Oil prices surged Monday following the weekend’s military strikes on the major oil-producing country by the U.S. and Israel. U.S. oil rose 6.3% to $71.23 per barrel, while the primary global price rose 6.7% to $77.74 per barrel.

If the war lasts for another week, oil might increase to about $100 a barrel, which likely would drive up gas prices nationally for U.S. motorists to about $3.75 or $4 dollars a gallon, said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, a professor and vice president for energy and innovation at the University of Houston in Houston.

But if the attacks on Iran last a month, Krishnamoorti said a barrel of oil could soar to $150 and gas could jump to $5 a gallon. He said the last time oil was at $150 a barrel was in 2008, before The Great Recession and technological advances in drilling unlocked more oil and gas.

Even if the war drags on for a while, Krishnamoorti doesn’t foresee the long gas lines of the 1970s. Arab members of OPEC halted the flow of oil to the U.S. during the Arab-Israeli war in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel.

“We have plenty of production, and we are pretty well self-sufficient, along with Canada and Mexico. We don’t need to import oil from anywhere else, except those two countries,” Krishnamoorti said.

President Donald Trump said Monday the administration had projected the war could take four to five weeks, “but we have the capability to go far longer than that.”

The U.S. produces approximately 14 million barrels of oil a day, Krishnamoorti said. Iran produces 3.5 million to 4 million barrels a day. However, Iran controls part of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, through which 20% of the world’s oil supply passes.

While Americans are unlikely to see long lines at gas stations if war on Iran extends into weeks, they are likely to pay higher prices, he added.

Gas prices in Colorado were ticking up before the strikes on Iran were launched over the weekend, said Skyler McKinley, spokesman for Colorado AAA.

“Folks are going on road trips, spring break is kicking off,” McKinley said.

And metro Denver stations will soon switch to the “summer blend” of gas, reformulated fuel that burns cleaner and releases fewer toxic emissions. Stations in a nine-county region must sell the gas in the summer because the area doesn’t meet federal air quality standards.

McKinley said the reformulated gas will add about 15 cents a gallon.

“Will consumers see more expensive gas prices in the coming weeks? Absolutely. That was going to be the case before anything happened in Iran, because it was already the case structurally,” McKinley said.

The average price for gas statewide Monday was $2.88, up 2 cents from Sunday. A month ago, the price was $2.58 a gallon. A year ago, a gallon of gas cost $2.96.

McKinley said gas prices had been lower recently due in part to price wars between new gas stations in the south Denver area.

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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Oil prices rose sharply Monday as disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz raised uncertainty about how U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran would affect supply to the world economy.

U.S. oil traded 7.6% higher at $72.12 per barrel, while international standard Brent was up 8.6% at $79.11 per barrel. Natural gas futures in Europe jumped more than 40% after Qatar, a major supplier, halted production due to the conflict.

Higher oil prices raise the prospect of costlier gasoline for U.S. drivers as well as increased prices for other goods at a time when people in many countries have been stung by inflation.

A key focus was the Strait of Hormuz at the southern end of the Persian Gulf, through which 20% of the world’s oil supply passes. Tanker traffic dropped sharply as satellite navigation systems were disrupted, data and analytics firm Kpler said on X. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center reported attacks on several vessels in the area on either side of the strait and warned of elevated electronic interference to systems that show where ships are.

A bomb-carrying drone boat struck a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, killing one mariner, Oman said.

Iran has been threatening vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz and is believed to have launched multiple attacks.

Saudi Arabia intercepted Iranian drones that attacked the Ras Tanura oil refinery near Dammam and the refinery was shut down as a precaution, Saudi state television reported. Market attention has focused on whether the conflict will widen to other oil-producing countries in the region.

Oil price shock comes as US gas prices were already rising

The price of crude is the single largest factor in how much U.S. drivers pay for fuel — a highly political issue ahead of midterm Congressional elections. And higher oil prices are usually felt at the pump within a couple of weeks at most.

Gas prices are already rising ahead of the summer driving season as people travel more. The national average for a gallon (3.7 liters) of regular went up by more than 5 cents last week to $2.98, according to motoring club AAA.

