Colorado had a chance to achieve our state’s ambitious climate goals while ensuring grid reliability and economic opportunity. Instead, due to false narratives, Democrats killed an important bill in committee.

Senate Bill 23-079, titled “Nuclear as a Clean Energy Resource” and introduced by Sen. Larry Liston earlier this month, would have classified nuclear as a clean energy source, acknowledging the simple fact that nuclear energy is clean. Unfortunately, Democrats in the Colorado Senate refuse to accept the facts.

We, as conservative climate activists, testified in favor of the bill by supporting the science: nuclear is one of the safest, most reliable carbon-free energy sources available today. Fossil fuels cause 20 times more deaths per terawatt-hour of electricity than nuclear. NASA’s Goddard Institute estimated 1.8 million lives had been saved by replacing fossil fuels with nuclear energy. Nuclear power also has the highest capacity factor of all energy sources, including natural gas and coal, which means it can provide power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In contrast, renewables such as wind and solar have some of the lowest capacity factors and can only provide power when the sun is shining, or the wind is blowing. Most importantly, nuclear power plants emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions over their life cycle than almost every other energy source, including solar power.

Nuclear also provides a unique opportunity for Colorado, which relied on coal for 40% of its electricity generation in 2021. Importantly, the Office of Nuclear Energy within the federal Department of Energy recently reported nuclear power could replace 80% of coal power plants in the United States, offering good-paying jobs and local revenue during economic transition for communities across the state.

Of course, reducing emissions is critical, but closing major coal power plants has harmed communities that have come to rely on the jobs and tax revenues coal provides. The Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo is set to close by 2031 and provides $31 million in property taxes which funds schools, libraries and other public services. Nuclear can effectively replace essential revenue and jobs currently supplied by coal while providing clean, safe and reliable energy.

California offers an example of what happens when decisions are based on fiction rather than fact. Instead of embracing nuclear’s potential, the state explicitly excluded it as a carbon-free energy source, in opposition to the science, and chose to rely primarily on wind and solar to power their state. The result has been an unstable grid that experiences rolling blackouts and some of the highest energy prices in the country. An extreme California heat wave in 2022 threatened deadly power outages. It pushed Gov. Gavin Newsom to overturn the closure of the state’s last operating nuclear reactor to meet electricity demand. The Diablo Canyon nuclear reactor provides 8% of the state’s electricity and 15% of its carbon-free electricity. Without this nuclear power plant on the grid, the state would have encountered increased emissions and rolling blackouts.

The California case study enforces what we already know: nuclear is essential to providing reliable energy while reducing emissions and must be considered a clean energy source to meet ambitious climate goals. Unless Colorado wishes to make the same mistakes, it is in its best interest to embrace the opportunities and benefits of nuclear energy and not deny the facts. Democrats have long condemned Republicans for not taking the climate seriously, but this month, they shut down a bill that would have done exactly that.

Climate change is one of the most complex challenges humans have ever faced. We do not have the privilege to pick and choose which solutions we want to use. Many communities, especially those economically reliant on the fossil fuel industry, will suffer, and we will be no closer to reaching our environmental goals. Unfounded fears about nuclear energy and tribal politics drive this behavior and are why we cannot make serious progress toward a cleaner, safer future. We must work together to adopt an all-the-above energy strategy to move our state and country into the clean energy future.

Sarah Jensen is a grassroots ambassador and Boulder branch leader for the American Conservation Coalition Action (ACC Action). Tyler Linnebur is the Denver branch leader for ACC Action. They both testified in favor of SB 23-079, which would classify nuclear power as clean energy in the state of Colorado.

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