Energy
Colorado contains abundant renewable and nonrenewable energy resources. Renewable energy resources include wind, solar, hydroelectricity, and geothermal energy. Nonrenewable energy resources include oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium. The state presently generates electricity from a combination of coal, natural gas, and, increasingly, renewable sources. Geology plays an important part in locating appropriate sites and raw materials for many energy resources, as well as determining safe disposal sites for the waste products of energy development.
The CGS has conducted scientific studies associated with energy resources on a state-wide or location-specific basis including geologic mapping of potential oil- and gas-bearing rock formations, understanding geothermal heat flows, and the characterization of coal reserves. The CGS is not a regulatory agency, rather, it provides an important research platform to support other state agencies that regulate resource extraction in the state. We maintain a sizable archive of reports on oil and gas, oil shale, coalbed methane, uranium, and geothermal resources extending back to the 1890s. We also publish an annual report on the state of the mineral and energy industry in the state.
