U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Monday warned that Colorado’s energy policies could lead to higher electricity prices and deter businesses, such as data centers, from locating in the state.

Wright, a former executive of a Colorado-based energy company tapped by the Trump White House to lead the energy department, urged state policymakers to focus on natural gas and nuclear power during a news conference with U.S. Rep. Gab Evans at Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain Generating Station on Monday.

State policymakers have maintained that Colorado’s energy policy is balanced, taking into accounts the needs of consumers in their push for “net zero” carbon in just a few decades. Democrats have also argued that Colorado should take advantage of “clean” energy technology to achieve its carbon goals.

Last January, Gov. Jared Polis touted Colorado’s progress in reaching his goal of a carbon-free state, saying that, by 2030, “more than 70% of Colorado’s electricity will come from low-cost wind and solar” and adding that emerging technologies, such as geothermal or carbon capture, would get the state to “100%.”

At the Fort St. Vrain plant, Wright highlighted the need to lower energy costs to attract investment and raise wages, criticizing state mandates that he said have stifled oil and gas production and grid expansion.

Evans, who represents Colorado’s 8th District, attributed the policies to $61 billion in added cost for zero-carbon goals, based on a Colorado Energy Office study.

“We do not want to see Colorado go down the California energy policy route,” he said, arguing that California’s policies have driven up prices and forced an exodus of companies.

“We want Colorado to be a great place to live and raise a family,” he said.

Evans described his district as an energy mecca, home to the state’s largest natural gas facilities and its only oil refinery.

From his seat on the U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee, Evans said he works to ensure energy workers have the resources they need amid what he described as bad policies from previous federal and state administrations.

He pointed to three public safety power shutoffs along the Front Range in recent months, citing inadequate investment.

“The cities in the district that I talked to tell me that power is the biggest limiting factor that they have to be able to grow the economy of Colorado, even above water,” Evans said.

Federal projections from the Energy Information Administration and utility reports submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission show electricity use could grow rapidly in the coming years due to expanding data centers and artificial intelligence needs.

“In the next four years, we need 165 more gigawatts, and that’s just the current projection,” Evans said. “That’s enough for 50 million homes.”

Evans has co-sponsored a proposal to codify a Supreme Court ruling for science-based project reviews and an “informed bureaucracy.” Another bill makes changes to air quality permitting to exclude out-of-state wildfire smoke or sound forest management emissions, avoiding penalties on local jobs.

Domestic energy production secures jobs, lowers rates and protects the environment better than in China, Evans said.

“I’ve been to the Middle East,” Evans said. “I’ve seen how other parts of the world make energy. We do it better here in the United States.”

Wright noted that states with renewable standards, such as Colorado, have electricity prices that are on average 50% higher.

He credited keeping coal plants open last year with saving hundreds of lives during winter storm Fern, which created chaos across 22 states.

“We stopped the closure of 17 gigawatts of coal power plants last year,” Wright said. “If we had let those coal power plants close … hundreds of people would have died.”

The federal government has issued emergency orders to prevent closures of several coal plants nationwide, including in Colorado, saying it would ensure grid reliability amid high demand and weather events.

In filings with the Public Utilities Commission, Xcel Energy has proposed extending the operations of its coal units in Pueblo and Hayden beyond their original retirement dates, potentially running them until 2030, to address projected electricity supply shortfalls.

Wright said Colorado is the fourth-largest oil-producing state in the country, but bad governance has offset those advantages. Natural gas is by far the fastest-growing energy source, and nuclear should be the second fastest-growing, he added.

“The biggest future of energy and electricity grid, how we’re going to win the AI race is going to be dominated by natural gas and nuclear,” Wright said in the interview. “Those are the fastest-growing energy sources. Gas is by far the fastest-growing energy source. Nuclear should be the second fastest growing.”

Colorado’s shift from reliable sources to intermittent wind and solar follows failures in the United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark, where industry was exported, and there was no growth for 15 years, according to Wright.

“Why would anyone want to follow that path?” he said in an interview with The Denver Gazette, adding data centers shun Colorado over unstable policies and delayed electricity.

“If you’re going to locate and spend tens of billions of dollars for a large investment, you’ve got to believe that state not only can deliver you electricity as quickly as possible … that it’ll be a good long-term policy on energy and business conditions and all that,” Wright said.

Indiana requested a rate reduction, while Georgia and Alabama froze rates for three years due to data centers, he pointed out.

“We should do that here in Colorado,” Wright said.

In the interview, Wright labeled what he called a Colorado-California alignment a “train wreck.”

“It’s a train wreck policy,” said Wright. “California had everything going forward, and today has the highest adjusted poverty rate in the nation. It produces meaningfully less energy than it did 10 years ago. It’s impoverishing its citizens and having jobs flee, negative population outflow except for immigration.”

“In fact, Colorado’s crossed that threshold with more people leaving than coming in from the other states in Colorado,” Wright pointed out.

Colorado officials have maintained that the state’s approach to energy is balanced, advancing emissions cuts while holding costs manageable.

In February, Colorado Energy Office Executive Director Will Toor emphasized continued progress, regardless of shifts in Washington, citing a report that, he said, shows that, regardless of the federal landscape, “we are charging forward in ensuring that all Coloradans have clean air and cost-efficient clean energy and transportation options.”

The office’s latest implementation report put the state at 87.5% toward its 2030 goal based on actions completed through 2023, with full achievement still expected before 2031 — even without new legislation.

Toor pointed to November 2023 modeling that projected 98.5% reductions in electric-sector emissions by 2040 at no additional cost beyond plans already approved.

“The really big surprise in this study was just how far we are able to reduce emissions at no incremental cost from currently approved plans,” he had said.