Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announced last month the release of the City of Denver’s 80×50 Climate Action Plan. The 80×50 Plan gets its name from the city’s stated goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent of 2005 levels by the year 2050, setting impressive targets for:
• reducing greenhouse gas emission (30 percent reduction by 2025, which is even more aggressive than the Paris climate accord standards);
• making new buildings net-zero by 2035;
• increasing the number of electric vehicles to 30 percent by 2030; and
• achieving 100 percent renewable electricity by municipal facilities in 2025 and communitywide by 2030.
The 80×50 Plan will target the three sectors most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions in Denver: electricity generation, buildings, and transportation, according to a July article published in 5280.
The 80×50 Plan was developed by the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment based on feedback received from residents across Denver in 2017 to the City and County of Denver’s 80×50 Climate Goal: Stakeholder Report.
Denver joins the ranks of 72 other cities nationwide and nine in Colorado that are committed to a target of 100 percent renewable energy. However, the timeline for implementation of the plan in Denver is unique as the transition period for achieving the various goals is quite short.
Public Service Company of Colorado, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy and the largest electricity provider in Colorado, has stated its support of the 80×50 Plan. In its 120-day report filed with Colorado regulators in June 2018, Xcel Energy announced its Colorado Energy Plan, which provides for an increase to the percentage of load served by renewable energy sources to 55 percent by 2026. As reported by the Denver Post, Xcel’s CEP includes the retirement of 660 megawatts of coal generation (to be replaced with 1,100 megawatts of new wind, 700 megawatts of solar (all embedded in solar plus storage projects), and 380 megawatts of flexible gas sources). According to Xcel Energy, the CEP will create overall savings to customers of $213 million. It should be noted that the CEP is still awaiting approval by the Public Utilities Commission, and the savings to customers and anticipated emissions reductions are all projected figures.
Watching this all unfold is exciting, particularly as the federal government is implementing policies that lean in favor of the traditional fossil fuel industry. Successful implementation of the 80×50 Plan will depend on public support and how well the city creates additional opportunities for renewable energy beyond Xcel’s commitments in the state (but it’s nice to have the support of the utility that serves 3.1 million customers, including the City and County of Denver).
While environmental groups, construction firms and renewable energy developers are figuring out what opportunities the 80×50 Plan will provide, it will be important for the city to focus on also ensuring that those whose livelihoods still depend on the use of traditional fossil fuels do not get left behind going forward.
Denver will have the benefit of lessons learned by other cities that are already working to achieve similar goals. As a municipality, Denver can create its own incentives for upgrading older buildings, for implementing energy efficiency programs and for issuing building permits, all with the apparent backing of the local utility.
One of the primary concerns with any push for renewable energy has been the potential cost to consumers. As is true in many parts of the country, energy that comes from renewable resources is often cheaper than the cost of power from fossil fuels and fracked gas.
In fact, the median bid prices from the responses to Xcel Energy’s 2017 All-Source Solicitation included solar plus storage, and wind plus storage prices that Green Tech Media described as “unprecedented” — some 20 percent lower than the cheapest photovoltaic solar plus battery power purchase agreement in place at the time (a 2016 agreement between developer NextEra Energy Resources and Tucson Electric Power, at $45/megawatt hour). Also, from an employment perspective, almost three times as many people are employed in the clean energy and energy efficiency industries as those employed by the carbon-emitting coal and gas industries — and 2017 energy and jobs reports from the U.S. Department of Energy suggest job growth potential remains vast.
From a jobs and economic standpoint, the 80×50 Plan is likely to economically benefit people in and around Denver.
How much can be accomplished in the short term and the real impacts of this move all, of course, remain to be seen. But anyone who has (sadly) experienced the haze from the wildfires across Colorado and the entire Western half of the U.S. this summer should be excited about any steps that could help reduce the long-term effects of climate change, including the increased likelihood of drought and wildfires.
From overall improvements to public health based on improved air quality, to helping protect the natural scenery that makes the Front Range one of the best outdoor playgrounds in the world, the 80×50 Plan presents a formidable and rather quick step in the right direction for Denver.
— Ashley Wald is a corporate partner at Holland & Hart. She provides guidance to clients in the solar, wind, hydropower and natural gas industries as they develop energy projects and related infrastructure across the U.S.