Crude price increases are substantially reflected in pump prices in 20 days and a $10 per barrel increase typically results in around a 25 cent rise per gallon, according to 2019 research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

The price of crude has less impact in Europe, where taxes make up most of the price of fuel, but higher energy costs can affect prices across the economy. A sustained rise of $15 per barrel could add 0.5 percentage points to consumer prices in Europe, according to Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg bank.

No way around the Strait of Hormuz for much of the oil

There are pipelines that circumvent the strait, but they don’t have enough capacity to move all the oil that passes through the waterway. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates all depend on tankers to get the bulk of their oil to global markets.

Analysts say completely blocking the strait would hurt Iran too since all of its 1.6 million barrels per day pass through the strait. Most of that goes to China, where refineries are less concerned about U.S. sanctions that prevent Iran from selling its oil elsewhere.

The strait is also a key route for liquefied natural gas. European futures contracts for April delivery shot up to 45.46 euros ($53.26) on the ICE commodities exchange after QatarEnergy said it would stop its production of liquefied natural gas. The state-owned firm blamed the war for the decision.

Qatar is a major gas supplier for Europe, which relies on shipments of liquefied gas, or LNG, to replace supplies of Russian pipeline gas lost due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Long-term disruption could send prices higher

Monday’s price increase was within the $5-$10 per barrel range expected by analysts based simply on the fear factor associated with the outbreak of war. And some war concerns were already reflected in the price before the conflict started.

However, long-term disruption to ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz could send prices even higher, and so could damage to oil infrastructure in other Gulf countries. Meanwhile, a shorter conflict in which disruptions are easily reversible could mean the current price spike won’t last.

“The key question for the global economy is obvious: Will the Strait of Hormuz be effectively closed for oil and gas exports for more than a few weeks?” Schmieding said. “If so, it would hurt global growth and raise global inflation noticeably. But I would expect Trump to go to great lengths to prevent a lasting surge in energy prices that could hurt him at home ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November.”

He forecast oil prices would return to $65-$70 per barrel after a near-term spike.

Uncertainty and volatility are likely to continue

Iran’s attack on the Ras Tanura refinery represents a major escalation, a Middle East analyst said, with Iran demonstrating that key Gulf energy infrastructure is within its reach, and investor sentiment likely to worsen.

Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said Iran’s goal is to raise the economic costs of the conflict for Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, hoping that these countries will pressure the U.S. and Israel to de‑escalate.

He said that the coming days and weeks will be marked by uncertainty and volatility in global markets, with oil prices likely to push past $80 per barrel.

“If we start to see additional direct attacks against energy infrastructure, not just in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, but in other countries in the region, then that’s when the market will start to think about a push toward $90 and perhaps even beyond.”

Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — On inflation, immigration, tariffs and matters of war and peace, President Donald Trump presented a frequently distorted account of the state of the nation Tuesday as he claimed a “turnaround for the ages” and myriad achievements that don’t pass scrutiny.

Trump has spent the last year boasting of his accomplishments while mocking the record of his predecessor, Joe Biden. But much of this bluster has been based on misinformation, which he again fell back on during his State of the Union address.

Here’s a closer look at the facts:

THE ECONOMY

CLAIM: “When I last spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis, with a stagnant economy.”

THE FACTS: Not quite. Voters were unhappy with high inflation in the 2024 election, but the U.S. economy was far from stagnant. The U.S. gross domestic product rose 2.8% in 2024 after adjusting for inflation. That’s a stronger pace of growth than the 2.2% achieved last year during the start of Trump’s second term.

___

CLAIM: “Incomes are rising fast, the roaring economy is roaring like never before.”

THE FACTS: Not so. After-tax incomes, adjusted for inflation, rose just 0.9% in 2025, down from 2.2% in 2024, Biden’s last year in office. The annual gain in Trump’s first year is the smallest since 2022, when inflation soared and caused Americans’ inflation-adjusted income to drop.

Wages and salaries are the largest component of incomes, and their growth has slowed as companies have sharply slowed hiring. Workers typically command smaller wage gains in such an environment.

INVESTMENT

CLAIM: “I secured commitments for more than $18 trillion pouring in from all over the globe.”

THE FACTS: Trump has presented no evidence that he’s secured this much domestic or foreign investment in the U.S. Based on statements from various companies, foreign countries and the White House’s own website, that figure appears to be exaggerated, highly speculative and far higher than the actual sum. The White House website offers a far lower number, $9.6 trillion, and that figure appears to include some investment commitments made during the Biden administration.

