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Behind Colorado’s Renewable Energy Headlines Are Critical Missing Details
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Behind Colorado’s Renewable Energy Headlines Are Critical Missing Details

By: Sarah Montalbano | Commentary, Complete Colorado Allen Best, at his blog Big Pivots, published recently that Colorado for the first time saw a majority of the state’s energy   generation come from renewables:   Colorado achieved an energy and climate milestone during the first quarter of 2026. During those three months, 53% of electricity in Colorado came from renewable sources, up from 43% in 2025, according to an Energy Information Administration report filed in May.  Details matter The trouble is that this jubilant announcement of a “majority” renewables power grid owes more to a stark drop in coal-fired generation than the wind and solar that was added. Percentages rely on both the numerator — how much wind, sola...
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NERC Report Raises New Questions About Colorado Energy Reliability
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

NERC Report Raises New Questions About Colorado Energy Reliability

By: Sarah Montalbano | Complete Colorado The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) 2026 State of Reliability report contains lessons for Colorado’s electricity sector. While the grid as a whole “continues to deliver reliable electric service,” challenges are mounting thanks in part to the “declining availability of aging combustion generation.”  NERC’s report finds that power plants failed more in 2025, with the fleet-wide forced outage rate climbing to 9.2 percent against “historical norms rarely exceeding” 8 percent. Coal-fired plants saw their forced outage rate rise from 11.2% in 2024 to 14.1% in 2025. NERC surveyed owners of generators that s...
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Energy Secretary Chris Wright makes the case for data centers, and admits they’re not for everyone
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Rocky Mountain Voice, National, Top Stories

Energy Secretary Chris Wright makes the case for data centers, and admits they’re not for everyone

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright sat down on stage at Douglas County Fairgrounds and told a Colorado crowd that the data centers many of their neighbors are fighting will help cure cancer. Wright, the former Liberty Energy CEO turned 17th U.S. Secretary of Energy, joined Heidi Ganahl for an onstage interview at RMV Freedom Fest on June 27.  Most of the conversation covered familiar Wright territory: oil prices, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Iran.  But when Ganahl turned the conversation to data centers, Wright gave a more layered answer than the typical political pitch, one that conceded real tradeoffs while still landing firmly on the side of building. The comments come as Colorado works throug...
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Climate lawfare: The courtroom battle over Colorado fuel and energy
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Climate lawfare: The courtroom battle over Colorado fuel and energy

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Climate lawfare The PowerGab video linked below was a great primer on how environmentalists — unable to get done what they want by persuasion and the usual legislative process — are now turning to the courts to pursue their preferred policy. In the case of the video, the policy relates to climate change and fossil fuels. I’ll leave it to you to watch/listen to the discussion in full. It’s worth the time. There are a couple things worth special note. First, the lawsuits here in Colorado (of course) are going after the state’s two remaining refineries. This ought to give you pause. Long a target for shutdown by environmentalists, Colorado’s refineries don’t just make gas for cars. They make diesel for tru...
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Roan Plateau Acreage Included In Potential December Oil and Gas Lease Auction
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Grand Junction Sentinel, Approved, Local

Roan Plateau Acreage Included In Potential December Oil and Gas Lease Auction

By: Dan West | Grand Junction Daily Sentinel This screenshot shows acreage on the Roan Plateau being considered by the Bureau of Land Management for a December lease sale.Source: BLM This week, the Bureau of Land Management opened a 30-day public scoping period on a proposed oil and gas lease sale of up to 126,744 acres, including acreage on the Roan Plateau between De Beque and Rifle. The BLM is seeking public input on 114 oil and gas parcels in Colorado that could be included in a December 2026 lease sale. Several parcels included are on the Roan Plateau north of Parachute, an area that has been the focus of past legal battles over oil and gas development. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT GRAND JUNCTION DAILY SENTINEL
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Colorado Consumers Push Back Against Xcel Rate Hike Proposal
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CPR News, Approved, State

Colorado Consumers Push Back Against Xcel Rate Hike Proposal

By: Ishan Thakore | CPR News Xcel Energy’s proposed deal to raise average residential energy bills by nearly 6% is running into a wall of opposition from Colorado consumer and environmental groups.  The proposed residential rate increase would be among the largest ever in the state, according to the Colorado Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate (UCA), which advocates for customers and is opposed to the deal. In November, the state’s largest utility petitioned state regulators at the Public Utilities Commission to let it increase how much it charges for electricity. Xcel hadn’t requested a major price hike to its customer base rates since 2022. Last year, the company said it needed to recoup around $356 million it spent to build new renewab...
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Colorado needs a smarter answer on data centers than yes or no
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ScottKJames.com, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado needs a smarter answer on data centers than yes or no

By Scott James | Commentary, Scott's Sheet Colorado can welcome data centers, but only with honest math on water, power, rates, and who pays when the press release meets the utility bill. Most normal people do not wake up worried about data centers. They wake up worried about the mortgage, the water bill, the power bill, the kids, the roads, and whether the internet will freeze right as the Broncos line up on fourth and short. Then somebody says “data center,” and the room divides almost immediately. One side acts like every giant project is economic manna from heaven. The other side acts like a server farm is Mordor with better landscaping. Somewhere between NIMBY and corporate shill, there is a principled yes. Colorado ought to find it. Big Pivots argues that...
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Xcel Customers Face Largest Electric Rate Hike In Colorado History
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Xcel Customers Face Largest Electric Rate Hike In Colorado History

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun The $225 million increase would raise the average residential bill by $6.13, but the proposed rate needs PUC approval and consumer advocates oppose it. Xcel Energy, its corporate customers and unions are at odds with consumer advocates over a proposed settlement that would grant the utility the largest electric rate increase ever — $225 million. The proposed agreement between Xcel Energy and parties including the Colorado Public Utilities Commission staff, the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers, Walmart and Climax Molybdenum would raise the average household bill by $6.13 to $110.81 a month — a nearly 6% increase. Colorado Energy Consumers, which represents large industrial and commercial customers, also signed on to...
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Northern Colorado Leaders Warn Power Shortage Could Slow Growth
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Northern Colorado Leaders Warn Power Shortage Could Slow Growth

By: Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado Rapid growth across parts of Northern Colorado is colliding with a growing challenge — being able to access enough electricity to support new homes and businesses. Local leaders in Greeley say demand for power has increased significantly in recent decades. This is as technology becomes more integrated into everyday life, and it creates pressure on an electric grid that is struggling to keep pace with population growth and development. "We are growing pretty rapidly," said Don Threewitt, interim community and economic developer for the city of Greeley. Threewitt said the state's electric demand has shifted dramatically in the last decade, as residents rely more heavily on technology. From smartphones and electric vehicles to incre...
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Southern Ute Tribe Secures Historic Energy Agreement With Interior Department
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Approved, KJZZ, State

Southern Ute Tribe Secures Historic Energy Agreement With Interior Department

By Gabriel Pietrorazio | KJZZ Earlier this month, a tribe from the Four Corners region has inked a historic deal with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum advancing the Trump administration’s “Unleashing American Energy” agenda. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe in southwest Colorado sitting above the border of New Mexico has entered the first-ever TERA — or Tribal Energy Resource Agreement — more than two decades after Congress enacted the law. This allows the nearly 1,500-member tribe to handle its own business — without obtaining expressed permission from the feds to lease energy projects and issue right-of-ways on the 700,000-acre reservation near Durango. Doing so is supposed to streamline the process by reducing delays. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT KJZZ
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