Current law requires certain entities to file, or allows certain entities to voluntarily file, a clean energy plan to achieve an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions caused by the entity's electricity sales in Colorado by 2030, relative to 2005 levels (2030 emission reductions). The act repeals current law stating that clean energy plans submitted by a cooperative electric association or a municipally owned utility under certain circumstances are deemed approved by the public utilities commission (commission) and requiring the division of administration in the department of public health and environment (division) to consult with the commission in verifying a clean energy plan submitted by a cooperative electric association or a municipally owned utility. The act also repeals current law stating that voluntary submission of a clean energy plan by a cooperative electric association or a municipally owned utility does not alter the entity's regulatory status with respect to the commission. A municipally owned utility that has encountered challenges in achieving the 2030 emission reductions may submit to the division, no later than December 31, 2026, an updated clean energy plan that demonstrates achievement of the 2030 emission reductions by the earliest date possible on or after December 31, 2029, but no later than December 31, 2032. A municipally owned utility that submits an updated clean energy plan to the division must:Provide a detailed generation and transmission plan to the division with the updated clean energy plan;Provide an annual report to the division beginning January 1, 2028, and continuing each year until December 31, 2033, that contains certain information related to the updated clean energy plan;Cease burning coal by December 31, 2032; andSeek to achieve certain additional reductions in greenhouse gas emissions without impairing the municipally owned utility's ability to maintain certain electric reliability standards. The updated clean energy plan must be verified by the division.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The Colorado Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) is a nonprofit institution with experience administering clean energy financing programs and is the designated green bank for the federal environmental protection agency's region 8. The CCEF administers an on-bill repayment program (program) to help finance certain energy-related upgrades installed at a utility customer's premises that are associated with the utility meter. Under the program, in partnership with Colorado-based utilities, the CCEF finances energy-related upgrades that are then repaid through a customer's monthly utility bill payments. The bill directs the state treasurer to, on August 15, 2026, execute a loan agreement with the CCEF for a low-interest loan of $50 million from the unclaimed property trust fund.The purpose of the loan is to capitalize and expand the CCEF's on-bill repayment program and to accelerate utility adoption of the program. The Colorado energy office is required to review the design of the program before August 1, 2026. The bill specifies certain requirements for the program and for a utility to access the funding for the program, including requirements related to disclosures, notices, transfers of responsibility for an on-bill repayment obligation, and interest rates. The CCEF is required to submit annual reports to the joint budget committee, the Colorado energy office, and the state treasurer detailing the deployment of the program.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Section 2 of the bill allows local governments and certain special districts authorized to impose property taxes (local taxing entities) to tax certain land and improvements thereon at different mill levy rates, provided that the mill levy rate for the improvements is less than or equal to the mill levy rate for the land. A local taxing entity may not impose different mill levy rates for agricultural land, land used for renewable energy production, land subject to a perpetual conservation easement, leaseholds and lands producing oil or gas, producing mines or nonproducing mining claims, or state-assessed land. Nothing in section 2 allows a local taxing entity to impose property taxes on the assessed value of land and the assessed value of improvements thereon at different mill levy rates in a manner that is not consistent with section 20 of article X of the state constitution or any statutory limitation on the local taxing entity's mill levy rates or total property tax revenue. Section 3 requires boards of county commissioners and other local taxing entities to include with their certifications of all property tax levies the individual certification of any local taxing entity required by section 5 regarding the different mill levy rates used for land and improvements thereon by the local taxing entity. Section 4 updates the tax and levy rate information required to be made publicly available to include the specific, different mill levy rates used for land and improvements thereon, if applicable. Section 5 modifies the duty of local taxing entities to certify their property tax levy to the board of county commissioners to require any local taxing entity that imposes property taxes on the assessed value of land and the assessed value of improvements thereon at different rates, as allowed by section 2 , to specify those mill levy rates in the local taxing entity's certification of its levy.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
Under current law, each subscriber to a community solar garden receives a net metering credit to their electric bill. The community solar subscriber organization can choose between a fixed bill credit or a bill credit that is adjusted annually. The act states that, on and after October 1, 2026, a subscriber organization may choose a fixed bill credit for the subscriber organization's income-qualified subscribers and a bill credit that changes annually for the subscriber organization's other customers. The public utility providing the bill credit must adjust the fixed bill credit annually to ensure that the credit remains aligned with changes in electricity rates over time. A public utility is permitted under current law to recover its prudently incurred costs to facilitate a timely interconnection of a distributed energy resource. The act prohibits a public utility from requiring an interconnection customer to pay the costs associated with interconnection facilities and upgrades until 30 days before the public utility incurs the costs. The act allows a public utility to require an interconnection customer to provide security for the estimated full costs of interconnection at the time of mutual execution of an interconnection agreement. The