After months of drafting, negotiating, and rallying around legislation in the Colorado State Capitol, the General Assembly has adjourned. Looking back over the past six months, it’s clear that achieving enforceable and equitable climate action was a top priority not just for NRDC, but for our community partners and elected officials as well.
Our priority bills focused on how to help Colorado center environmental justice and disproportionately impacted communities as well as drive important reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions that are already warming our climate, melting our snowpack, and contributing to wildfires and drought. This session was no walk in the park, but at the end of the day, we made real progress. As a result of tireless advocacy from environmental, health, business, and community advocates across the state, legislators passed the following essential policies:
HB21-1266 defines disproportionately impacted communities, requires engagement of those communities, and creates staffing, task forces, and boards focused on addressing environmental justice. This bill charges polluters for greenhouse gas emissions and uses the funds to invest back into disproportionately impacted communities and supports the climate and environmental justice staffing. It also absorbed parts of our climate bill that faced a veto threat (SB200) including enforceable deadlines, reduction requirements, and rulemakings for the electric, industrial, and oil and gas sectors.
HB21-1189 regulates three toxins (Benzene, Hydrogen Sulfide, and Hydrogen Cyanide) and four facilities (Suncor, Phillips 66, BF Goodrich, and Sinclair). It also requires covered facilities to conduct and publicly report fenceline monitoring.
SB21-246 requires investor-owned utilities to file beneficial electrification plans every three years that must include programs targeted to low-income and disproportionately impacted communities with at least 20 percent of the funding going to those households. This is also the first building electrification policy to pass with active labor support in the country.
HB21-1286 requires owners of certain large buildings to collect and report their building’s energy use annually and meet periodic building performance standards.
SB21-264 requires gas distribution utilities to file a clean heat plan with the Public Utilities Commission that shows how it plans to meet the targets of a 5% reduction below 2015 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2025 and 20% below 2015 GHG emission levels by 2030.
SB21-108 adopts rules and penalties related to gas pipeline safety.
SB21-72 directs the Public Utilities Commission to approve utilities’ applications to build new transmission, creates the Colorado electric transmission authority, and sets out deadlines for electric utilities that own transmission facilities to join a Regional Transmission Organization.
The evolution of SB21-200 and HB21-1266 warrants its own discussion. In mid-January, Governor Polis released his Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap, which laid out the sector-specific emissions reduction targets needed to hit the economy-wide goals set forth in HB19-1261. Following the report release, climate and environmental justice leaders Senator Faith Winter and Representative Dominique Jackson proposed legislation in line with the Roadmap to help the State make good on its climate promises.
However, a shocking and early veto threat from the Governor meant the bill was bound for an uphill battle. Coloradans across the state took notice and came together to push for the bill, culminating in a broad coalition of more than 100 environmental, racial justice, public health, outdoor recreation, business, youth, and community organizations elevating the need for climate justice. It was this coalition that helped HB21-1266 absorb elements of SB21-200, cross the finish line, and ensure environmental justice and disproportionately impacted communities are centered, not sacrificed, in climate action. It is this larger, more inclusive, and more powerful coalition that will hold the state accountable in future rulemakings, legislative sessions, and implementation.
Danish energy giant Ørsted has canceled plans for the Hornsea 4 offshore wind farm, dealing a major blow to the UK’s renewable energy ambitions.
Hornsea 4, at a massive 2.4 gigawatts (GW), would have become one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world, generating enough clean electricity to power over 1 million UK homes. But Ørsted announced that it’s abandoning the project “in its current form.”
“The adverse macroeconomic developments, continued supply chain challenges, and increased execution, market, and operational risks have eroded the value creation,” said Rasmus Errboe, group president and CEO of Ørsted.
Reuters reported that Ørsted’s cancellation of Hornsea 4 would result in a projected loss of up to 5.5 billion Danish crowns ($837.85 million) in breakaway fees and asset write-downs. The company’s market value has declined by 80% since its peak in 2021.
The cancellation highlights significant challenges currently facing offshore wind development in Europe, particularly in the UK. The combination of higher material costs, inflation, and global financial instability has made large-scale renewable projects increasingly difficult to finance and complete.
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Ørsted’s decision is a significant setback to the UK’s energy transition goals. The UK currently has around 15 GW of offshore wind, and Hornsea 4’s size would have provided almost 7% of the additional capacity needed for the UK’s 50 GW by 2030 target, according to The Times. Losing this immense project off the Yorkshire coast could hamper the UK’s pace of reducing dependency on fossil fuels, especially amid volatile global energy markets.
