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Colorado’s Agricultural Economy Depends on Affordable, Reliable Energy
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s Agricultural Economy Depends on Affordable, Reliable Energy

By Matthew Gonzales | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s agricultural industry is one of the state’s greatest economic drivers. With more than 195,000 jobs and roughly $47 billion in economic output each year, it not only feeds the state - it feeds the region and beyond. And like any industry built on tight margins and year-round operations, it depends on one thing to stay competitive: affordable, reliable energy.  That’s why the role of natural gas in Colorado deserves more attention in statewide energy discussions. Natural gas powers irrigation equipment, heats greenhouses, dries grain, and keeps storage and food processing facilities running. It’s the backbone of the infrastructure that gets food from farm to table.  And that energy cost doesn’t stay in the field...
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Regulators Keep Pueblo Comanche Coal Unit Running While Xcel Repairs Newer Plant
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Regulators Keep Pueblo Comanche Coal Unit Running While Xcel Repairs Newer Plant

By Alexander Edwards | The Denver Gazette The Comanche Power Plant in Pueblo will continue to operate a coal-powered electrical generating unit that was slated for retirement this month for one more year. The move comes after Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility company, petitioned in November to keep one generator operating after an outage at the coal-fired power plant. Gov. Jared Polis backed the petition. On Wednesday, the Public Utilities Commission approved a variance submitted by the utility. This allows Comanche 2, which was slated to be retired on Dec. 31, to continue operating as Xcel fixes the Comanche 3. “The Commission found that the outage at Comanche 3 was the sole justification for the extension of Comanche 2,” a fact sheet released by th...
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New PUC Rules Push State Toward Natural Gas Phase-Out and Rising Utility Bills
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The Independence Institute, Approved, State

New PUC Rules Push State Toward Natural Gas Phase-Out and Rising Utility Bills

By Jake Fogleman | The Independence Institute The regulatory noose around Colorado’s natural gas utilities just got a whole lot tighter, and captive ratepayers stand to bear the brunt of the economic pain. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Monday issued a formal decision updating the state’s emissions targets under its first-in-the-nation “clean heat plan” law. The decision established by rule that Colorado gas utilities must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent compared to 2015 levels by 2035, expanding upon the existing 22 percent by 2030 target set in statute. Furthermore, the commission opted to go beyond what the underlying statute required by flirting with a total phase-out of natural gas. Despite claiming it was not setting any fur...
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State Regulators Move Colorado Toward All-Electric Heating by 2050 at Any Cost
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

State Regulators Move Colorado Toward All-Electric Heating by 2050 at Any Cost

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Xcel and other utilities must make 41% cuts to natural gas heating emissions in 10 years, transition fully by 2050. Colorado officials are making another major push toward electrification of home heating and deep cuts to carbon from natural gas, despite consumer cost concerns and the Trump administration’s attempt to revive the use of fossil fuels.The Public Utilities Commission on Monday finalized a state Clean Heat framework requiring Xcel and other utilities supplying natural gas for home and building heating to cut the carbon emissions from their systems by 41% in 10 years. The utilities are expected to reach 100% decarbonization of building heating by 2050, an ambitious goal celebrated by the environmental and clean energy groups who had...
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Rep. Gabe Evans is a Colorado Energy Champion
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Rep. Gabe Evans is a Colorado Energy Champion

By Hunter Rivera | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As the seventh-largest energy-producing state in the nation, Colorado has established itself as a leader in not only traditional energy, but renewable and next-generation sources as well. That’s why new, all-of-the-above energy legislation moving through Congress is so important for the Centennial State. Just last week, the House Natural Resources Committee advanced the SPEED Act, a bipartisan perm​​itting reform bill that would remove barriers to energy development and deployment. Before it comes to the House floor for a vote, the Energy & Commerce Committee will offer its own contributions to the legislative package. As a member of that important committee and the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, our represent...
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SBA brings disaster loan support to counties hit hardest by Elk and Lee fires
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

SBA brings disaster loan support to counties hit hardest by Elk and Lee fires

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Small businesses on the Western Slope are still digging out from the economic fallout of the Lee and Elk Fires—and the mudslides and debris flows that followed in August. The Lee Fire grew at a pace that stunned fire officials, blowing past 100,000 acres in about a week and briefly becoming the fourth-largest wildfire in Colorado history before later mapping placed it as the fifth-largest. Federal disaster loans are now available to help cover those losses, and the declaration extends across Garfield, Moffat, Rio Blanco and Routt counties, plus Utah’s Uintah County. Rio Blanco County—where the SBA will place its Business Recovery Center—has some of the highest exposure in the region. Local officials estimate more than 80 percent of the county...
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Colorado’s Local Control Eroded by State’s Energy and Housing Overreach
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s Local Control Eroded by State’s Energy and Housing Overreach

By: The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Denver Gazette What’s the common thread between Gov. Jared Polis’ roadmap to green energy and his agenda for affordable housing?  That is, aside from the fact each will backfire on the state’s economy in one or more ways.  The answer is that both steamroll local laws that are more in tune with the needs of their communities — in pursuit of pipe dreams.  One aims to eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions — when in fact Colorado has virtually no impact on global climate in the first place. The other seeks to create more affordable housing on a wing and a prayer, oblivious to how the housing market really works. A Gazette report last week on Polis’ mad dash to 100% renewable power generation and “net zero” carbon ...
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U.S. Energy Output Hits All-Time High, Defying Regulatory Pressures
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Just The News, Approved, National

U.S. Energy Output Hits All-Time High, Defying Regulatory Pressures

By Alton Wright | Just the News The agency now projects U.S. crude oil production will average 13.5 million b/d in both 2025 and 2026. The United States produced a record-high 13.6 million barrels of crude oil per day in July, up from 13.5 million barrels per day (b/d) in June, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook. U.S. crude oil production in July was higher than previously estimated, prompting the agency to raise the starting point of its forecasts for the remainder of 2025 and 2026. The agency now projects U.S. crude oil production will average 13.5 million b/d in both 2025 and 2026. For the remainder of 2025, this represents a 100,000 b/d increase from the agency’s August forecast, while 2026 oil production was projected 200,...
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USGS confirms massive gas reserves under federal land in western Colorado
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The Daily Sentinel, Approved, Local

USGS confirms massive gas reserves under federal land in western Colorado

By Dennis Webb | The Daily Sentinel A new U.S. Geological Survey national report points to the large amount of estimated undiscovered natural gas lying below federal lands in western Colorado, and two recent assessments zero in on newly estimated undiscovered oil and gas in a region including parts of northwest Colorado. The USGS recently released a report on undiscovered oil and gas resources in formations under federally managed public lands. It estimated that nationally there are technically recoverable resources of 29.4 billion barrels of oil and 391.6 trillion cubic feet of gas. That’s enough oil to supply all of the country’s needs for four years at the current rate of consumption, and enough gas to meet national needs for 12 years. However, the report doesn’t take into acco...
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