act requires a public utility with more than 500,000 customers in the state to, on or before August 15, 2026, convene a working group to accelerate distributed generation interconnection. The working group is tasked with discussing, if applicable, a cluster and batch study process for interconnection studies and a process for the public utility to accept a surety bond for interconnection upgrade work. The working group is also directed to discuss, and the public utility is required to implement, a process for third-party interconnection studies and upgrades. On or before December 15, 2026, the public utility is required to file a notice with the public utilities commission (commission) that includes a report on any recommendations of the working group. The public utility is directed to make appropriate filings to implement any recommendations of the working group that require commission approval on or before January 1, 2027. The act specifies that any interconnection upgrades and related utility construction work performed by a contracted third party must meet applicable safety, reliability, labor, and technical standards. The act amends the definition of 'dispatchable distributed generation' and requires the commission to evaluate the size of off-site renewable distributed generation or storage facility and installation limitations as part of a future renewable energy standard compliance plan.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
A renewable energy project developer (facility owner) that intends to undertake a project to build a renewable energy facility (renewable energy project) may currently submit an application for land use approval from the renewable energy project to a local government. However, current law does not specify what process a local government may use to charge fees or set a timeline for the local government to make a final decision regarding land use approval for the renewable energy project. The bill specifies that control over the specifics of the application process rests with the local government. The local government may establish fees for an application for a renewable energy project and may offer two independent tracks for the application based on the fee the facility owner pays. The standard track allows a facility owner to pay a lower fee, but does not guarantee a specific timeline for the local government to issue a final decision on the application. The expedited track allows a facility owner to pay an additional fee, with an agreement that if the local government takes longer than 120 days, minus any permitted tolling periods, a percentage of the higher fee will be refunded. The bill gives local governments authority to contract with third-party technical reviewers to review the application for a final decision. The bill also requires a facility owner to pay a success fee to the local government upon final approval of the project, based on the amount of time between receipt of the application and when the project is approved, to be used by the local government for expenses related to regulating renewable energy facilities and maintaining local roads impacted by facility construction.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The act authorizes a local government with permitting authority over land uses (local government) to designate one or more areas within the jurisdiction of the local government as renewable energy reinvestment areas for the siting of renewable energy and energy storage system projects (eligible projects). In designating an area as a renewable energy reinvestment area, the local government must hold at least one public hearing and hold at least one public hearing for any construction permit applications required for a proposed eligible project in the renewable energy reinvestment area or must designate the area as part of an urban renewal plan or county revitalization plan and ensure that any outreach to and engagement of disproportionately impacted communities is consistent with statutory requirements. A local government cannot designate an eligible site within tribal lands without first consulting with the tribe with jurisdiction over the lands. If an eligible project is sited in a renewable energy reinvestment area, an urban renewal authority or county revitalization authority (authority) may distribute tax increment revenue to finance or reimburse costs associated with the eligible project if the renewable energy reinvestment area is included in the authority's urban renewal plan or county revitalization plan. In response to a request made by a local government or an eligible project developer for information regarding a designated renewable energy reinvestment area, a utility is required to acknowledge the request and provide the requestor readily available information within 30 days after the request is made. The Colorado energy office is required to consolidate, publish on its website, and periodically update technical and informational resources concerning the process for siting, permitting, and developing eligible projects in renewable energy reinvestment areas.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The bill creates the data center development and incentive program (program) operated by the Colorado data center development authority (authority), which is newly created in the Colorado office of economic development (office) ( section 1 of the bill). The authority consists of 9 members, as follows:2 members appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate;The director of the Colorado energy office or the director's designee;One member who has experience in water projects or water resource management, appointed by the president of the senate;One member who has experience in clean and renewable energy, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;2 members who have experience in data center development, with one member appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and one member appointed by the president of the senate;One member representing a statewide organization that represents workers in trade crafts who construct data centers, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; andOne member representing a statewide organization that represents contractors who construct data centers, appointed by the president of the senate.To incentivize efficient data center development, the program allows a 100% state sales and use tax exemption on qualified purchases to the operator of a certified data center. To be eligible for certification, the operator of the data center, or a data center operator collectively with participating data center tenants, must:Have initiated a preliminary consultation with the utility that will provide electricity for the data center project regarding interconnection