Udall is fighting for a 25% national RES, a carbon tax, wind tax credits, LNG exports and more nuclear.

Gardner wants easier permitting to drill on federal lands and Alaska’s outer shelf, wind tax credits, LNG exports and more nuclear.

Incumbent Democrat Senator Mark Udall and his Republican challenger U.S. Congressman Cory Gardner are engaged in a battle for Udall’s upcoming senate seat in November. On paper the two Coloradoans  appear to have a lot in common regarding energy policy, but some major differences prevail.

Udall’s Energy Beliefs in a Nutshell

On his Senate Web site Udall says he favors the following energy solutions:

  • instituting an “all of the above” energy program
  • allowing LNG exports to WTO countries
  • renewable energy (primarily wind)
  • natural gas
  • expanding nuclear via small modular reactors
  • carbon capture from coal
  • wind energy production tax credits
  • regulatory certainty for wind energy
  • leading a fight to pass a national renewable energy standard (25% electricity from renewable energy by 2025)
  • putting a price on carbon
  • reducing dependence on fossil fuels
  • developing cleaner running vehicles
  • giving consumers information that will allow them to use energy more efficiently

Gardner’s Energy Beliefs in a Nutshell

On his House of Representatives Web site, Gardner says he favors the following energy solutions:

  • linking any drawdown of the national strategic petroleum reserve to increasing oil and gas leases on federal land
  • increasing domestic production
  • instituting a national “all of the above” energy strategy that includes traditional energy resources, renewable energy and nuclear power
  • streamlining permitting to drill on Alaska’s outer continental shelf
  • LNG exports
  • streamlining the permitting process for renewable technologies on federal lands
  • instituting a paid-for extension of the wind production tax credit
  • energy efficiency

Udall, Speaking from his Senate Website

“Two of my top priorities remain promoting the development of renewable energy and increasing energy efficiency. … To do so, we will need an all-of-the-above strategy that includes all of our energy sources, with a special emphasis on those that are clean and domestic. That means focusing on everything from renewable energy and energy efficiency to natural gas and safe nuclear power.”

“I introduced the American Job Creation and Strategic Alliances LNG Act to speed up the approval of permits for natural gas export facilities and expand access to more reliable suppliers of energy for World Trade Organization countries, such as Ukraine, Japan and India.

“My bill, the Access to Consumer Energy Information (E-Access) Act, would make information about electricity prices and consumption readily available to families and business owners so they have the information they need to use energy more efficiently.

“As a cleaner burning fuel, natural gas is part of the solution to reducing our nation’s air pollution, and has helped to bring our country’s carbon emissions down to levels we haven’t seen since the early 1990s. But I also understand the concerns that many Coloradans have voiced to me about hydraulic fracturing. As Coloradans, we want our country to be energy independent, but we don’t want to sacrifice our land, water and air … in order to achieve it. That’s why I will continue to push the industry to be more transparent and proactive in its safety measures, to do everything possible to be forthcoming with the public, and to ensure that every step in the drilling process — from drilling to casing to wastewater disposal — is done safely for the good of Colorado’s families.

“Natural gas has a bright future in helping us reduce carbon pollution, but so do other fuel sources. Thanks to new technologies, we can continue exploring other innovations to traditional sources of energy development, such as the safe expansion of nuclear power with small modular reactors and modern waste disposal techniques, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions from coal power with carbon capture and storage technology. All of these sources will be essential in order to achieve greater energy security.

“I have long fought for national comprehensive energy legislation …

“Because of the importance of the wind PTC to Colorado and to our shared energy future, I led the fight for its extension, speaking on the Senate floor almost 30 times over the six months leading up to its scheduled expiration.

“I remain committed to working with my colleagues to ensure that wind energy will have the regulatory certainty it needs to continue to be an essential, thriving part of our all-of-the-above energy strategy.

“One of my top priorities for climate and energy legislation is the inclusion of a strong federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) — like the standard we have in Colorado — which requires a percentage of the electricity we use to be produced from renewable energy sources.

“While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, I worked with my colleagues to pass a federal RES similar to Colorado’s, which would have required 15 percent of our nation’s electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2020. … That bill became the first RES to ever pass the House, though it fell short in the Senate. I remain dedicated to leading the fight to pass a national RES. As part of this effort, I am working on legislation to require a federal 25 percent RES by 2025. I will also continue to fight for the inclusion of a strong national RES in energy legislation when it is debated in the Senate.

“Global warming is one of the defining challenges of our time, and how we handle the issue will have profound implications for the planet we leave our children. This is clear in Colorado, where rising temperatures, reduced snowpack and ongoing drought have exacerbated recent wildfires that threaten entire communities and our critical water supplies. We can meet this challenge head on, but it will take us working together in our communities, states, and around the world to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, adopt a comprehensive energy policy, develop cleaner-running vehicles and put a common-sense price on carbon.”

Gardner, Speaking from his House and Campaign Web sites:

From Gardner’s House Web site:

“I have always advocated for an ‘all of the above’ approach to energy.  That includes development of traditional energy resources, renewable resources and even nuclear power.

“As a member of Congress, I have passed two pieces of legislation out of the House that will tap American energy resources and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  The Jobs and Energy Permitting Act would streamline the permitting process for drilling in the Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).  Production in the OCS could provide a million barrels of oil a day – comparable to what we currently get from Saudi Arabia.

“The other piece of legislation I have passed out of the House is the Strategic Energy Production Act, which would link a drawdown of America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to increasing access to domestic land for oil production.  In the event that the SPR is tapped, my bill would trigger the Secretaries of Energy, Agriculture, and the Interior to develop a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for energy production by an amount equal to what is depleted from the nation’s stockpile of oil.  Currently, only three percent of federal land is leased for oil and gas production.

From a press release on Gardner’s U.S. House of Representatives Web site:

“Gardner’s bill Strategic Energy Production Act of 2012, H.R. 4480 (Rep. Cory Gardner, CO-4) linking a drawdown of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to increasing oil and gas leases on federal land is a pillar of the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act.

“Our country is in desperate need of a national energy strategy, and increasing domestic production should be a major component of that plan,” Gardner said.  “By increasing oil and gas leases on federal land to match what is released from our emergency energy reserves, we can turn a short-term supply fix into a long-term policy that promotes America’s energy independence.”

“We truly embrace an ‘all of the above’ strategy in Colorado that includes solar, wind, oil, natural gas, and coal.”

From Gardner’s senate campaign Web site:

“… Cory has championed a bipartisan effort on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports that recently passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He also introduced two major pieces of legislation that passed the House with bipartisan support and would increase domestic production while creating thousands of jobs here at home. In addition to his work with traditional resources, Cory has promoted legislation to streamline the permitting process for renewable technologies on federal lands and supports a paid-for extension of the wind production tax credit (PTC). He also co-wrote the legislation that established Colorado’s Clean Energy Development Authority while serving in the Colorado General Assembly.

“Cory … co-founded a bipartisan caucus dedicated to promoting efficiency initiatives … and the Energy and Commerce Committee recently passed the bill unanimously.”

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