December 16, 2006
Legislation to double the state's renewable energy standard by 2015, mandate the use of ethanol in 10 percent of all transportation fuel - except jet fuel - by the end of next year, offer incentives to biofuel crop farmers and boost the number of transmission lines by allowing utilities to recover the money from ratepayers during construction are in the pipeline.
Renewable energy advocates say with the Democrats in control of the governor's office as well as the state Senate and House, the dozen or so bills - three times the number introduced last year - have a good chance of being signed into law.
Gov.-elect Bill Ritter has said his administration will kick-start a new energy economy aimed at reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
"The top three priorities for us are education, health care and renewable energy," said House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver. "Of these, renewable energy is the one ready for prime time, and we are ready to roll out a package of proposals to make Colorado the renewable energy capital of the world."
A bill that doubles green power - electricity generated from the sun, wind and plant and animal waste - to 20 percent at Colorado's top utilities by 2015 will be introduced early in the session. The bill likely will be sponsored by Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder.
Amendment 37, the mandate approved by voters in November 2004, requires utilities to get only 10 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2015.
Xcel Energy, Colorado's biggest utility, is on track to become compliant with the 10 percent mandate by 2008. It's adding 775 megawatts of new wind farms to its system, on top of the existing 282 megawatts. Since wind blows intermittently, Xcel estimates 1 megawatt serves about 330 households.
"Since Xcel is ahead of the schedule, we wanted to be more ambitious and try and double the standard," Romanoff said.
Xcel collects six-tenths of 1 percent of the electric portion of a monthly bill from ratepayers, an average of 36 cents a month, to pay for the solar and wind projects.
It's not clear how much doubling the portfolio would cost customers.
"There will be a continuing debate over the cost of all resources, and there will be those who will argue that costs are increased on consumers when government mandates distort the market," said Jim Sims, a Republican lobbyist who runs the Golden-based Western Business Roundtable. "What sometimes gets lost in the debate over renewable build-out is the transmission side of the coin, and in Colorado there are serious impediments to transmission."
Senate President Joan FitzGerald will introduce a bill to boost the construction of electric transmission lines. Transmission has lagged the rapid construction of new wind farms in the past couple of years.
Xcel Energy supports the proposal. The utility has downsized or backed off several wind projects because of insufficient transmission.
The bill will allow utilities to recover the cost of new lines or upgrades from ratepayers before the project is complete. Although the new lines will be used for all power plants, including coal and natural gas-fired plants, the focus will be to connect wind farms on the eastern plains.
"The bill will facilitate the building of transmission and cost recovery upfront," FitzGerald said. "Otherwise, there is no incentive to build if cost recovery lags far behind."
Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, likely will introduce a bill to map renewable energy areas and transmission zones in the state.
Doug Carter, vice president of development at Invenergy said bureaucracy might actually slow down building of new transmission lines. The company is building a 75-mile-long line to connect its wind farm near Peetz to Xcel's grid near Brush.
"I think the market can work out the relationship between wind farms, utilities and landowners and come up with quicker solutions," Carter said.
Brandon Shaffer, a Democratic senator from Longmont, plans to introduce a bill that will mandate that 10 percent of all transportation fuel sold in Colorado except jet fuel must contain 10 percent ethanol by the end of next year. To help reach the goal faster at no cost to taxpayers, the bill will offer higher credits to producers of E-85, biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol. E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline; cellulosic ethanol is produced from corn stover or switchgrass.
Schwartz also will sponsor a bill that provides incentives for farmers growing canola, sunflower and other energy crops - especially in the San Luis valley - used to produce biofuels. Incentives to biofuel blenders also are being discussed.
"The idea is to create opportunities for individual homeowners, farmers or ranchers to raise the crop, have production of biofuels in place and integrate that with fuel distribution," Schwartz said. "Colorado needs to catch up to become a leader in the (biofuels) area."
Bills likely to be introduced in '07 session
• Renewable electricity: Proposal would double Colorado's renewable energy portfolio to require utilities to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources such as the sun, wind, and plant and animal waste by 2015. The current mandate, approved by voters in November 2004, requires top utilities to get 10 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2015. The measure likely will be sponsored by Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder.
• Biofuel: Proposal would require 10 percent of all transportation fuel sold in Colorado, except jet fuel, to contain 10 percent ethanol by the end of 2007. Offer credits to producers of E-85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol to reach that mandate faster at no cost to taxpayers. Offer incentives to producers of canola, sunflower and other crops to boost rural economies and increase production of biofuels. The measures will be sponsored by Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, and Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma.
• New transmission: Proposal would develop new transmission lines or high-voltage power lines that carry electricity from generating stations to substations before it's delivered to homes and businesses by allowing utilities to recover the cost upfront from ratepayers. Map the state to figure out areas that would support wind and solar energy projects and define transmission corridors that could help bring power from projects in rural areas to towns and cities. Those measures, supported by Xcel Energy, will be sponsored by Senate President Joan FitzGerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon, and Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village.
• Carbon sequestration: Proposal would finance a study by Colorado State University to map Colorado's soil and farming practices to locate areas that are suitable for capturing carbon from the atmosphere and sequestering the polluting gas in soil. Supported by farmers and corn growers, the bill helps farmers earn money by trading the carbon credits in the Chicago Climate Exchange or other trading platforms.
• Gas savings program: Proposal would direct utilities that deliver natural gas to launch energy-saving programs, including offering customers rebates for installing energy-efficient, natural gas appliances. The bill would allow natural gas utilities to levy a surcharge, or fee, on residential and commercial customers to pay for the programs. A similar bill was vetoed by Gov. Bill Owens in 2006. Establish building energy codes to increase the energy efficiency of new buildings. The bills likely will be sponsored by Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder.
• Clean energy: Proposal would create a Clean Energy Fund to promote research and development of renewable technologies and biofuels. The bill likely will be introduced by Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction.
chakrabartyg@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2976
No comments:
Post a Comment