A study published in January raised doubts about whether more than $5 trillion in investment commitments made last year by many of America’s biggest trading partners will actually materialize and questions how it would be spent if it did.

JOBS

CLAIM: “More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country.”

THE FACTS: Yes, but the number of Americans with jobs always rises as the population grows. The relevant figure is the proportion of Americans with jobs, which has fallen significantly in the last quarter-century, partly because the workforce is aging and more people are retired. The proportion of Americans with jobs peaked at 64.7% in April 2000, and was 59.8% in January.

The unemployment rate is a low 4.3%, but was lower when Biden left office in January 2025, at 4%. During Biden’s presidency, the rate fell to a 50-year low of 3.4%.

FOREIGN WARS

CLAIM: “My first 10 months I ended eight wars.”

THE FACTS: This statistic, which Trump frequently cites, is highly exaggerated.

Although he has helped mediate relations among many nations, his impact isn’t as clear-cut as he makes it seem. In at least two instances of peace he claims credit for achieving, there were no wars to end: no fighting between Serbia and Kosovo, and friction rather than fighting between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The other wars Trump counts as those that he has solved were between Israel and Hamas, Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, Rwanda and Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand. His influence varied in those conflicts.

TARIFFS

CLAIM: Tariff revenues are “saving our country, the kind of money we’re taking in.”

THE FACTS: Though Trump has imposed massive tax hikes on imports, they’re not sizable enough to make a dent in the government’s annual budget deficits. Nor have the tariffs corresponded with manufacturing job gains.

Before the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs based on an emergency declaration, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that his new taxes would raise $3 trillion over 10 years, or $300 billion annually.

That’s not enough to cover the cost of his $4.7 trillion in tax cuts, including additional interest cuts, that favored companies and the wealthy. Nor is it enough to pay down an annual budget deficit that last year was $1.78 trillion.

___

CLAIM: “Tariffs paid for by foreign countries will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern day system of income tax.’’

THE FACTS: Not likely. Under Trump, tariff revenues have swelled — to $195 billion in the budget year that ended Sept. 30 from $77 billion the year before. But the import taxes accounted for less than 4% of federal revenue. Income taxes and payroll taxes that finance Social Security and Medicare account for 84%.

MEDICINE

CLAIM: “I took prescription drugs, a very big part of health care, from the highest price in the entire world to the lowest. That’s a big achievement. The result is price differences of 300, 400, 500, 600% and more.”

THE FACTS: This is impossible. Although the Trump administration has taken steps to lower drug prices, cutting them by more than 100% would theoretically mean that people are being paid to take medications.

Geoffrey Joyce, director of health policy at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center, said in August that this claim is “total fiction” by the president. He agreed that it would amount to drug companies paying customers, rather than the other way around.

CRIME

CLAIM: “Last year, the murder rate saw its single largest decline in recorded history. This is the biggest decline. Think of it in recorded history, the lowest number in over 125 years.”

THE FACTS: Trump takes credit for a significant decrease in violent crime during 2025, claiming the murder rate in the U.S. dropped to its lowest in 125 years. But this is misleading. Crime had already been trending down in recent years.

A study released in January by the independent Council on Criminal Justice, which collected data from 35 U.S. cities on homicides, showed a 21% decrease in the homicide rate from 2024 to 2025.

The report noted that when nationwide data for jurisdictions of all sizes is reported by the FBI later this year, there is a strong possibility that homicides in 2025 will drop to about 4 per 100,000 residents. That would be the lowest rate ever recorded in law enforcement or public health data going back to 1900.

FBI reports for 2023 and 2024 show significant reductions in violent crimes.

Crime surged during the coronavirus pandemic, with homicides increasing nearly 30% in 2020 over the previous year, the largest one-year jump since the FBI began keeping records. But violent crime dropped to near pre-pandemic levels around 2022 when Biden was president.

IMMIGRATION

CLAIM: “We will always allow people to come in legally, people that will love our country and will work hard to maintain our country.”

THE FACTS: Trump has actually taken steps to restrict who can emigrate to the U.S., often in the name of protecting national security.

He suspended the refugee program on his first day in office and in October resumed the program but only in limited numbers for white South Africans.

Trump has also placed restrictions on who can travel or emigrate to the U.S. from nearly 40 countries around the world. Many of those countries are in Africa.

