Before the green-energy dreams of our governor and Legislature can be fulfilled, Colorado will have to build a lot more infrastructure. Notably, a much larger, more modern and more reliable power grid that can generate and deliver the additional electricity that will be needed.

Assuming the technology is developed at some point to efficiently, effectively replace natural gas in heating homes and businesses with electricity – on January days like today’s – it’ll require far more megawattage than our state’s utilities can generate. It also will require a lot more carrying capacity in terms of power lines.

Toward that end, the state is growing more government.

As reported last weekend in The Gazette, a new regulatory agency to oversee electrical grid expansion and operation and, if necessary, to build it if utilities don’t, is germinating. The goal of the new Colorado Electric Transmission Authority, created by legislation in 2021, eventually will be to add power lines as Colorado transitions from fossil fuel.

For now, the state has managed to build more bureaucracy. The next steps beyond that, as well as the steps thereafter, remain pretty speculative.

“I hope we’re able to get more transmission (lines) built, and I hope that it is done in a very strategic and efficient way,” Kathleen Staks, the agency’s interim board chair, told The Gazette.

“I hope that we are able to unlock some public and private partnerships and bring some creative sources of funding to Colorado so that ultimately we can connect not only the renewable energy development in the state but really connect Colorado to the rest of the West and the vast resources that we have across the West.”

That’s a whole lot of hope without much reassurance. It remains unclear, as the authority looks for a full-time executive director, whom the agency even will answer to. It’s a political subdivision of the state that is not subject to administrative direction by any department, commission, board or agency, not even the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Yet, it has videoconferenced four times and has appointed its board officers.

At the same time, it has been vested with considerable authority, to wield whenever it finally does start expanding the grid. It can site, fund, buy, sell, own and lease power lines and power-storage facilities without oversight or control. It also will be able to wield the formidable power of eminent domain to condemn land needed for power-line construction.

All of which makes it one part public utility, one part state government agency – and for the time being, perhaps, a long shot. Perhaps a pipe dream? Staks doesn’t instill confidence.

“I think building transmission anywhere is really hard, and it takes a long time,” she said to The Gazette. “And I think what the authority does is it creates another tool to get needed transmission projects built in Colorado.”

Still, the need for a bigger, better grid is very real and – if Colorado is to cut greenhouse emissions 90% by 2050 as decreed by the Legislature and governor – pretty urgent.

The Gazette’s report also cited a Princeton University study that concluded the country’s power grid would have to be two to five times larger to handle the renewable power needed for zero-carbon emissions nationwide.

Sounds like the visionaries of our new energy economy have their work cut out for them.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board