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June 14, 2010

Colorado adopts laws to boost clean energy and green jobs

Colorado Bill Ritter signing bills on Friday at the Veterans Green Jobs workforce training facility in Denver

Colorado adopted a string of laws last week aiming to boost the use of renewable energy, create jobs and provide training opportunities to fill those jobs.

Governor Bill Ritter visited the Veterans Green Jobs workforce training facility in Denver on Friday, signing a number of energy-related bills.

These included a bill to provide grants for clean energy training programs throughout Colorado, a bill to set up a property tax-based financing scheme for residential energy projects, and a bill to tax property tax for third party-owned residential solar systems.

On Wednesday, the Governor also signed a bill promoting biomass energy development through tax incentives and renewable energy initiatives.

Gov Ritter said: “We are creating jobs, attracting companies, reducing energy consumption and advancing high-tech projects that will continue to bear fruit for decades to come.”

Jobs

With many if not all the clean energy bills at least partially aiming to promote the employment potential of renewable energy development, House Bill 1333 aiming to support the skilled workers needed in the sector.

The bill provides grants to community colleges and vocational schools to provide job training programs in the field of clean energy.

Rep. Ed Vigil, who sponsored the bill, said the legislation would create partnerships that would particularly help those who might have lost their jobs in the recession gain new skills for the future.

He said: “We can help put folks back to work in growing sectors of our economy. Importantly, we are responding to the needs and requests of the renewable energy industry. That’s good for people who need work today and good for the green businesses that want to hire trained Coloradans tomorrow.”

Residential

Among the bills signed last week, House Bill 1328 created a statewide financing system where householders will be able to use the property tax system to finance their renewable energy improvement projects.

This Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) scheme must be opted into by individual counties in Colorado, but because it is a statewide scheme, better economies of scale could be achieved and therefore costs reduced compared to a series of county-by-county schemes.

Bill sponsor Rep. Joe Miklosi said: “I am confident that this will help the state create jobs and empower homeowners to participate in our fastest growing economic sector — the New Energy Economy.”

Another bill signed on Friday, House Bill 1267, exempts residential solar systems from property tax if they are not owned by the householder.

This means that, for example, householders that have solar panels but either lease them from a solar company or buy power from a solar company through a power purchase agreement – without actually owning the equipment – will save money.

The bill puts independently-owned solar systems more on a par with householder-owned systems, which are already exempt from property tax in Colorado.

Earlier this month, Governor Ritter also signed into law a House Bill 1342, allowing building tenants to group together to establish community solar projects, known as solar gardens.

Biomass

Senate Bill 177 was signed by the Governor on Wednesday, adding biomass to the types of renewable energy projects eligible for Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard.

The state increased its Standard earlier this year to require 30% of electricity supplies to come from renewable sources by 2020.

By bringing biomass to Colorado’s viable energy development, we create jobs” - Sen Gail Schwartz

SB 177 extended the Standard’s definition of renewable sources to include woody biomass, along with municipal waste and sewage treatment plant residues.

It also cuts property tax for forestry industry equipment used to produce wood fuel.

Senator Gail Schwartz, who sponsored the bill, said on Friday: “By bringing biomass to Colorado’s viable energy development, we create jobs. Creating and preserving jobs is our No. 1 priority, and this bill is all about growing Colorado’s economy.”

The Governor also signed House Bill 10-1363 to promote the production of biogenic gas,

Reaching the end of the current legislative session in Colorado, the Governor also signed other energy-related bills last week, including a bill to standardize the property value assessment of hydro-electric facilities (Senate Bill 19)., form a task force to gather information on a smart grid in Colorado (Senate Bill 180), and reform election rules for electric cooperatives (House Bill 1098).