Rising demand, lower supply: Colorado energy future at risk Image By EPN Staff Rising demand for electricity from electric vehicles, building electrification efforts, heat pump installment, and data center consumption, combined with the impending loss of generation capacity resulting from coal plant closures, is putting affordable, reliable energy at risk in Colorado. Why it matters Current circumstances show Colorado will need additional power sources to keep electricity affordable and reliable for the foreseeable future. The North American Electric Corporation survey found Colorado at potential risk of energy shortfall as coal power plants close and the state becomes more reliant on weather-dependent, intermittent resources such as solar and wind. The report also noted large data centers are placing additional strains on the grid. Colorado’s five remaining coal plants will close on or before 2030. One, Pawnee Station in Morgan County, will convert to natural gas, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Gov. Jared Polis and his administration are incentivizing electric cars, electrification of buildings, and the installment of electric heat pumps for cooling and heating, according to the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap. Fifty-six data centers supporting cloud storage, artificial intelligence, streaming, and corporate computing exist in the state of Colorado – with the prospect of more on the way. Data center annual energy use rose from 60 terawatts per hour (TWh) to 176TWh in 2023 and is predicted to reach nearly 600 TWh in 2028, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A terawatt equals one trillion watts per hour, enough to support 90,000 homes for a year. The bigger picture The Polis administration wants to reduce greenhouse gas pollution in the state by 26% this year, by 50% in 2030, and by 100% in 2050 compared to 2005 levels. To reach this goal, Gov. Jared Polis intends to get at least 940,000 electric vehicles on Colorado roads by 2030, electrify more buildings, and increase reliance on renewable energy sources including solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal. Colorado has no nuclear power plants. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden has stated the U.S. will need a half a million new powerlines to keep the energy grid reliable and affordable. An opportunity for nuclear In 2022, former state Sen. Bob Rankin (R-Carbondale) introduced legislation to study the feasibility of nuclear energy – specifically next-generation small, modular reactors – in Colorado. The legislation failed, but it triggered legislation in 2023 and 2024 by state Sen. Larry Liston (R-Colorado Springs) to recategorize nuclear energy as a “clean energy resource” in the state, opening it up to specific grants and special considerations. Those bills also failed, although the proposal has been reintroduced in 2025. The difference? It now has bipartisan support in both chambers.
