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Citing the recent surge in energy prices amid a deteriorating economy, legislative Republicans today accused Gov. Bill Ritter of stonewalling the development of Colorado's formidable oil-shale reserves--despite a drive by Washington to open up shale-rich lands. The Republicans cited it as yet another example of the Democrat Ritter administration trying to hamper the growth of Colorado's booming energy economy. Ritter previously had attempted to dig in his heels against U.S. Bureau of Land Management approval of natural gas development on Colorado's Roan Plateau. "Mysteriously, the governor says that the height of an energy crisis is the wrong time to bring up accelerating energy production in our state's rich oil shale reserves," said the GOP's Sen. Mike Kopp, of Littleton. "My question for him is this: So when will the right time be here? My hunch is that his answer would be 'never.'" According to the Associated Press, Ritter wrote Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne a letter this week saying it's "irresponsible" to press ahead with commercial oil shale leasing now. Ritter chided the president Wednesday for blocking the extension of a provision that effectively banned leases on federal land for shale development. That ban is set to expire Tuesday. Dr. Daniel Fine of MIT estimates that 750 billion barrels worth of oil shale have been discovered in Colorado alone. That amount is enough to potentially power the U.S. economy for decades. Fine and other experts say if full-scale production begins within five years, the U.S. could completely end its dependence on OPEC by 2020. 
Sen. Mike Kopp
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Kopp and other House and Senate Republicans say the answer to the nation's energy needs is a multipronged approach, including exploiting shale reserves, rather than relying only on alternative, "renewable" sources, which still involve significant technical and economic uncertainties. Republicans have accused the Ritter administration and ruling legislative Democrats of overemphasizing the as-yet unproven potential of alternative energy sources like wind and solar power to the exclusion of resources like natural gas and oil, which are the mainstay of the state's economy. "Republicans value expediting all forms of responsible energy production to get us out of our energy crunch and economic pickle," Kopp said. "Can we expect the governor to join us in advocating an all-of-the-above energy policy until we can become totally reliant upon renewables?" Sen. Greg Brophy, a champion of wide-ranging energy sources including wind and ethanol, cautioned the governor about the ill-effects of obstructing shale development. "He should not talk down the value of this resource like he did (natural gas reserves on) the Roan," said the Wray Republican. "No one will invest the billions of dollars that are needed to develop the technology without the certainty that comes with rules and leases" Eastern plains Republican Rep. Cory Gardner, of Yuma, said he saw parallels with other troubling Ritter administration policies. "The governor wants to slow energy development when we need it the most," Gardner said. "That seems to be a lot like his approach to the budget: Spend more on the state budget when you're in a hole." Gardner was referring to a dismal economic forecast this week by the nonpartisan office of Legislative Council, which, facing a souring economy, predicted a drop in state tax revenue that would leave the current budget well over $300 million short of what the Democrat majority had anticipated spending when the budget was passed last spring. |
