Transition to renewables is more than fast enough

Re: “Colorado’s renewable energy transition too slow,” March 2 letter to the editor

I disagree with the letter writer’s opinion that Colorado’s clean-energy transition is too slow. I don’t believe the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s data supports his argument.

Yes, Iowa produces more wind power than Colorado. It also operates a fleet of coal plants. In November, Iowa’s coal power consumption per capita equaled Colorado’s. In 2022, Iowa’s and Colorado’s power sectors produced about the same amount of CO2 emissions, but Colorado has twice the population.

Colorado’s coal plants are slated for shutdown within the next seven years. Iowa’s are not. The accelerated closures are a direct result of climate policy led by Gov. Jared Polis in 2019. If the letter writer feels that Colorado’s coal transition is “dangerously slow,” he should talk with folks in Moffat County, where Craig Station will close within four years, eliminating half the county’s tax base and most of the good-paying jobs.

How about grid reliability? Colorado’s coal-powered generation ends within seven years. Within that time, our utilities must build and deploy new assets to replace the energy coal supplied, balance out intermittent renewables, reform the grid to handle new sources and connect all that new renewable generation. The letter writer should pitch his faster-faster theory to the utilities that keep our lights on and our EVS charged.

We need clean, reliable energy and healthy economies in rural Colorado. “Move fast and break things” may be a viable strategy for tech start-ups. It’s a dangerous strategy for statewide energy transition and the economic disruption that can bring. — Kathy Fackler, Durango