The UK government reiterated its commitment to renewable energy, promising to work closely with industry leaders to overcome financial and logistical hurdles. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told reporters in Norway that the UK is “still committed to working with Orsted to seek to make Hornsea 4 happen by 2030.”
Ørsted says it remains committed to its other UK-based projects, including the Hornsea 3 wind farm, which is expected to generate around 2.9 GW once completed at the end of 2027. Despite the challenges, the company emphasized its ongoing commitment to the British renewable market, pointing to the critical need for policy support and economic stability to ensure future developments.
Yet, the cancellation of Hornsea 4 demonstrates that even flagship renewable projects are vulnerable in the face of economic pressures and global uncertainties, which have been heightened under the Trump administration in the US.
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The Tesla Roadster appears to be quietly disappearing after years of delay. is it ever going to be made?
I may have jinxed it with Betteridge’s Law of Headlines, which suggests any headline ending in a question mark can be answered with “no.”
The prototype for the next-generation Tesla Roadster was first unveiled in 2017, and it was supposed to come into production in 2020, but it has been delayed every year since then.
It was supposed to get 620 miles (1,000 km) of range and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds.
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It has become a sort of running joke, and there are doubts that it will ever come to market despite Tesla’s promise of dozens of free new Roadsters to Tesla owners who participated in its referral program years ago.
Tesla uses the promise of free Roadsters to help generate billions of dollars worth of sales, which Tesla owners delivered, but the automaker never delivered on its part of the agreement.
Furthermore, many people placed deposits ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 to reserve the vehicle, which was supposed to hit the market 5 years ago.
“With respect to Roadster, we’ve completed most of the engineering. And I think there’s still some upgrades we want to make to it, but we expect to be in production with Roadster next year. It will be something special.”
He said that Tesla had completed “most of the engineering”, but he initially said the engineering would be done in 2021 and that was already 3 years after the prototype was unveiled and a year after it was supposed to be in production:
There was one small update about the Roadster in Tesla’s financial results last month.
The automaker has a table of all its vehicle production, and the Roadster was updated from “in development” to “design development” in the table:
It’s not clear if that’s progress or Tesla is just rephrasing it. Either way, it is not “construction”, which makes it unlikely that the Roadster is going into production this year.
If ever…
Electrek’s Take
It looks like Tesla owes about 80 Tesla Roadsters for free to Tesla owners who referred purchases, and it owes significant discounts on hundreds of units.
It’s hard for me to believe that Tesla is not delivering the new Roadster because the vehicle program would start about $100 million in the red, but at this point, I have no idea. It very well might be the reason.
However, I think it’s more likely that Tesla is just terrible at bringing multiple vehicle programs to market simultaneously. Case in point: it launched a single new vehicle in the last five years.
At this point, I think it’s more likely that the Roadster will never happen. It will join other Tesla products like the Cybertruck Range Extender.
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The 2025 Lucid Air isn’t just any luxury sedan. It’s the world’s most efficient car with over 400 miles of range. After introducing new discounts this month, Lucid is offering over $20,000 in savings on select 2025 Air models.
Lucid Air EV discounts top $20,000 in May
In the first quarter, the Lucid Air was the best-selling EV and the third top-selling sedan overall in its segment, including gas-powered cars.
After launching the 2025 Air Pure last summer, Lucid claimed it was the “world’s most efficient car” at 5.0 miles of range per kWh. That translates to over 420 miles of EPA-estimated range and the highest MPGe rating of any EV at 146 MPGe.
Lucid introduced new discounts this month, making the 2025 Air significantly more affordable. The 2025 Lucid Air Touring is available with up to $20,500 in savings with leases starting at just $599 for 36 months.
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The promo includes a $1,000 on-site bonus, a $2,000 conquest offer, a $10,000 Air Credit, and a $7,500 EV credit.
Other trims, including the Lucid Air Pure and Lucid Air Grand Touring, offer discounts of up to $18,000 and $15,500, respectively.
2025 Lucid Air offers (Source: Lucid)
The 2025 Lucid Air Touring starts at $78,900 with 620 HP and 406 miles of range. Lucid is offering 2025 Air Pure models from $69,900, with up to 420 miles of range. The Grand Touring gets up to 512 miles with prices starting at $110,900.
Lucid increased its Tesla trade-in allowance this month, which can save you an additional $4,000. To take advantage of the deals, you must take delivery by May 31, 2025.
That’s based on an MSRP of $94,900 with a down payment of $8,030. Later this year, Lucid will launch the lower-priced Touring model, starting at $79,900.
Ready to check out Lucid’s luxury EVs for yourself? You can use our links below to view current offers on Lucid Air and Gravity models in your area.
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