Opinion: COVID Opened the Door to New Energy Thinking. We Haven’t Stepped Through It

Energy production systems in the United States are vulnerable to shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Texas super storm that shut down much of the state’s electrical grid in 2021.

These shocks theoretically present opportunities to invest in energy systems and make them more resilient. The pandemic, however, appears to have instead reinforced the status quo for both the oil and gas and renewables sectors, according to an op-ed in The Colorado Sun.

The op-ed was written by Tanya Heikkila and Christopher Weible, professors at the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver; Alex Ose-Kojo, assistant professor at the University of Tennessee; and Amy Pickle, director of the State Policy Program at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. In the piece, the authors review their finds from interviews with energy producers, nonprofits involved in energy advocacy, and regulators in Colorado.