At first glance, the 2018 race for Colorado’s governor looks like a classic Democrat-Republican contest when it comes to energy issues. Republican Walker Stapleton, who will complete a second term as state treasurer this year, emphasizes the oil, gas, and coal industries’ contributions to the state’s economy on his campaign’s web site, while acknowledging potential future roles for wind and other renewables.
Democrat Jared Polis, who is wrapping up his fifth term as the state’s US House member from its second district, embraces renewables and their potential benefits first on his campaign’s web site, but acknowledges “the importance of skills learned in coal and oil and gas development towards building a 21st century energy portfolio.”
Their outlooks toward legacy and alternative energies differ only in emphasis. But they reflect the division in the state between its urban concentration along the Front Rage and generally rural makeup of counties elsewhere that any Colorado candidate for statewide office faces.
Whoever wins probably will have to pursue a careful strategy similar to that of retiring Gov. John W. Hickenlooper (D), who simultaneously encouraged development of renewable energy with aggressive enforcement and development of oil and gas regulations.
Polis says that as governor, he would pursue a goal of 100% renewable energy statewide. “Some of our highest-skilled and hardest working women and men in the state currently work in coal or oil and gas development, and we cannot ignore the impact the transition to a renewable energy economy is having on our friends and neighbors,” he said.
Consumers will benefit from this transition, Polis continues. “According to a 2016 federal government study, the cost of utility-scale wind is now cheaper than natural gas,” he says. “I’ll collaborate with everyone willing to contribute to achieve this goal.”
Cites industry contributions
Stapleton notes that Colorado’s oil and gas industry contributes more than 200,000 jobs and $30 billion to the state’s economy. “Over the past 5 years, the industry has averaged nearly $60 million in annual payments to county coffers alone,” he says. “The University of Colorado estimates that total industry payments to federal, state, and local governments totaled $1.2 billion in 2014, funding everything from schools to roads and bridges.”
He says that as governor he would work with the energy industry with an understanding that new technology and innovation drive constant changes to its business practices.
“Further, Colorado needs a leader that understands we must present a stable business environment to ensure a low-cost energy supply that will attract and retain businesses in Colorado,” Stapleton says. “Under my leadership, businesses can be certain that they will not be hit with agenda-driven, burdensome, job-killing regulations.”