Governor Ritter recently celebrated the close of the Colorado General Assembly’s 2010 session by signing bills that figuratively, as will as literally, direct power to the people.  In taking a long-term view on energy policy, the legislature seems to recognize that no single, silver-bullet solution exists to forge a new clean energy economy

John Herrick and Kyle Blackmer

Typically, energy legislation is directed at major energy sector players such as utilities, industries and large government entities. During this session, however, the legislature placed a number of power choices in the hands of individuals and local communities, marking 2010 as a watershed year for renewable energy policy in Colorado. 

On June 11, the Governor put an exclamation point on his final year in office by signing five new pieces of renewable energy legislation into law. This brought the total number of clean energy pieces passed from this year’s session to 16, and the total for Governor Ritter’s tenure to an astounding 57. 

Not surprisingly, the new laws getting the most attention are those that re-shape the energy-choice buffet for big players like the state’s investor-owned utilities.  House Bill 1001, for example, mandates that public utility companies must get 30 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020.

To be sure, the laws aimed at the big guys are important. 
But what deserves as much attention are the innovative laws aimed at the smaller energy players - the laws that place more power choices in the hands of individuals and communities.  House Bills 1328, 1418, and 1267, as well as Senate Bill 100, are examples of renewable energy laws that give local governments and individuals more local choices, opportunities, and incentives to make energy-conscious choices and further advance Colorado’s efforts in clean
energy development and job creation.

House Bill 1328 allows counties to opt-in to a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program, essentially an $800 million dollar fund, to set up and provide low-interest, clean energy financing for county residents who choose to participate.  If a county opts-in, its residents can then apply for fixed-interest loans for qualified renewable energy and energy efficient improvements to their properties. The loans would then be paid back over a period of up to 20 years on their annual property tax bill. Importantly, only those homeowners who borrow from the fund will see the added assessment on their tax bill.  This assessment would attach to the property if sold within that time period, but the energy savings of the improvements should add to the property’s market value. This piece of legislation is at the forefront of a national trend in creating PACE funding at local levels, with 20 states forming assessment districts for advancing clean energy improvements.

A related bill, Senate Bill 100, also focuses on local governments. It allows local governments to work together to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects across county boundary lines. The old law prohibited counties and municipalities from working across county boundaries, effectively preventing collective action.

House Bill 1267 incentivizes individuals to invest in solar facilities by exempting third-party, independently-owned residential solar facilities from property taxes. Additionally, rebates, offsets, credits, and reimbursements are not considered income under the bill.

Finally, House Bill 1418 also aims at encouraging renewable energy development at the local community level, and specifically in rural communities. To stimulate renewable energy development in rural communities, the bill allows for a times-two multiplier for community-based energy projects that interconnect to a cooperative electric association of municipality-owned utility by the end of 2014.

These bills provide more power choices to the people by making energy-conscious choices easier and more attractive to local governments and end-users.  They also localize energy-conscious choices, bringing some choices from the corporate boardroom and state capitol to the living room and town hall.  The bills offer energy-conscious choices for the little guy that are plentiful, attractive, local and feasible.  The power to choose is the power to change. Colorado citizens must now remember that with great power comes great responsibility.

As senior counsel in Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s natural resources group, John Herrick has extensive experience in assisting private companies and public entities to form partnerships and secure funding for their clean energy projects, including wind, solar and geothermal projects. He is internationally recognized for his participation in renewable energy activities, including structuring major project developments in the geothermal and solar generation, developing wind projects, and helping establish, nationally, the federal energy savings performance contracting system.

Kyle Blackmer is a summer associate at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and law student at the