solar, wind and other clean energy.
“If Colorado wants to boost our economy, this is a serious conversation to have,” Winter said.
He calls the bill a conversation starter.
“It doesn’t mean we are not going to explore other options,” he said. “I’m an all-of-the-above energy Republican.”
The generation of energy from wind and solar is not enough, without nuclear, Rep. Ryan Gonzalez, R-Greeley, says, to “move to electrification”. He notes HB 1040 “is a way to make sure we meet our climate goals.”
That led to an opening for Democrat Rep. Meg Froelich in the House floor debate.
“I am so glad we are in universal agreement [that] we want to meet our climate goals,” she said.
Republicans from the Western Slope to already energy-rich places like Weld County, where Gonzalez resides, and along the Denver-Julesburg Basin support nuclear for its sustainability.
“You can hold a parade saying nuclear energy is amazing,” Froelich said, before she said classifying nuclear as “a clean energy source” is “down right Orwellian”.
She further clarified her position that the bill “classifies it as something it is not”.
Added Valdez in his presentation of the bill: “We all agree that we want clean air. We all agree we want clean and affordable energy.”
The bill’s fiscal note indicates an anticipated minimal local workload increase, should additional applications and approvals be necessary as a result of the bill. It does not anticipate statutory expense as a result of the bill.
After advancing out of committee on an 8-5 vote, the measure passed on a voice vote of the House and will return at a later time for a recorded vote on third reading, before moving to the upper chamber, where it is sponsored by Democrat Dylan Roberts and Republican Larry Liston.