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Tag: Energy Policy

Xcel Reports $903 Million Colorado Profit While Seeking Higher Electric And Gas Rates
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Xcel Reports $903 Million Colorado Profit While Seeking Higher Electric And Gas Rates

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun On Feb. 18, the PUC also approved 4,100 MW of new generation — a mix of wind, solar, natural gas and storage — to be fast-tracked in an effort to get federal tax credits before they expire. The proposed gas rate increase would raise gas customers’ bills by an average $7.59 to $74.41 a month to pay for safety improvements, meet rising operating and maintenance costs and provide investor returns. The electricity rate increase Xcel Energy is seeking would raise bills about 10% to $110 a month to recover infrastructure investments, operating costs and lost revenue sources. “Enough is enough. Coloradans are being crushed under the weight of gas and power bills that get bigger every year,” Sarah Tresedder, senior climate and energy o...
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Denver Opens Door To Energy Code Changes That Could Reach Single Family Homes
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Opens Door To Energy Code Changes That Could Reach Single Family Homes

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Denver launched a public process on Feb. 26 to update its energy code for new and renovated small buildings, including single-family homes and duplexes, that would extend efficiency and electrification-readiness standards that began with energy compliance goals for large commercial and multifamily buildings in 2023. Denver’s 2021 Energize Denver ordinance required energy benchmarking and reductions for structures with 25,000 square feet or more. As early as 2022, builders predicted the rules would raise housing costs and eventually reach single-family homes and duplexes. In 2023, Laura Schwartz, spokesperson for Denver Community Planning and Development, told The Denver Gazette that “residential single-family homeowners ...
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Trump Champions Middle Class Growth And Government Accountability In Marathon Address
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The Epoch Times, Approved, National

Trump Champions Middle Class Growth And Government Accountability In Marathon Address

By Jacob Burg, Andrew Moran, Troy Myers, Ryan Morgan, John Haughey, Jackson Richman | The Epoch Times The president unveiled new policies including a retirement program proposal, lower energy costs tied to data centers, and a task force to combat fraud. President Donald Trump highlighted his economic agenda in a record-long State of the Union address, declaring the United States is “bigger, richer, and stronger than ever before.” In his 1-hour 47-minute-long speech, the president introduced multiple guests to spotlight the impacts of his policies, from no-tax-on-tips to Trump Accounts. The president awarded the Medal of Honor to a Korean War hero and to a helicopter pilot wounded in the mission to capture Venezuelan Leader Nicolás Maduro, and announced that he w...
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Supreme Court To Weigh Limits On Colorado Climate Lawsuit Against Energy Producers
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Supreme Court To Weigh Limits On Colorado Climate Lawsuit Against Energy Producers

By Melissa Quinn | CBS News Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up an effort by energy companies to end a lawsuit filed in state court that seeks billions of dollars in damages for the impacts their fossil-fuel products have had on the global climate. The decision from the Supreme Court could impact the ability of state and local governments to hold oil and gas companies accountable in state courts for the consequences of climate change. Dozens of cities and counties have filed similar cases around the country, but the justices had turned down similar disputes that have landed before them. The court will likely hear arguments in its next term, which begins in October. The legal battle was brought by the city of Boulder, Co...
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$16 trillion question: Was the climate agenda history’s biggest financial misfire?
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The Epoch Times, Approved, Commentary, National

$16 trillion question: Was the climate agenda history’s biggest financial misfire?

