LOVELAND Will Toor, director at the Colorado Energy Office has been riding a wave that he described as a surge in what he calls “pent-up demand” for conservation legislation since the election. Jared Polis and the Democratic majority gaining control of Congress.
That wave encompasses all major economic sectors involved in the generation and use of greenhouse gases, including utilities, transportation, oil and gas industry, building energy use, industry, and transportation.
Toor was the keynote speaker for the BizWest net zero cities event that took place Wednesday at Ranch events complex in Loveland.
Toor stated that the most important legislation was House Bill 19-1261. This bill set state greenhouse-gas reduction targets for 50% by 2030 and 90% respectively by 2050. The only thing that was more important than that was the passage of House Bill 19-1261, which established state greenhouse-gas reduction targets of 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2050.
Utilities
Toor stated that the state made climate issues central in utility regulation. He said that the state took the voluntary aspirations expressed by Xcel and made them into law. These were made to apply to all other utilities in the state. The state began to calculate the social cost of carbon and methane emission and applied them to the regulatory structures.
The combined effect of regulation and the voluntary actions of utilities to take the economic advantage of the lower cost to produce electricity with solar or wind over what it costs for power with coal has resulted a projected 80% reduction of greenhouse gases from utilities by 2030. This is far ahead of the target. Toor stated that Xcel, the state’s largest power producer, will likely eliminate all coal-generated electricity by 2031.
He said that Colorado was one the largest coal users in the country not too long ago. It’s an amazing transformation.
The state has also put emphasis on transition for coal communities like Pueblo, Hayden, and Craig where coal-fired power stations make up a large part of the local economy. He said that cushioning provisions were put in place to help those communities.
Oil and gas
Toor stated that the oil and gas industry has a 60% goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. He suggested strategies that include a higher rate of leak detection and repair. Companies in the industry will have to develop individual plans to reach their goals.
Industrial sector
The industrial sector will see slower reductions than utilities and the oil-and-gas industry. There are efforts underway with international and national companies to ensure that an industry doesn’t just move its emissions somewhere else.
He stated that 20% is the industry’s target for reducing greenhouse gases.
Strategy includes auditing facilities to find opportunities and cost-effective technology that industries might need to implement.
Toor cited Pueblo’s steel mill, which thanks to recent investment is now amongst the most efficient in world because it uses an electrical arc furnace to produce steel. He stated that it is nearing zero-emission production.
Buildings
Both the transportation and building sectors pose scale problems because there are millions upon millions of generators of greenhouse gases. He said that the state is developing tools to decarbonize buildings. Some tools could include the use of electric heat pumps in place of traditional heating systems. Senate Bill 246 provided rebates for customers who install heat pumps and a state green bank to assist building owners in financing some of these changes.
The goal for this sector is to reduce greenhouse emissions by 20%
Transportation
The transportation sector is now the largest source of greenhouse gases, despite utilities being on the right track to reduce their emissions.
Toor stated that this involves many people, from local governments to individuals, making decisions about which vehicles they will purchase and where they will live relative to their work.
The state will make major investments in electric vehicle infrastructure charging stations throughout the state, as well as incentives for vehicle fleets and school buses.
According to him, the diesel school bus is responsible for some children’s highest exposure to air pollutant in their lives. The state may be able to store excess solar energy during the off-hours if these buses are replaced by battery-powered fleets once they are replaced.
Toor answered a question about climate change and stated that he was interested in land use as an energy decision factor, building houses where there are jobs.
He also mentioned that nuclear energy is one of the technologies that the state might need to use to reach 100% renewable electricity. He asked how can we go beyond 2030 to reach 100% renewable energy. Although nuclear and hydrogen technologies could be part of the solution, very few utilities are currently looking at nuclear.
