{"id":105625,"date":"2024-04-17T11:57:28","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T15:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/\/?p=105625"},"modified":"2024-05-08T10:26:30","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T14:26:30","slug":"bipartisan-colorado-legislators-introduce-bill-community-solar-revamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/\/2024\/04\/bipartisan-colorado-legislators-introduce-bill-community-solar-revamp\/","title":{"rendered":"Bipartisan Colorado legislators introduce bill to revamp community solar program"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_88804\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-88804\" class=\"wp-image-88804 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/stock-mountain-solar-nrel-500x325.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/stock-mountain-solar-nrel-500x325.jpg 500w, https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/stock-mountain-solar-nrel-368x238.jpg 368w, https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/stock-mountain-solar-nrel.jpg 770w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-88804\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Dennis Schroeder \/ NREL<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em><strong>Update 5\/8\/2024: The bill has <a href=\"https:\/\/communitysolaraccess.org\/news\/colorado-bill-to-modernize-community-solar-program-passes-both-chambers\">passed both chambers<\/a> and is on the governor&#8217;s desk awaiting his signature.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>A bipartisan group of Colorado legislators introduced a bill to greatly expand access to the clean energy transition through a revitalization of the state\u2019s community solar program. Senate Bill SB24-207, introduced by Senate President Steve Fenberg (D\u2013Boulder), comes at a time of unprecedented federal funding opportunities through the Biden administration\u2019s Inflation Reduction Act. This bill calls for a revamped community solar program that positions Colorado to capture hundreds of millions in federal dollars to upgrade the state\u2019s grid, promote energy equity, and reduce energy costs for residents.<\/p>\n<p>Most Colorado households cannot benefit from rooftop solar due to barriers like home ownership and credit score requirements. Community solar provides renters, non-profits, small businesses and low-to-moderate income (LMI) customers direct access to the clean energy transition and utility bill savings. Colorado was the first state in the nation to pass community solar legislation in 2010, but has since fallen behind other states with more modern program designs. Currently, only 1% of Xcel\u2019s 1.6 million customers \u2014 and only 3,300 of which are income-qualified households \u2014 are able to participate in community solar due to the program\u2019s limited size and outdated policy framework.<\/p>\n<p>This bill upgrades Colorado\u2019s community solar program by adopting policy best practices from more than 20 states. More specifically, the bill:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Delivers meaningful bill savings to thousands more income-qualified households;<\/li>\n<li>Reserves at least 51% of each community solar project for income-qualified residential subscribers, which is a nation-leading requirement and tailored to the Inflation Reduction Act to maximize federal dollars flowing into the state;<\/li>\n<li>Enhances subscriber experiences with best-in-class enrollment methods, consumer protections, and consolidated billing;<\/li>\n<li>Prioritizes projects sited on preferred locations, like rooftops and brownfields, and drives dual-use practices like agrivolatics; and<\/li>\n<li>Improves the methods that third-party stakeholders can develop community solar projects with investor-owned utilities.<\/li>\n<li>Organizations and advocates from across Colorado applaud the bill\u2019s introduction, optimistic for the opportunity it presents alongside federal funding opportunities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cAll Coloradans, regardless of income level or homeownership status, should be able to participate in the transition to renewable energy,\u201d said Senate President Steve Fenberg, sponsor of SB24-207. \u201cThis important bill removes barriers to accessing solar energy \u2014 like homeownership or credit score requirements \u2014 to ensure renters, non-profits, and small businesses can take part without breaking the bank. With unprecedented federal funding opportunities through President Biden\u2019s Inflation Reduction Act, now is the time to revitalize Colorado\u2019s community solar program and ensure our state remains a leader in renewable, clean energy use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegardless of whether you are a renter or homeowner at any income level or credit score, all Coloradans should benefit from clean energy projects that keep our air clean and reduce our utility bills \u2014 especially in the communities most targeted by polluters,\u201d said Tom Abood, Leader with Together Colorado\u2019s Climate Justice Committee. \u201cSB24-207 will do all of this by prioritizing community solar in disproportionately impacted communities, guaranteeing working families a 20% \u2013 40% electric bill reduction, and helping Colorado achieve its renewable energy goals. Our collective faith traditions teach us to care for our planet, and care for the most vulnerable among us \u2014 and in this spirit we urge our legislators to support this bill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Senate Bill SB24-207 is expected to be reviewed by the Senate Committee on Transportation and Energy before advancing to Senate Appropriations and then to the floor for a vote by the full Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past decade, the number of states that have enacted policies to support third-party shared or community solar has expanded from just a few to 22 states, including Washington, D.C. A collective 6.6 gigawatts (GW) of generation capacity has been installed to date, and Wood Mackenzie\u2019s most recent US community solar market <a href=\"https:\/\/www.woodmac.com\/press-releases\/2024-press-releases\/cumulative-us-community-solar-installed-capacity-expected-to-break-14-gwdc-by-2028\/\">outlook<\/a> predicts that there will be 14 GW<sub>DC<\/sub> power installed across the country by the end of 2028.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCommunity solar is the best method to democratize solar power and lower the barrier of entry to clean, affordable energy,\u201d said Kevin Cray, Mountain West Senior Director for the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA). \u201cWith an opportunity to leverage billions of federal dollars into Colorado\u2019s community solar program, it\u2019s the perfect time to upgrade our program, and set a new national standard for equitable clean energy policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>News item from the Coalition for Community Solar Access<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Update 5\/8\/2024: The bill has passed both chambers and is on the governor&#8217;s desk awaiting his signature. A bipartisan group of Colorado legislators introduced a bill to greatly expand access to the clean energy transition through a revitalization of the state\u2019s community solar program. Senate Bill SB24-207, introduced by Senate President Steve Fenberg (D\u2013Boulder), comes&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10031,"featured_media":88804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post","9":"entry","10":"has-post-thumbnail"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Bipartisan Colorado legislators introduce bill to revamp community solar program<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Update 5\/8\/2024: The bill has passed both chambers and is on the governor&#039;s desk awaiting his signature. A bipartisan group of Colorado legislators\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/\/2024\/04\/bipartisan-colorado-legislators-introduce-bill-community-solar-revamp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bipartisan Colorado legislators introduce bill to revamp community solar program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Update 5\/8\/2024: The bill has passed both chambers and is on the governor&#039;s desk awaiting his signature. A bipartisan group of Colorado legislators\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/\/2024\/04\/bipartisan-colorado-legislators-introduce-bill-community-solar-revamp\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Solar Power World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-17T15:57:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-08T14:26:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/stock-mountain-solar-nrel.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"770\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kelsey Misbrener\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SolarPowerWorld\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SolarPowerWorld\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kelsey Misbrener\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/\/2024\/04\/bipartisan-colorado-legislators-introduce-bill-community-solar-revamp\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/\/2024\/04\/bipartisan-colorado-legislators-introduce-bill-community-solar-revamp\/\",\"name\":\"Bipartisan Colorado legislators introduce bill to revamp community solar program\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/\/2024\/04\/bipartisan-colorado-legislators-introduce-bill-community-solar-revamp\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/\/2024\/04\/bipartisan-colorado-legislators-introduce-bill-community-solar-revamp\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/stock-mountain-solar-nrel.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-17T15:57:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-08T14:26:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/\/#\/schema\/person\/991cc4e7d08833c06937cd91f6776d93\"},\"description\":\"Update 5\/8\/2024: The bill has passed both chambers and is on the governor's desk awaiting his signature. 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