Colorado ranks high among states weaning themselves off oil

It may not seem apparent at the pump, where local motorists are spending $50 or more for a tank of gas, but Colorado ranks high among states doing the most to wean themselves from oil addiction, according to a study released Tuesday.

Colorado ranked ninth out of 50 states for reducing motorists' dependency on fuel, thereby reducing their vulnerability to gas price spikes, according to a second annual report by the Natural Resources Defense Council. California came in first, and Mississippi was last.

The reason? Colorado has joined the bandwagon of states promoting clean and efficient vehicles, alternative fuels and other energy solutions.

As a result, Coloradans spend about 4.5 percent of their annual income on gasoline — an average of $1,835.95 a year — compared with Mississippi, the most vulnerable state in the nation, where residents spend nearly 8 percent of their annual income on gasoline, the report said.

But Stan Dempsey, president of the Colorado Petroleum Association, doesn't buy into the report's premise that prices at the pump correlate to renewable energy initiatives.

"What that tries to do is suspend the laws of supply and demand," he said. "Colorado is better situated in terms of gas and diesel prices because of its oil and gas infrastructure."

Dempsey said Colorado's average gas prices usually lag behind the national average because the state has an oil refinery in Commerce City owned by Suncor Energy, which supplies about 30 percent of the state's gasoline. Colorado also has five pipelines that feed the Denver and Colorado Springs market, and produces natural gas and crude oil, he said.

"Our association has members who are in the renewable industry and at the same time are either refiners or producers of oil and natural gas," Dempsey said. "I don't think you can take one energy source and pit it against another. Our industry believes you need all sources of energy to meet the ever-growing demand."

But it's not just supply that the Natural Resources Defense Council considered in its study. Laws promoting clean and efficient vehicles pushed Colorado to a high standing in the report, said Deron Lovaas, transportation policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. The New York City-based nonprofit has 1.2 million members and addresses public health and environmental issues.

Among the new policies, Gov. Bill Ritter this year called for a statewide standard for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions as part of his Climate Action Plan.

Colorado also won points for offering tax incentives for hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicle buyers, providing state-sponsored grants for industry research and development and improving the efficiency of its state fleet. In April, Ritter asked government employees to reduce petroleum usage by 25 percent.

An improved mass transit system, particularly along the Front Range, and progress by the Governor's Biofuels Coalition also have benefited motorists, said Megan Castle, director of communications for the Governor's Energy Office.

"Citizens are looking for ways to reduce consumption, and we have alternative fuels and alternative transportation available," she said.

The Biofuels Coalition has spearheaded the proliferation of biofuels stations, which now number 72 in Colorado with about 20 more planned, Castle said. There were 13 stations selling E85 and biodiesel in February 2007, when the coalition kicked off a plan to increase locations that sell the alternative fuels. The state provided tax incentives for businesses to add the pumps, which helped generate interest, she said. Biofuel sales statewide are now at about 1 million gallons a month, Castle said.

Other factors considered in the study included how much driving residents in each state do to meet daily needs, the efficiency of vehicles driven in the state and the average income of drivers.

"The vulnerability of drivers to gasoline price hikes is especially relevant in the era of $4 a gallon gasoline," Lovaas said. "Some states are really taking the lead - California is the only state to adopt low-carbon fuel standards, which will dramatically reduce oil use. Washington state has a series of targets to reduce traffic growth over time, which also will reduce how much consumers pay for gasoline. States can do plenty to address oil addiction; unfortunately, only a short list of states are taking advantage of such policies."

For more information on the report, go to www.nrdc.org.