feasibility, capacity, and infrastructure requirements;Commit to making a $250 million minimum investment in data center infrastructure within 5 years;Commit to creating new full-time jobs, including employees and long-term service and maintenance positions, that satisfy specified criteria and breaking ground on the data center project within 2 years of obtaining certification;Commit to complying, and ensure that the utility that provides electricity to the data center also complies, with craft labor requirements, apprenticeship utilization requirements, and prevailing wage requirements; andCommit to obtaining certification under one of several energy efficiency standards, implementing water stewardship strategies that optimize operational water management, ensuring that all backup power generation associated with the data center project meets specified requirements, and consulting with the department of natural resources.To obtain certification, a data center operator must apply to the authority in a form and manner to be determined by the authority. The authority is required to review a data center operator's application for certification and may award certification to a data center operator that has demonstrated that it will satisfy the certification criteria ( section 1 ).A data center operator that obtains certification for a data center project is eligible for a 100% state sales and use tax exemption on the purchase and use of qualified data center infrastructure and systems for 20 years from the date that the data center project was certified, so long as the data center satisfies ongoing post-certification requirements and submits annual compliance reports to the authority. As long as the data center meets post-certification requirements as demonstrated in the annual compliance reports, a data center operator of a certified data center may apply to the authority for an extension of the sales and use tax exemption for an additional 10 years. If the authority determines that a data center operator is not fulfilling its obligations and commitments to retain certification, the authority may revoke the certification and the data center operator is required to repay the state for the sales and use tax benefits that it received ( sections 1 and 5 ). The exemption for a certified data center does not apply to local sales and use taxes unless the exemption is expressly included at the time of adoption or amendment of the local sales tax ordinance or resolution ( section 4 ).The bill allows a utility regulated by the public utilities commission (commission) to submit a targeted resource acquisition application to the commission to propose methods of meeting emerging large-load customer needs. The bill also specifies how a utility may finance resource and infrastructure needs in connection with emerging large-load customers ( section 3 ).(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
The bill creates the Colorado clean energy permitting coordination office (office) in the Colorado energy office to provide coordination and technical assistance to owners or operators, local governments, and state permitting authorities regarding permitting for the construction, expansion, repowering, or material modification of a clean energy resource facility project (covered clean energy project).At the request of the owner or operator of a covered clean energy project (owner or operator) or a local government with jurisdiction over the covered clean energy project or that the owner or operator determines is likely to experience direct and significant impacts from the covered clean energy project (host community), the office must convene a meeting (application coordination meeting) to coordinate the filing of permit applications for the covered clean energy project that includes certain interested parties. Following an application coordination meeting, the office must prepare a coordinated permitting schedule for the covered clean energy project that identifies the permits and approvals likely to be required for the covered clean energy project and certain other information (coordinated permitting schedule).The office is required to develop and maintain a public dashboard (public dashboard) on the office's website for an owner or operator that receives a coordinated permitting schedule or that receives state technical assistance from the office.Effective July 1, 2027, at least 90 days before the owner or operator submits the first state permit application for a covered clean energy project, the owner or operator must submit a community engagement plan to the office and relevant state permitting authorities. A community engagement plan must identify host communities for the project and describe certain other community engagement efforts regarding the project.Effective July 1, 2027, an owner or operator must prepare a community benefit agreement and submit the community benefit agreement to the office and the parties participating in the covered clean energy project's application coordination meeting. The office is required to develop model community benefit agreement terms for a covered clean energy project and post the terms on the covered clean energy project's public dashboard or the office's website.The office is required to prioritize technical assistance and permitting readiness support for covered clean energy projects that repower or reuse retired or retiring fossil fuel generation sites, are located in coal transition communities, or are located on brownfield sites. On or before December 1, 2027, the office shall publish and update annually an inventory identifying coal plant and industrial sites and brownfield sites suitable for redevelopment for clean energy resource facilities and other key infrastructure considerations.Effective July 1, 2027, an owner or operator must develop and submit to the office a safety and emergency preparedness plan and coordinate with relevant local emergency management agencies and the Colorado division of homeland security and emergency management in implementing the safety and emergency preparedness plan. The office shall post a safety and emergency preparedness plan on the covered clean energy project's public dashboard or the office's website.Effective November 1, 2027, an owner or operator of a covered clean energy project must submit to the office a grid reliability and security statement. The office must coordinate with the public utilities commission and utilities as appropriate to align permitting readiness with grid reliability needs.On or before December 1, 2027, and on or before each December 1 thereafter, the office must submit a report to certain committees of the general assembly summarizing certain information about the functions of the office.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)
