Colorado Energy Policy Highlights

Southwest Renewable Energy ConferenceSanta Fe, NM, September 15, 2010

Mona Newton, Central Regional Representative

COLORADO’S NEW ENERGY ECONOMY

•A national model for creating jobs, attracting business and producing innovative clean-energy technologies. $458 M in VC capital in 2008

•Nearly 17,000 Coloradans now work in renewable energy and energy research jobs in Colorado, the fourth-highest concentration in the country.

•Dozens of new businesses like Vestas Wind Systems, Siemens Wind, Abound Solar, Ascent Solar and Solix Biofuels are growing and adding jobs in Colorado.

•Colorado has nearly quadrupled the amount of wind power on the grid and we expect to double that by 2020.

Colorado State Energy Policies

Since 2007 – 57 different pieces of legislation to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy have been passed and signed into law.

In 2010 14 bills were signed that support e.e. and r.e.

THE GOVERNOR’S ENERGY OFFICE

The GEO plays a critical role in charting Colorado’s leading role advancing the New Energy Economy.

• Work with communities, utilities, private and public organizations, and individuals to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean energy technologies

• 45 total staff members

Colorado State Energy Policies2010 Highlights

• HB 1001 Increased the RPS from 20% by 2020 to 30% by 2020. Affects the Investor Owned Utilities.

• SB 1328 – New Energy Jobs Creation Act (aka PACE)

• HB 1065 - Incent Utilities to convert from Coal to Natural Gas

• HB 1342 – Community Solar Gardens bill

HB 1001 - RPS

• Colorado’s renewable energy standard increases from 20% for Investor Owned Utilities to 30% by 2020.

Highlights:

• Creates and preserves tens of thousands of jobs over the next decade

• preserves distributed generation requirement that will create 100,000 solar rooftops.

• second highest RPS in the nation and highest in the Rocky Mountain West.

• Public Utilities Commission will consider ‘Best Value’ factors such as employment of Colorado workers

• creates a certification standard requirement for solar installers.

SB 1328 New Energy Jobs Creation Act

• Creates a statewide district called the New Energy Improvement District for the purposes of promoting and financing Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs.

• A county must opt-into by resolution the District before its residents can participate in the program.  This bill attempts to provide scalability with a statewide program that cannot as easily be achieved with a county-by-county approach.

HB 1342 Solar Gardens Bill

• Allows fractionally owned solar farms within Investor Owned Utility service territory. This allows renters, homeowners without solar access and business alike to own a portion of a solar farm. The legislation also directs the Public Utilities Commission to adopt rules under which this program will be managed. A ‘Solar Garden’ is 2 Megawatts capacity or smaller, owned by 10 or more customers, and located in the same county that the co-owners reside.

HB 1365 Incentive to utilities to convert coal fired power plants to natural gas

• Requires Investor Owned Utilities to replace, retrofit or retire coal-fired electric generating units with natural gas or lower or non-emitting fuel.

• This will allow Colorado to use its own natural gas resources to create clean power and will create thousands of new jobs for Coloradans.  It better positions Colorado to handle looming federal air quality regulations.  It will replace 900 MW of coal-fired power plants 5 in the metro area and 1 in Grand Junction area.