Nothing happens in rural Colorado that doesn’t affect everything else. We are ever cognizant that necessities of life for our state – food, water, energy – all originate in the rural parts of our state. Every so often, smart and impactful public policies result in significant and widespread economic opportunities in rural communities.

That’s the case with Power Pathway, a 550-mile, $1.7-billion transmission project that just broke ground in eastern Colorado. The project provides a pathway for renewables that stretches from the eastern plains to the Denver metro area and stimulates new-energy economic benefits to rural Colorado communities, including encouraging construction of wind and solar farms for more low-cost electricity.

Not only will the project fortify the state’s electric grid, increase the system’s resilience and reliability and make way for future energy development around the state, but it will also boost the regional economy through hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes and lease payments and the creation of both construction jobs and permanent positions. For example, the Cheyenne Ridge Wind Project has generated $107 million in landowner payments, $29 million in taxes to Cheyenne and Kit Carson Counties, 200 construction jobs and 24 permanent full-time jobs since construction started in 2019.

Additionally, while the project is spearheaded by Xcel Energy, the transmission lines will carry electricity for other utilities and cooperatives as well.

The Power Pathway project kicks off at a critical time for both our state and the nation as policy, political and environmental leaders have underscored the desperate need for investment in transmission infrastructure to reach climate mitigation efforts. The U.S. Department of Energy issued a report earlier this year noting the “pressing need” for new electric transmission infrastructure across the country to improve grid reliability, to meet the surge for increased electric demand, to connect the growing number of projects involving battery storage, wind and solar, and to ease the burden of high prices in areas across the country.

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Last month while in Colorado, David Turk, deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, further emphasized this need, saying the country’s current build out of 1% transmission a year was “woefully inadequate” and that the country needed to step it up to 2% to 3% a year in order to reach the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The Colorado legislature, with great foresight 15 years ago, declared Colorado’s vibrant economy and high quality of life depended upon the availability of clean, affordable, reliable electricity and instructed Colorado utilities to continually evaluate the adequacy of electric transmission facilities and improve the infrastructure to meet the state’s existing and future energy needs.

Colorado leaders have recognized the vital need for transmission for at least the last 15 years. Even the state legislature acknowledged Colorado’s vibrant economy and high quality of life depends upon the availability of clean, affordable, reliable electricity, instructing Colorado utilities to continually evaluate and improve electric transmission infrastructure in order to meet the state’s existing and future energy needs. This position has been overwhelmingly supported by local and state lawmakers, regulators and governors. In fact, when the Colorado Public Utility Commission backed the Power Pathway project, it said it was necessary to meet the state-mandated goal of 80% clean electricity by 2030.

The lack of investment in transmission grids has become a massive roadblock to clean energy and reliable power throughout the country. Colorado is moving swiftly in the right direction: two coal plants have been retired and will be replaced with cheaper wind and solar projects and current construction of transmission infrastructure will modernize our power and lower consumers’ energy costs. But more investment is needed – and quickly.

Sara Blackhurst is the president of Action22, a non-partisan membership driven consortium which serves as a regional chamber of commerce, creating a strong voice for action on public policy for 22 Southern Colorado counties on the state and federal level.