TAXES

CLAIM: “With the great big beautiful bill, we gave you no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security.”

THE FACTS: Though the president frequently says his big tax cut bill means no tax on Social Security, that’s not true for everyone. Not all Social Security beneficiaries will be able to claim the deduction, which lasts until 2029.

Those who won’t be able to do so include the lowest-income seniors who already don’t pay taxes on Social Security, those who choose to claim their benefits before they reach age 65 and those above a defined income threshold. The deductions also phase out as income increases.

ELECTIONS

CLAIM: “I’m asking you to approve the Save America Act to stop illegal aliens and other who are unpermitted persons from voting in our sacred American elections. The cheating is rampant in our elections.”

THE FACTS: He and his allies have never produced evidence of rampant election cheating. Experts say voter fraud is extremely rare, and very few noncitizens ever slip through the cracks.

For example, a recent review in Michigan identified 15 people who appear to be noncitizens who voted in the 2024 general election, out of more than 5.7 million ballots cast in the state. Of those, 13 were referred to the attorney general for potential criminal charges. One involved a voter who has since died, and the final case remains under investigation.

1776

CLAIM: “The revolution that began in 1776 has not ended. It still continues because the flame of liberty and independence still burns in the heart of every American patriot.”

THE FACTS: To be clear, the American Revolution started the previous year, on April 19, 1775. The colonies declared independence in 1776. It ended Sept. 3, 1783.

Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana, Fatima Hussein, Josh Boak, Paul Wiseman, Christopher Rugaber, Elliot Spagat and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

The ECMC board, which regulates oil and gas, will hold a public hearing at 9 a.m. March 18 via Zoom to consider the enforcement action. Monday’s announcement follows a monthslong investigation into the incident at the Bishop well site April 6, 2025, near Galeton, which is 22 miles northeast of Greeley.

The ECMC said the blowout happened when well a barrier failed and there was a loss of control over the pressure in the wellbore. Thousands of barrels of crude oil, natural gas and fracking water, which contains chemicals and other substances, spewed from the well pad, officials said.

Weld County and Galeton first responders and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency went to the scene. State officials said contractors for the company stopped the flow of fluids four days after it started.

Chevron is responsible for remediating the affected area, which isn’t expected to be complete until spring 2030. ECMC said Chevron has submitted more than 1,000 analytical reports.

ECMC said six state regulations were violated during the incident.

The area covered under the cleanup includes 317 individual parcels within 1.5 miles of the well. Six parcels have been remediated to the state’s standards, officials said.

Chevron is responsible for all costs associated with the cleanup, ECMC said. The agency said it had no information about the operator’s remediation expenses or any claims by people affected by the blowout.

“Chevron has remained actively engaged with residents since the incident, recognizing that rebuilding trust takes time and sustained effort. We are committed to transparency, ongoing dialogue with the Galeton community, and moving forward together,” company spokeswoman Patty Errico said in an email.

Chevron’s work at Galeton Elementary School included extensive cleaning of the interior, exterior, playground equipment and the removal of gravel and mulch, Errico said. The school reopened April 22.

Errico said the company worked individually with all affected property owners and tenants, providing specialized teams to help answer questions and concerns. Case managers were assigned to personalize the approach.

“We regret the inconvenience this caused and are happy to share that residents were able to return to their homes,” Errico said.

Homes were evacuated and an unknown number of people were exposed to toxic air contaminants, said Andrew Klooster, Colorado field advocate for the environmental organization Earthworks.

“The fine proposed by ECMC is significant and it is important that ECMC will continue to monitor the cleanup efforts and that Chevron will bear the full costs of remediation,” he said.

Updated to add details about cleanup and ECMC hearing.

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The conservative-majority court agreed to take up a case from Boulder, among a series of lawsuits alleging the companies deceived the public about how fossil fuels contribute to climate change.

Governments around the country have sought damages totaling billions of dollars, arguing it’s necessary to help pay for rebuilding after wildfires, rising sea levels and severe storms worsened by climate change. The lawsuits come amid a wave of legal actions in states including California, Hawaii and New Jersey and worldwide seeking to leverage action through the courts.

The case out of Boulder County will likely have implications for those other lawsuits.

Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil appealed to the Supreme Court after Colorado’s highest court let the Boulder case proceed. The companies argue emissions are a national issue that should be heard in federal court, where similar suits have been tossed out.

