U.S. West: The Next Energy Nexus

Abstract

DOI 10.1515/cjpp-2013-0047 Calif. J. Politics Policy 2014; 6(1): 127–151 Sandra K. Davis* and Andrew R. Kear U.S. West: The Next Energy Nexus Abstract: Federal and state policies have historically privileged fossil fuel devel- opment in the western US. Presently, these abundant conventional energy sources remain important economic contributors to western state and federal coffers but rising energy demand, calls for energy independence, and climate change concerns bring conventional energy into conflict with next generation renew- able energy. In the open policy terrain afforded by federalism, western states are leading the way through this intercurrence, or intervening time, when politics simultaneously promote conventional and renewable energy policies. Our central research goal is to chronicle and explain this energy policy intercurrence through the conceptual lenses of resource abundance, path dependence, and federalism. The state of western US energy policy will remain in flux as the intercurrence of two energy policy paradigms plays out through the first half of the 21st century and western states remain at the policy nexus. Keywords: energy policy; fossil fuel; next generation energy policy; renewable energy; western states. *Corresponding author: Sandra K. Davis, Political Science, Colorado State University, Campus Delivery 1782, Ft. Collins, Colorado 80525, USA, e-mail: sandra.davis@colostate.edu Andrew R. Kear: Political Science/Environment and Sustainability, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA 1 Introduction Long-standing state and federal policies promoting development of the U.S. West’s abundant energy resources drive the political institutions and attendant energy policies down a conventional, predominately fossil fuel, path. Presently, these conventional energy sources remain important economic contributors to western state and federal treasuries but rising energy demand, calls for energy independence, and climate change concerns bring conventional energy into conflict with next generation renewable energy. Next generation energy policies like state-level renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and executively driven wind and solar projects on public lands encourage development of these abundant western renewable energy sources. These new energy policies rest uneasily upon