2009 Legislative Agenda 2009 Legislative Agenda - Green recovery for Colorado
Save the Rockies
Oil and natural gas drilling is wreaking havoc on Colorado’s wild lands, air, water, wildlife and $10 billion-a-year outdoor recreation industry. Drilling in Colorado has increased 500 percent since 1990, with over 37,000 active wells in the state in 2008. Fortunately, Colorado’s outdated regulations have been upgraded in order to ensure that we minimize the damage of oil and gas drilling when it occurs. Environment Colorado supports ratifying these new rules in the legislature.
New Energy Future – “Go Solar!” Colorado
HB 09-1149 Colorado solar homes:
This bill will help more homeowners “Go Solar!” It requires all commercial builders to offer solar electric systems and solar hot water heaters as standard option during construction. Installing solar during construction reduces the upfront costs, making clean energy more accessible to more Coloradans. Estimates show that this bill could add as many as 700 new solar homes and over 1,400 “solar ready” homes in Colorado, creating over 120 jobs. (Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-El Paso; Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Arapahoe)
HB 09-1126 Solar thermal jobs:
This bill exempts the equipment used in solar hot water heaters from state sales tax and allows local governments to offer tax incentives in order to increase the use of solar heating and cooling systems. In five years, such incentives could create more than 1,000 new jobs in the local manufacturing and installation sectors. (Rep. Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder; Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont)
SB 09-51 Clean energy financing options:
This bill expands access to solar and other renewable systems by eliminating the upfront costs. By allowing farm, business, and home owners to enter in to third-party financing agreements, owners get the benefits of a renewable energy system—like stable, predictable energy costs— without a big down payment. The third-party provider buys the equipment, installs it, and maintains it. (Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Arapahoe; Rep. Claire Levy)
Global Warming Solution
HB 09-1323: Energy Efficiency for Large rural electric cooperatives:
Now more than ever, it is important for Colorado to use energy more wisely. Energy consumption has increased, despite having the technology and the know-how to reduce energy use. This bill requires rural electric cooperatives with more than 100,000 to achieve 2% electricity savings by 2012 and scaling up those reductions to reach 10% by 2020. As a result of the programs implemented to achieve these targets this bill will reduce energy use by an amount equal to 25,000 homes, cutting global warming pollution 200,00 metric tons per year in 2020. (Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder; Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver)
A car powered from the current electric grid is cleaner and more efficient than any of the cars on the market powered by conventional gasoline. Electric cars reduce our dependence on foreign oil, decrease global warming emissions, and put money back in the pockets of Coloradans, as it only costs pennies per mile to drive an electric vehicle. This bill eliminates barriers for low-speed electric vehicles, and would set up a fund for the installation of recharging stations. By preparing now, Colorado can be ahead of the curve in developing a robust electric car market. (Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village; Rep. Don Marostica, R-Larimer)