Boulder’s landmark climate lawsuit against Suncor and Exxon can continue, Colorado Supreme Court rules

“The use of state law to address global climate change represents a serious threat to one of our Nation’s most critical sectors,” attorneys wrote.

“The use of state law to address global climate change represents a serious threat to one of our Nation’s most critical sectors,” attorneys wrote.

President Donald Trump's administration weighed in to support the companies and urge the justices to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court decision, saying it would mean “every locality in the country could sue essentially anyone in the world for contributing to global climate change.”

Trump, a Republican, criticized the lawsuits in an executive order, and the Justice Department has sought to head some off in court.

Attorneys for Boulder had agued that the litigation is still in early stages and should stay in state court. “There is no constitutional bar to states addressing in-state harms caused by out-of-state conduct, be it the negligent design of an automobile or sale of asbestos,” they wrote.

City officials said the case was about dealing with problems people are facing in Colorado. “Our case is, fundamentally, about fairness. Boulder is already experiencing the effects of a rapidly warming climate, and the financial burden of adaptation should not fall solely on local taxpayers," said Jonathan Koehn, its climate initiatives director.

The Supreme Court also asked the two sides to present arguments on whether the case is truly ready to be heard by the justices. Arguments are expected in the fall.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is seeking an estimated $2.7 billion appropriated to 13 states through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the Biden administration.

“This executive branch seems to think they have the power of the purse. They get to decide what’s funded. That’s not how our Constitution works,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who announced the lawsuit with California Attorney General Rob Bonta during a Wednesday news conference.

That’s why Colorado is suing the Trump administration for the 54th time, Weiser said.

“We’ve done it before, 57 other times,” Bonta said of his state’s lawsuits. “And today’s proof that we’ll do it again until Trump gets the message that California will not back down.”

The lawsuit said the federal funding terminated by the Department of Energy and the Office of Management and Budget is part of several billion dollars approved by Congress for “a broad array of funding for energy, technology and infrastructure development.”

In Colorado, Weiser said the approximately $600 million withheld includes nearly $300 million for Colorado State University to cut methane emissions from low-producing oil and gas wells.

More than $32 million was awarded to the Colorado School of Mines for the development of a carbon-storage hub in Pueblo. Another $8 million was approved for the development of new solar technology at the University of Colorado Boulder.

“Colorado is committed to a clean energy future, protecting our land, air and water, and the types of grants that are literally being undermined by this action is what we need to do,” Weiser said.

The administration is targeting Democratic-led states with its cut-off of money for programs, he added. Withholding grants from Democratic states while allowing grants to go to Republican states “is a classic arbitrary and capricious action that cannot stand.”

Bonta, Weiser and Washington Attorney General Nicholas Brown are leading the lawsuit. The other plaintiffs are Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Lawsuits against the administration signed onto by Weiser, a Democratic candidate for governor, include a challenge of President Donald Trump’s decision to move U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama; moves to cancel more than $25 million in public health grants; not releasing billions of dollars to build charging stations for electric vehicles; and a hold-up in money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A federal judge for the Northern District of Illinois issued a temporary restraining order Feb. 12 to keep the public health funds flowing, saying the states stood a good chance of proving the federal government violated the law.

Asked by reporters about the resources spent to fight the Trump administration in court, Weiser and Bonta said it has paid off for the states in terms of the return on dollars. Weiser said his office received an additional $600,000 in state funding, which is being used to work on federal litigation.

“We have protected over $1 billion in funding,” Weiser said.

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The PUC previously approved Xcel’s request to fast-track approval of wind, solar and energy storage projects to take advantage of federal incentives before they’re eliminated in the coming years. The PUC staff, the Colorado Energy Office, the Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate, and trade and environmental groups supported the company’s request.

But the state agencies and other supporters called on the PUC to reverse a decision to require more analysis of costs and benefits before giving the go-ahead for some of the proposals. They said any delays could threaten Xcel’s ability to qualify for the federal tax incentives before the deadline, driving up the cost of new energy facilities and costs for customers.

Xcel has said its proposed portfolio of projects could unlock approximately $5 billion in federal tax credits. The company said the more detailed analysis sought by regulators could delay the process and jeopardize landing the incentives.

