Amendment 37

From Interwest Energy Alliance Wiki

Voted into law on November 2, 2004, Amendment 37 created renewable energy requirements in the state of Colorado. It requires large providers of retail electric service, defined as any retail electric service that serves over 40,000 customers, to derive 10% of their retail electricity from renewable sources by 2015. The amendment defines eligible renewable energy resources as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, small hydroelectricity, and hydrogen fuel cells. As stipulated in the amendment, 4% of the of the 10% renewable requirement must come from solar sources. The amendment prohibits utilities from raising rates by more than one percent and requires them to offer a $2.00 per watt rebate and other incentives for solar electric generation. Beginning with a 3% requirement by 2007, utilities must meet a 6% requirement by 2011, eventually meeting the 10% requirement for the years 2015 and beyond. This amendment represents a landmark victory for proponents of renewable energy and puts Colorado at the forefront of renewable energy policymaking.[1]

Because of the success of Amendment 37, its provisions were updated in 2007 by the passage into law of HB 07-1281, which doubled the standard and included all rural electric cooperatives into the standard at at rate of 10% by 2020. See more details on this on the Colorado House Bill 1281 page at [[2]].