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Tag: Energy Policy

Permits denied, leases lost: Inside the MOU reshaping oil and gas production in Colorado
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories

Permits denied, leases lost: Inside the MOU reshaping oil and gas production in Colorado

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s 2024 MOU with BLM is being used to block drilling on federal land, reroute energy dollars and shift authority from Washington to regulators aligned with the Polis anti-fossil fuels agenda. In September 2024, a document quietly signed by BLM Colorado Director Doug Vilsack just eight weeks before the Presidential election may have done more than establish interagency cooperation. Critics say it handed away federal power. The document—a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC)—opened the door for Colorado to impose sweeping restrictions on oil and gas production.  Those restrictions now apply even to federally controlled minera...
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DOE report warns of blackout risk soaring amid push to shut conventional power
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Power Engineering, Approved, National

DOE report warns of blackout risk soaring amid push to shut conventional power

By Paul Gerke, Kevin Clark | Power Engineering The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) began the week following Independence Day with a bang, releasing a report that the status quo is unsustainable for the U.S. electric grid. According to DOE, blackout risks in 2030 could be 100 times higher if the U.S. keeps shutting down conventional power plants. According to DOE’s analysis, the grid will not be able to sustain an estimated 104 gigawatts (GW) of baseload generation retirements by 2030 and isn’t prepared to meet the growth in electricity demand driven by data centers and artificial intelligence (AI). The DOE expects an additional 100 GW of new peak-hour supply to be needed by then; half of that growth is directly attributable to data centers. The United States has more tha...
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Independence Day victory: Trump signs ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’—slashes taxes and boosts oil, gas and defense
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THE HILL, Approved, National

Independence Day victory: Trump signs ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’—slashes taxes and boosts oil, gas and defense

By Brett Samuels | The Hill President Trump on Friday signed a massive reconciliation package that will extend tax cuts and phase-in cuts to Medicaid, finalizing a significant legislative victory for his administration after months of difficult negotiations with Republicans on Capitol Hill. Trump signed the one big, beautiful bill into law at a military family picnic at the White House for the Fourth of July. Trump and his aides had long pegged Independence Day as a deadline for when they hoped to see the legislation on his desk, a timeline that appeared in peril just days ago. “We made promises, and it’s really promises made, promises kept, and we’ve kept them,” Trump said from the balcony overlooking the South Lawn of the White House. “This is a triumph of democracy on the birth...
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Walcher: Supreme Court ruling is a first step in restoring balance to NEPA
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GregWalcher.com, Commentary, National

Walcher: Supreme Court ruling is a first step in restoring balance to NEPA

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com Supreme Court decisions occasionally have far-reaching impacts, but the recent ruling in Utah’s Uintah Basin Railway case was a Doozy, in which the Justices unanimously hinted that Eagle County, Colorado should mind its own business. County Commissioners there had challenged the Surface Transportation Board’s approval of the 88-mile rail line, proposed by seven Utah counties as a vital transportation connection from the oil-rich region to the national rail network. Eagle County joined several environmental industry groups fighting the rail line, marginally suggesting it could impact traffic in Eagle County, which the oil trains might pass through on their way to Denver. But the real objection, highlighted in all the opponents’ legal filin...
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Barstnar and Milo: Energy mandates are making Colorado unaffordable
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denvergazette.com, State

Barstnar and Milo: Energy mandates are making Colorado unaffordable

By Kathie Barstnar and Tony Milo | Commentary, Denver Gazette Progress should not come at the expense of affordability. As Colorado moves toward a lower-carbon future, families and businesses deserve energy options that are reliable, cost-effective, and reflect their needs, not a one-size-fits-all approach. Choice and balance should guide this transition, not rising bills and reduced options. As organizations working to meet Colorado’s growing housing and economic development needs, we see firsthand how rising construction costs and added building requirements are making it harder to deliver buildings and homes that small businesses and working families can afford. The housing affordability crisis is getting worse, and we must implement policies that support Coloradans working to mak...
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