The PUC voted to approve Xcel’s pursuit of 3,196 megawatts of mostly renewable energy projects. A 200-megawatt natural gas project is also planned.

Members will consider two more projects April 2, when Xcel is expected to provide more information. Approval of those two would increase the total new generation to 3,800 megawatts to 4,100 megawatts.

One megawatt can power a few hundred homes, depending on location, efficiency and other variables.

The PUC expressed concerns about the costs and benefits of locating the energy projects outside of metro Denver, versus inside the metro area. Members wanted more information about transmission lines needed to deliver power from more remote facilities.

PUC Chairman Eric Blank proposed locating more of the solar and storage facilities in the metro area to ensure delivery of enough power once all the state’s coal plants are closed as scheduled by the end of 2030.

Members Tom Plant and Megan Gilman warned that waiting for more data on transmission needs could cost Xcel the opportunity to receive federal incentives.

“We can’t allow the possibility of the tax benefits going away because we’re going to end up paying for that in the long run,” Plant said.

Gilman acknowledged that “the hardest thing of this process is the list of things we don’t know.”

“But that’s in part a result of the situation we’ve been put in, with this very fast wind-down of federal incentives, which directly impacts the costs of these resources,” Gilman said. “Every indication is that we will need more resources in the time to come. Even given these changes in federal policy, renewables still appear to be the cheapest.”

The most dramatic price increases have been for natural gas, Gilman added.

A tax and spending bill pushed by the Trump administration and passed by Congress in 2025 speeds up the phasing out of Biden-era federal tax credits for renewable energy projects. Under the law, wind and solar projects qualify for the tax credits of up to 30% only if construction starts before July 5 or they are placed in service by Dec. 31, 2027.

Xcel Energy appreciates the PUC’s discussion, which appears to facilitate the accelerated approval of a portfolio of needed generation resources, company spokeswoman Sydney Isenberg said.

“This outcome benefits our customers by securing much needed capacity to maintain safe and reliable service at significant cost savings of several billion dollars from the benefit of expiring tax credits,” Isenberg said.

The PUC will issue a written decision soon.

Updated Feb. 18, 2026, at 5 p.m. to add comment from Xcel Energy

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The National Laboratory of the Rockies let go 134 employees on Monday, the second time in less than a year that the facility formerly known as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, or NREL, has terminated staff.

David Glickson, a spokesman for the National Laboratory of the Rockies, told The Denver Post late Monday afternoon that the eliminated positions were in both research and operations. The lab operates under the U.S. Department of Energy and its main location is the 327-acre campus in Golden.

The lab also runs the National Wind Technology Center along Colorado 128 in Boulder County, where workers provide technical support needed to develop new wind turbine designs.

“These actions were taken to adjust to existing and projected funding levels and alignment with DOE priorities,” Glickson said. “We recognize the meaningful contributions of those impacted and the role they have played in advancing the laboratory’s work.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Glickson provided a breakdown of the layoffs by location. The bulk of the layoffs, 114, were of employees at the lab’s South Table Mountain Campus in Golden, with 18 workers laid off at the Flatirons Campus in Boulder and two at a research site in Fairbanks, Alaska. The national lab’s website says it has nearly 4,000 employees, including postdocs, researchers and interns.

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, whose district in Congress includes Golden, ripped into the Trump administration for its decision to cut more staff at the national lab.

“Donald Trump has consistently put our federal workforce on the chopping block,” the two-term Democrat said in a text message Monday evening. “These are people who work to make energy more affordable, conduct groundbreaking climate research, and keep our state up and running.”

She called the employees at the National Laboratory of the Rockies “some of our country’s brightest minds.”

“Trump’s backwards agenda is going to undo the progress we’ve made to combat the climate crisis and have cascading effects on our economy,” Pettersen wrote. “I’m deeply sorry to the employees whose livelihoods are now in jeopardy.”

The state’s Democratic U.S. senators, Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, also weighed in on the decision.

Bennet said the lab “has been leading the world on energy innovation for decades,” staffed by professionals who are “committed to upholding scientific integrity and the highest standards of excellence regardless of who is in office.”

“I am disappointed to see this announcement, and will continue fighting to ensure the lab retains its core capabilities and unrivaled expertise,” he said.

Hickenlooper said the Trump administration is “driving away some of the smartest and most innovative people in the country.”

“The cost of this reckless assault on science and innovation could not be higher,” he said. “Americans just need to look at their electricity bill.”

