Several announcements in the past few weeks are truly worth celebrating. First, Xcel Energy announced a goal of 80 percent carbon-free energy in 2030, followed by 100 percent by 2050. Soon after, the Platte River Power Authority serving Loveland, Fort Collins, Longmont and Estes Park announced an even more aggressive goal of achieving 100 percent by 2030. This puts Colorado back into the forefront of a transition to clean energy following a path started by Amendment 37 back in 2004.

Why is this happening now?

Xcel called out the customer demand for clean energy, especially the commitments for 100 percent renewables in cities like Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Pueblo and others. The timing also may have something to do with the recent election results. One hundred percent renewable energy was front and center for many of the candidates that we voted into office, setting expectations for where the upcoming legislative sessions could lead.

Why Colorado?

As we all know, Colorado is a lucky state with abundant sunshine. The wind resource in Colorado is also exceptional. This combination means that renewable energy in Colorado is less expensive than in most states. This was made perfectly clear by the recent Public Utilities Commission hearings that approved a plan to retire two coal plants to replace them with wind and solar, putting Xcel customers on a path towards 55 percent renewable electricity by 2026.

Another unique aspect for Colorado is the consensus that has developed around renewables. The Colorado Energy Plan involved a multi-year collaboration between technically-sophisticated nonprofits and Xcel to design an aggressive yet cost-effective plan that would enable clean energy while saving money. During the PUC proceedings, the most vocal opposition to renewables in Colorado took a role as a skeptical auditor, with an expert witness checking each calculation for accuracy and eventually validating that the plan did, in fact, save money even when burdened with paying off the debts from the early retirement of coal plants on an accelerated schedule.

Colorado is also central to long-term research and development on renewables. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has worked on solar research and development, economic studies, wind energy and grid-integration simulations. The National Center for Atmospheric Research has worked with Xcel in predicting, with precision, the power that each wind turbine and solar array will produce at any given time. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has provided increasingly accurate weather forecasts and a landmark study showing that the United States could cost-effectively approach 80 percent renewable electricity by 2030. All of these efforts presented roadmaps for de-risking the technology. In Colorado, it is quite possible that your neighbor has played a role in enabling renewable energy.

In the specialty where I have worked, the design and manufacture of solar cells and modules, the price of solar panels continues to decrease dramatically. This is due to a combination of things — innovation, mass production and learning by doing. Similarly, the implementation of renewables, including the orchestration of matching of renewable supply with demand, is increasingly efficient. In October of 2017, when a coal plant was offline, Xcel supplied electricity that was 70 percent wind and solar, gaining valuable experience with running a nearly-renewable grid. In contrast to traditional coal-fired power plants, renewable energy is a rapidly advancing technology that is quickly deployed. It is widely recognized that clean electricity is a first step in enabling a decarbonization of the economy, leading to clean transportation by enabling clean electric cars, as well as energy-efficient industrial and residential power use. For utilities, this is an opportunity — or a risk of being left behind.

A common goal of 100 percent carbon-free electricity is just a start. There will be competition between rooftop, commercial and utility-scale projects as well as the various parties that would like to participate. Xcel is a regulated monopoly. The PUC ruling for the Colorado Energy Plan may serve as an extremely useful template for introducing best practice and market competition. The price for the renewables in that plan was determined by an open bidding process. Xcel will own a fraction of the renewables, 27 percent, and must meet the competitive price.

That Colorado would transition to renewables seems quite natural. We like our great outdoors, our clean air and our clean water. Colorado’s leadership in this renewable transition has been noticed worldwide and will be watched with great interest. I am proud that Colorado has stepped up into this leadership role. Now we just need to make it happen.

Ron Sinton has participated in research and development and manufacturing of solar cells for 36 years. His engineering firm in Boulder designs and manufactures equipment used in solar panels manufacturing.