Costs are high everywhere these days, and skyrocketing energy bills are throwing a wrench in the finances of too many families in Colorado. We’re caught in the crosshairs of economic breakdown and uncertainty, and it is more crucial than ever to lower energy costs and provide good-paying jobs for Coloradans.
The good news is there’s a clear path forward to bring down energy costs. And, it should create high-quality union jobs for Coloradans and clean up our air and water quality at the same time. That solution is building more local clean energy projects in Colorado, with the support of federal energy credits.
These federal clean energy incentives, coupled with Colorado’s incredible energy resources like solar, wind, geothermal and hydro power, could usher in a world-leading clean energy industry.
All told, there are 109 large-scale clean energy projects in the development pipeline in Colorado that could benefit from federal energy tax credits. These projects are projected to bring over $54.9 billion of investments to the state, enable 31,500 megawatts of new electricity generation and storage, and support over 53,000 jobs. This represents a huge economic and energy growth potential.
Thanks to labor standards attached to the federal credits, projects that maximize the credits will pay workers a family-supporting prevailing wage and provide apprenticeship opportunities to train the next generation of workers. These are the kinds of jobs that allow people to get out of debt, become a homeowner, or start a family.
But, this opportunity to build a local clean energy industry that brings down energy costs for Coloradans could be over before it fully takes off if Congress rolls back federal energy incentives this spring. As politicians in Washington negotiate a budget package, they must remember to stand up for good jobs, affordable energy and the economic opportunity of an industry that makes our environment healthier and our air cleaner. They must protect clean energy tax incentives.
Energy demand is increasing at the fastest rate in nearly a century. This means we need to add to our domestic energy supply, not cut it back, so that we can get utility bills under control. It’s also important for the U.S. to remain globally competitive in the energy industry. To keep America energy dominant and protect U.S. energy jobs, we need to continue federal support for new energy projects, not scale back.
The stakes are high. If Congress rolls back federal energy credits, projects will immediately cost more to build. Colorado ratepayers will be stuck making up the difference on their energy bills.
The clean energy opportunity is enormous: a surge of high-quality union jobs, economic investments pouring into our state, more affordable and reliable energy for homes and businesses. But at this critical juncture when the industry is just getting off the ground, we need to maintain federal energy incentives to propel it forward.
This is the time for the federal government to step up and help make this vision a reality, to deliver affordability and jobs to our economy. It’s not the time for leaders to turn their backs on hardworking Coloradans. Protect federal incentives for clean energy.
Dennis Dougherty is executive director of Colorado AFL-CIO and secretary-treasurer of Climate Jobs Colorado; Daniel Mondragon is business manager of IBEW Local 113 and vice president of Climate Jobs Colorado; Les Thompson is president of Colorado Springs Area Labor Council; and Zack Esquibel is business manager of IBEW Local 68.
