Author: Kathy Fackler
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Decades of Permitting Frustrations: Why Reform Can’t Wait
Co-authored with Delta County Commissioner Wendell A. Koontz. America’s energy permitting system is costing us time, money, and opportunity. The surprising part? Republicans, Democrats, industry, labor, local governments, and conservation groups agree it’s time for reform. Read why this rare bipartisan moment matters and why Congress needs to act this year.
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Clear Eyes, Strong Hearts
If you’ve been feeling unmoored lately, you’re not alone. This piece is about how we find our footing again—through honesty, courage, and everyday acts of integrity that remind us what it means to show up as citizens.
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What I’ll Tell My Granddaughter About Energy and Earth Day
I’ll meet my first granddaughter this summer. One day, I’ll tell her about 2016 — when the world made a promise on climate — and what happened next as ambition met reality and the real work of building began.
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Ten Years from Now: Which Energy Future Did We Choose?
In 2036, today’s political fights will be footnotes. What won’t fade is the energy system we built—or failed to build. As electricity demand surges, America faces a stark choice: predictable rules that unlock all-of-the-above energy, or a future defined by cancelled projects, higher costs, and missed opportunity.
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Making Climate Policy Work in a Changing World
Colorado should lead on climate—but not by pretending we can decarbonize in isolation or on a fixed schedule no matter the cost. A durable climate policy must balance emissions reductions with affordability, reliability, and fairness for today’s Coloradans and future generations.
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What Colorado can teach Washington about energy
Co-authored with Delta County Commissioner Wendell A. Koontz – In Delta County, a solar project that once divided neighbors became a model for how to build trust, protect land, and move clean energy forward. Washington could learn a thing or two.
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Energy security starts at home: Colorado families should invest in tech now
Investing in home energy efficiency upgrades like heat pumps and solar panels protects families from volatile energy prices while strengthening Colorado’s electrical grid—and federal incentives expire at the end of 2025.
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How policy volatility could break America’s power grid
America’s energy policy is starting to feel like a game of Calvinball – the anything-goes sport from Calvin and Hobbes where the rules change mid-play to favor whoever’s holding the ball. That’s the reality for utilities and energy developers trying to plan in an era of constant surprises.
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After America’s great energy divorce, what’s next?
The world is moving toward cleaner, cheaper, more distributed energy whether America leads or follows. The question isn’t whether this transition will happen — it’s whether American innovation, American workers, and American companies will drive it.
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Welcome to Powering Forward
Powering Forward is about navigating changing conditions in these uncertain times. It’s human-focused and hopeful, a space where energy, climate, and community come together, told through the lens of Western Colorado and the policies that shape it.
Powering Forward 