TWW's Colorado State Director Greg Brophy virtually interviewed Colorado House GOP Leader Hugh McKean this week. The two discussed Rep. McKean’s legislation, HB21-1052, which would encourage the usage of pumped hydroelectric storage. The bill would remove the current prohibition from allowing pumped hydro storage to count as “recycled energy” under Colorado’s renewable energy standards.
Rep. McKean described his interest in working on the issue of energy storage and how changing the prohibition on pumped hydro could lead to more projects taking advantage of existing and planned reservoirs that will be moving water to different locations. Given Colorado’s varied terrain and the importance of water, the bill could play an important role in Colorado’s broader energy and water strategies.
Rep. McKean and Brophy also discussed the importance of energy storage and an “all of the above” energy approach in light of the recent events in Texas. They touched on the importance of base load options and why all technologies should be on the table to ensure reliability.
The two concluded their conversation talking about how conservatives can engage in pragmatic ways on environmental issues. Both Rep. McKean and Brophy agreed that when conservatives take a big picture approach to environmental issues, which reflects the difference between preservation, which prevents all usage, compared to conservation, which looks at a systems wide method to increase benefits among all users, better policies are developed.
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TWW Interviews Colorado House Leader Hugh McKean