“In Colorado we are harnessing the heat beneath our feet. Geothermal energy is reliable, clean, low-cost energy and helps protect Coloradans from the unpredictable price of gas. This law will boost geothermal to save people money on energy and protect our environment. Colorado is open for geothermal business and we welcome innovative clean energy solutions to make energy more affordable, sustainable, and reliable,” said Polis.
The bill authorizes a local government or a special district (local government) to enter into an agreement with one or more entities for the purpose of providing the local government with service from a thermal energy network. The local government may issue bonds for the purpose of financing thermal energy infrastructure, interconnections, or customer connections within the jurisdiction of the local government.
The bill also increases the net electric generating capacity of a community geothermal garden from 5 megawatts to 25 megawatts.
The bill also requires investor-owned electric utilities (utilities) to identify small-scale geothermal projects and large-scale geothermal projects (geothermal projects). The utility must solicit proposals for the development of small-scale geothermal projects of up to 25 megawatts of net electric generating capacity and large-scale geothermal projects that are greater than 25 megawatts of net electric generating capacity.
The utility is required to submit applications for the development of the geothermal projects to the public utilities commission if the utility receives a bid in response to the request for proposals. The commission must review the application and approve, conditionally approve, deny, or modify the application within 120 days of receiving the application.
