The politics and dynamics of energy transitions: lessons from Colorado's (USA) “New Energy Economy”

This article examines the political dynamics of energy transitions in a case study of the State of Colorado's (USA) efforts to create a “New Energy Economy” through a series of legislative and administrative actions between January 2007 and January 2011. Drawing on an emerging literature on the politics of social-technical transitions, we argue that transitions involve contestation between and within coalitions of incumbents and challengers, which result in policies that benefit particular actors and a reconfiguration of the core values around which transition policies are articulated. We explore these dynamics through an analysis of the process that led to the adoption of Colorado's 30% Renewable Energy Standard in 2010, which is often held up as one of the crowning achievements of the New Energy Economy initiative, in order to illustrate how these political debates shape the nature and trajectory of the transition process.