When we take positions on policy, establish our priorities or work to grow our industry clusters, we focus on what’s best for the entire state of Colorado. And every once in a while, we are reminded that this work can also have an impact on the rest of the country, or even the world.
Our energy industry is a great example of a sector that is having a huge impact. Colorado ranks seventh in the nation for overall energy production and sixth for natural gas production. I recently was part of a video about liquefied natural gas (LNG)—which is basically just a cooled, liquid form of natural gas—and it really shows how we are helping provide energy that powers the United States and the impact LNG has on every single one of us.
You’ve heard a lot of statistics from us about the local impact of oil and gas. The largest concentration of these jobs is in Denver, where the oil and gas industry delivers almost $18 million in taxes, $1.5 billion in salaries and uses nearly 1 million square feet of office space. By producing natural gas locally we also save money: paying 23 percent less for energy than the rest of the country. And, just like it does in Colorado, natural gas powers homes, businesses and local economies throughout the U.S. (And, we take seriously the need to ensure we produce that gas with most stringent environmental standards in the country so we protect our environment while getting these economic benefits.)
Another area that is being highlighted in the national spotlight is transportation. It’s clear that federal funding isn’t likely to increase and help states or municipalities address the maintenance needs of our current system, let alone capacity issues. And, it’s clear that with more fuel-efficient cars, the gas tax that funds local projects is not able to cover the needs. Since 2012, 12 states have approved plans to raise transportation revenues, largely through tax increases and toll roads. At the same time, cities all over the country are struggling to fund transit or capacity challenges they face. What we have focused on in Colorado is encouraging the use of public-private partnerships to help close some of this gap. This work has gained the attention of many in the country. You can learn more about how we’re exploring transportation challenges in Colorado at the Transportation Matters Summit on Nov. 20, hosted by the Colorado Department of Transportation and co-sponsored by the Chamber, Atkins and the Colorado Contractors Association.
We are always looking to learn from others—it’s nice once in a while to hear folks are looking at us for approaches that can help them as well.
