During the first three months of 2026, 53% of electricity in Colorado came from renewable sources, up from 43% in 2025, according to an Energy Information Administration report filed in May. This 50% figure leaves much work for Colorado to do by 2050. The roadmap to much higher levels of renewables by 2030 is reasonably clear. Much of the wind and solar needed to get that far has already been planned and approved. Achieving the 2050 goal of 100% net-zero emissions set by state legislators will be a greater challenge. The technology exists today, but not at acceptable costs. Innovations in technology and perhaps economic models will be necessary.

Get a summary in this article of the Colorado history of how renewables accounted for just 2.6% of electricity generation in 2004. In 2019, the state passed laws mandating that Xcel Energy, most importantly, and other “large” providers for electricity, reduce emissions associated with power production by 80% by 2030.