In May, the Trump administration slashed 114 positions at what was then known as the NREL campus in Golden. It renamed the lab in December, stripping the word “renewable” from its title, with Assistant Energy Secretary Audrey Robertson saying at the time, “we are no longer picking and choosing energy sources.”

A few months into Trump’s second term, the administration proposed slashing billions of dollars in federal funding for 2026, targeting projects such as renewable energy research and eliminating programs designed to combat climate change.

The national lab was created in the fallout of the 1973 oil crisis, which spiked the price of oil and limited imports to the United States. The lab was initially named the Solar Energy Research Institute under President Gerald Ford, a Republican, and in 1991 it was renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory by President George H.W. Bush, also a Republican.

The national lab has a wide array of laboratories working within it, including sites focused on research in advanced optical materials, fuel synthesis catalysis, hydrogen safety sensor testing, renewable fuels and lubricants and solar radiation.

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The Colorado Energy Office, the Utility Consumer Advocate office, the PUC staff and the Interwest Energy Alliance filed an emergency motion Tuesday. The motion said any delay in approving the proposal “could risk renewable energy projects not being built in the State and Colorado losing access to important financial benefits and resource adequacy benefits.”

Xcel Energy’s plan was already on a fast track. Regulators agreed to a request in August by the company, Colorado’s largest electric utility, to speed up consideration of a plan to add roughly 4,900 megawatts of new power generation.

Most of the power would come from wind and solar energy. A 1 megawatt facility could power a few hundred homes, based on such variables as the type of energy.

Xcel has said its proposed portfolio could unlock approximately $5 billion in federal tax credits. The Colorado Energy Office, consumer advocate’s office and PUC staffers joined Xcel’s push to expedite approval of the new energy sources.

But the state agencies said in their emergency motion this week that a recent commission decision adds more steps to the process and changes the criteria for selecting energy resources. The delays resulting from the additional steps could result in billions of dollars in incentives being left on the table, the filing said.

“This is a case where a well intentioned request by the Commissioners for additional analysis is counterproductive to maintaining a reliable grid at the lowest cost to customers,” Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy, said in an email.

PUC spokeswoman Megan Castle said the commission couldn’t comment on an open proceeding. The PUC is expected to consider the emergency motion in its weekly meeting Feb. 11.

Xcel said in a statement that while it didn’t sign onto the emergency request, it shares the state agencies’ interest in getting clarity as soon as possible.

“Time is of the essence, as the resources we seek are increasingly scarce and hard to procure,” the company said.

A tax and spending bill by the Trump administration and passed by Congress in 2025, speeds up the phasing out of Biden-era federal tax credits for renewable energy projects. Under the law, wind and solar projects qualify for the tax credits of up to 30% only if they are placed in service by Dec. 31, 2027, or construction starts before July 5.

Xcel said it received more than 160 bids to a request for proposals for the energy projects. “These projects bring geographic diversity, economic development benefits and increased reliability to communities across the state, ensuring customers continue receiving dependable energy service 24/7.”

In August, Gov. Jared Polis said he was committing the state to prioritizing clean energy projects and infrastructure. He pledged to remove administrative “barriers and bottlenecks” for renewable projects, including ones eligible for federal tax credits.

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Beth McDonald was appointed president and CEO and joined the board of directors, the companies said in a statement Friday. Blake McKenna was appointed as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The company, which will keep the name SM Energy, increased its board to 11 members: six from SM Energy and five from Civitas.

McDonald said completion of the deal marks the start of work “as one SM, a top 10 U.S. independent oil-focused producer” with a larger footprint across the highest-return shale basins, including a premier spot in the Permian Basin of southeastern New Mexico and West Texas.

The company is focused, McDonald said, on blending the two companies to unlock additional free cash flow and hitting a divestiture target of at least $1 billion over the next year.

The merger results in a net 823,000 acres in the West. The all-stock merger was announced in November.

SM Energy is involved in exploration and development of oil and natural gas in Texas and Utah.

Civitas Resources was focused on exploration and production of oil and gas in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico and the Denver-Julesburg Basin in northeast Colorado. The company formed in 2021 after Denver-based Bonanza Creek Energy and Extraction Oil and Gas merged. Later that year, Civitas acquired Denver-based Crestone Peak Resources.

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