By Stephen Moore | Commentary, The Epoch Times Environmental scholar Bjorn Lomborg recently calculated that across the globe, governments have spent at least $16 trillion feeding the climate change industrial complex. And for what? Arguably, not a single life has been or will be saved by this shameful and colossal misallocation of human resources. The war on safe and abundant fossil fuels has cost countless lives in poor countries and made those countries poorer by blocking affordable energy. Since the global warming crusade started some 30 years ago, the temperature of the planet has not been altered by one-tenth of a degree—as even the alarmists will admit. In other words, $16 trillion has been spent—a lot of people got very, very rich off the governmen...
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Electric school buses and winter limits: What physics has to say
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Electric school buses and winter limits: What physics has to say

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project So, about those electric school busses… It's been so mild here in Colorado, I wonder if this has been noticed, but I saw the NY Post article below and thought I'd share.It details some parental complaints out of New York about the mandated electric busses. Quoting the lede:"Parents in Western New York are raising alarms over cold rides and breakdowns after officials mandated that all school bus purchases must be electric by 2027."The problem's not hard to figure out. It's so fundamental that it goes all the way down to energy conservation (and something I've touched on more than once in the past -- see "Related" below).For an internal combustion engine, the heat in the compartment is either waste heat from t...
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Trump Administration Rolls Back EPA Climate Authority, Phil Weiser Vows Yet Another Lawsuit
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Trump Administration Rolls Back EPA Climate Authority, Phil Weiser Vows Yet Another Lawsuit

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun It’s a regulatory win for conservatives that will set back state’s antipollution efforts and greatly impact the car and truck economy, officials say. he Trump EPA’s Thursday repeal of an Obama-era “endangerment finding” that allowed federal regulation of greenhouse gases from vehicles and other sources will set back Colorado air pollution efforts, but progressive environmental groups and supportive state officials vowed to “play the long game” to restore key controls.  Repealing the EPA’s right to set greenhouse gas controls was a long-stated target of GOP politicians and conservative business groups, who find the regulations excessive and question the practicality of slowing global warming. The immediate impact of negating th...
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CMU student leaders press governor hopefuls on taxes, energy and rural control
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

CMU student leaders press governor hopefuls on taxes, energy and rural control

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice TPUSA chapter leaders from Colorado Mesa University opened Monday night’s gubernatorial forum with a question more typical of a legislative hearing than a campaign rally. Instead of easing into the forum, they went straight to TABOR. “How would you approach balancing Colorado’s budget while complying with TABOR? And what are your priorities when it comes to taxes, refunds and state spending during periods of surplus and economic stagnation?” Six candidates were at the forum that evening. Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer told the crowd she almost didn’t make the trip, saying she rearranged her Joint Budget Committee schedule and decided to “head on over to Grand Junction” when the weather held. Rep. Scott Bottoms of Colorado Springs share...
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Mandated hiring preferences are not a “just transition”
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Mandated hiring preferences are not a “just transition”

By Aimee Tooker | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Colorado Just Transition Action Plan was established in 2020 to “empower communities with resources to drive their own economic transitions.”  I take personal issue with Section 2 of this introduced bill. SB26-052 “CONCERNING COAL TRANSITION COMMUNITIES, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, PROVIDING A HIRING PREFERENCE FOR COAL TRANSITION WORKERS IN COAL TRANSITION COMMUNITIES AND EXPANDING THE ALLOWABLE WAYS IN WHICH A PUBLIC ENTITY MAY DEPOSIT OR INVEST JUST TRANSITION MONEY.” ·       A COVERED BUSINESS SHALL CONSULT WITH THE JUST TRANSITION OFFICE, ·       A COVERED BUSINESS SHALL REPORT ANNUALLY TO THE JUST TRANSITION OFFICE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION REGARDING THE PRIOR YEAR: o   (a) THE TITLE OF ANY POS...
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Colorado Regulators Approve Xcel Renewable Buildout But Warn of Rising Costs
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Regulators Approve Xcel Renewable Buildout But Warn of Rising Costs

By: Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun Colorado’s largest power provider is rushing to start before federal tax credits expire that could shave up to 50% from building expenses. Aiming to get energy generation and storage projects started before federal tax credits expire, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Jan. 28 approved an expedited list of 1,700 megawatts of projects for Xcel Energy. Still, the commission expressed reservations about the cost and operating efficiency of so many projects and wants more data and analysis. “It doesn’t feel right to me,” PUC Chairman Eric Blank said. “I treat customer money like my own money. … I am looking for a little certainty that we are not going to deeply regret this.” The Trump administration’s tax and spend...
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