Revitalizing Colorado’s economy with clean energy falls short, yet again | Rocky Mountain Voice
Revitalizing Colorado’s economy with clean energy falls short, yet again
By Tyler Linnebur
A second attempt at defining nuclear energy as a clean energy source died in the Colorado State Legislature last week, despite a robust turnout of supportive citizens across the political spectrum that outnumbered opponents two to one.
Senate Bill 24-039, titled “Nuclear as a Clean Energy Resource” and introduced by Sen. Larry Liston, would have classified nuclear as a clean energy source, allowing it to be considered for local clean energy project financing and added to the list of energy sources that count toward meeting the state’s 2050 climate targets.
As a Colorado native concerned about protecting my beautiful home state, I testified in favor of the fact that nuclear energy is clean, acknowledging that it offers carbon-free energy.
As an accountant by trade, I also spoke to the economic opportunities nuclear energy can provide communities, especially for those losing out in the transition to cleaner energy sources. Pueblo is one such community impacted by a scheduled 2031 closure of their Comanche Generating Station. The plant provides $31 million in property taxes which fund schools, libraries and other public services-revenue that would be lost with the closure of the coal plant. If nuclear were included as a clean energy source, it could create a feasible path toward replacing essential revenue and well-paying jobs currently supplied by coal while also providing clean, safe and reliable energy.
But don’t just take my word for it. Notable testimony was provided by 2023 Miss America and nuclear engineer, Grace Stanke, who flew across the country to testify and nearly missed her flight home because of hearing delays. She spoke to the economic benefits of nuclear power and addressed the safety concerns many Americans still harbor. Miss Stanke also spoke to the growing bipartisan support of nuclear energy, supported in real-time with the overwhelmingly supportive testimony that followed.
One individual, who shared he was only 17 years old and leaned left, spoke to the bipartisan nature of nuclear energy and that most of his peers support the development of this energy source to meet climate goals. He described seeing train-loads of coal pass through his hometown of Colorado Springs, knowing it was headed to fuel a plant that would pollute the air of surrounding communities. To him, nuclear energy could be the “saving grace that stops the train.”
Yet this bill led by Sen. Liston in Colorado is not the exception. International and national leaders, spanning the political spectrum, have accepted that nuclear energy must be used to achieve a clean energy future, including Biden’s Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm. At the announcement of TerraPower’s Natrium advanced reactor in Wyoming in 2022, she declared, “…We can lead fossil energy communities who have powered our country and our economy for decades. We can lead them into the clean energy future. They have powered our past; we want them to power our future….”
Fighting through an overwhelming feeling of defeat after extensive efforts to reach across the aisle, Sen. Liston ended his closing statement with a powerful call to action and summarized the thoughts many of us, including myself, had, “I am not supporting this as a Republican. I’m supporting this as a person who is also concerned about our environment here in Colorado.”
Although the bill didn’t pass, there is some good news. The bill made progress in winning over the vote of one Democrat on the committee, Sen. Nick Hinrichsen of Pueblo. Additionally, in response to the immense support, Sen. Liston is leading the creation of the “Nuclear Caucus” in the Colorado State Legislature. This progress gives us hope that together we can adopt an all-of-the-above energy strategy and move our state and country into the clean energy future.
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