Energy (Oil & Gas)

The act 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. A local government that is authorized by law to issue bonds may issue bonds for the purpose of financing thermal energy infrastructure, interconnections, or customer connections within the jurisdiction of the local government.     The act increases the net electric generating capacity of a community geothermal garden from 5 megawatts to 25 megawatts.     The act requires the Colorado energy and carbon management commission (commission) and the Colorado geological survey to collect data and information related to geological resources in the state. The commission shall make recommendations to encourage safe and effective development of geothermal resources and report those recommendations to the general assembly on or before November 15, 2026.     The act 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 shall 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 public utilities commission must review the application and approve, conditionally approve, deny, or modify the application within 120 days after receiving the application.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Section 2 of the bill allows local governments and certain special districts authorized to impose property taxes (local taxing entities) to tax certain land and improvements thereon at different mill levy rates, provided that the mill levy rate for the improvements is less than or equal to the mill levy rate for the land. A local taxing entity may not impose different mill levy rates for agricultural land, land used for renewable energy production, land subject to a perpetual conservation easement, leaseholds and lands producing oil or gas, producing mines or nonproducing mining claims, or state-assessed land. Nothing in section 2 allows a local taxing entity to impose property taxes on the assessed value of land and the assessed value of improvements thereon at different mill levy rates in a manner that is not consistent with section 20 of article X of the state constitution or any statutory limitation on the local taxing entity's mill levy rates or total property tax revenue.      Section 3 requires boards of county commissioners and other local taxing entities to include with their certifications of all property tax levies the individual certification of any local taxing entity required by section 5 regarding the different mill levy rates used for land and improvements thereon by the local taxing entity.      Section 4 updates the tax and levy rate information required to be made publicly available to include the specific, different mill levy rates used for land and improvements thereon, if applicable.      Section 5 modifies the duty of local taxing entities to certify their property tax levy to the board of county commissioners to require any local taxing entity that imposes property taxes on the assessed value of land and the assessed value of improvements thereon at different rates, as allowed by section 2 , to specify those mill levy rates in the local taxing entity's certification of its levy.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

The act requires the division of administration in the department of public health and environment (division), no later than July 2029, to propose a final rule (rule) establishing certain limits on the emission of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide (emission limits) from an electric generating unit (unit) that is owned or operated by an electric utility; is located in the state; and emitted 200 tons or more of nitrogen oxides, or sulfur dioxide, or both in calendar year 2024 (covered unit). The rule must require compliance with the emission limits as soon as practicable after December 31, 2034, and must not cover units that, before December 31, 2029, have ceased operations; burn natural gas, fuel oil, or both only; or have certain systems installed. A unit that operates after December 31, 2034, must install certain pollution controls and comply with the emission limits on or before December 31, 2034.     An owner or operator of a unit is required to provide quarterly emission reports showing compliance with the rule to the division. On August 1, 2029, the air quality control commission in the department of public health and environment (AQCC) must submit to the general assembly a list of any units that are subject to a federal order. If there are any units subject to a federal order, the AQCC must also submit to the general assembly recommendations on whether to amend the requirements for units subject to federal order.     An investor-owned utility or wholesale electric cooperative that is the owner or operator of a unit is required, beginning 150 days after the issuance of a federal order requiring the unit to remain operating after the unit was scheduled to retire (order) and continuing every 90 days until the order is no longer in effect, to file a report with the public utilities commission (commission) that contains certain information about the costs to operate the unit and the amount of electricity generated by the unit. The commission must make these reports publicly available. An investor-owned utility is also permitted to submit an application for a financing order to recover the costs of complying with an order.     Any decision by the commission approving or modifying a portfolio in an electric resource plan of an investor-owned utility serving more than 500,000 customers must approve an amount of accredited capacity that allows the investor-owned utility to reliably achieve certain retirement and carbon dioxide emission reduction requirements. This requirement applies to an investor-owned utility serving more than 500,000 customers until the division determines that the investor-owned utility has achieved certain carbon dioxide emission reductions or until the investor-owned utility has retired all covered units, whichever is later.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

The act authorizes the clean fleet enterprise (enterprise) to incentivize, support, and accelerate the replacement of a truck that is part of a fleet and that is powered by a diesel-fueled internal combustion engine, is a model year of 2009 or earlier, and is registered, operable, and capable of independent roadway operation (aging diesel truck) with a diesel truck that is a model year of 2018 or later (new diesel truck) until December 31, 2031. The act also allows the enterprise to provide funding or financing through grant programs, rebate programs, revolving loan funds, or other strategies to help owners and operators of aging diesel truck fleets finance the replacement of aging diesel trucks with new diesel trucks to reduce the up-front costs of acquiring new diesel trucks until December 31, 2031.     The enterprise may use the clean fleet enterprise fund to provide money to support the replacement of aging diesel trucks with new diesel trucks, but the enterprise is required to ensure that it does not expend more than 20% of the fund's income during a state fiscal year for the support.     To qualify for any money provided by the enterprise for the replacement of aging diesel trucks with new diesel trucks, the act requires a purchaser of the new diesel truck to surrender an aging diesel truck to the seller of the new truck. The seller of the new diesel truck must decommission the aging diesel truck by drilling a hole in the engine's block and cutting the chassis rails in half. The seller must be an authorized dealer of new diesel trucks who must certify that the new diesel truck meets all state and federal emissions and safety standards for its model year.     The enterprise must prioritize applications to replace aging diesel trucks from businesses that are privately owned, independently owned, or have limited access to capital. The enterprise is not allowed to accept an application from the owner or operator of a motor vehicle fleet that owns, leases, or operates more than 50 heavy-duty motor vehicles or from a business entity with annual gross revenue exceeding $100 million. The enterprise is required to prioritize the replacement of an aging diesel truck that has a model year of no later than 2006.     The act expands the business purpose of the enterprise to include providing incentives and support for refrigerated transport units powered by zero emission technology. The act allows the enterprise to exercise its rights and powers without regard to the state 'Procurement Code'.     The act requires the enterprise to annually prepare a report that includes the estimated pollution reduction benefits of the enterprise. The enterprise must seek to ensure that all projects funded by the enterprise achieve measurable results and outcomes.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)