Governor Polis, State Legislators Announce Plans to Save People Money on Energy, Cut Red Tape to Accelerate Clean Energy Transition & Ensure that Colorado Continues to be a National Leader

DENVER- Today, Governor Polis, Rep. Cathy Kipp, Rep. Ruby Dickson, Rep. Mike Weissman, Senator Chris Hansen, state lawmakers, and community members discussed a historic bill package that will save people money, cut red tape to accelerate the clean energy transition, and advance Colorado’s position as a leader in clean energy nationwide. The legislative package will help achieve 100% renewable energy in Colorado by 2040 and save Coloradans by increasing opportunities and renewable energy tax incentives for people and businesses including reducing the cost of electric vehicles in Colorado by $5,000, electric bikes by $800, and between $3,000 and $500 for heat pumps depending on the technology type.

“We can save people money, cut red tape to help accelerate the renewable energy transition and ensure Colorado continues to lead on clean energy solutions,” said Governor Polis. “Together, with our legislative partners and community leaders, we can put in place the right way to achieve our shared goal of 100% renewable energy by 2040, save people money, and utilize clean energy solutions that protect our planet and our pocketbooks.”

Gov. Polis and legislative leaders are presenting renewable energy solutions that work to stabilize and lower energy costs by investing in reliable clean energy alternatives statewide. By increasing access to clean energy upgrades for people and businesses and accelerating processes to implement clean energy transitions, these transformative proposals will save people money on energy costs and further reduce harmful emissions.

Today, Governor Polis and state lawmakers were joined by Coloradans who have utilized clean energy technologies resulting in significantly lower energy costs for them and their families.

“During the cold snaps we’ve experienced this year, not only has the heat pump been incredibly efficient in heating our home, but we also didn’t see the same spikes in our home heating bills that so many other people around the state did,” said Errin, a Marshall Fire survivor and recently switched to a heat pump said today. “With this legislative package, we hope to see more families like ours get access to these more efficient pumps and save money on their utility bills. The tax credits being proposed can help lower costs for families, saving them money on upfront installation, as well as in the long run.”

The Governor in partnership with the state legislature has taken bold climate action and under his leadership, Colorado is well on its way toward achieving 100% renewable energy by 2040. The new clean energy tax incentives included in this proposal will increase money-saving opportunities and increase access to electric vehicle purchases, electric bikes, heat pumps, heating and cooling technology, and industry and building improvements.

The proposed legislation also invests in new technologies that will expand clean energy options and continue to position the state as a leader in transformative clean energy development and usage.

“As the effects of climate change become more and more pronounced, it is clear we must implement bold policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts on our climate and our environment,” said Senator Chris Hansen, D-Denver. “Coloradans are demanding we act, and we plan to tackle this challenge head on by implementing policy that will reduce emissions, set achievable goals, and put our state on a path to climate sustainability for generations to come.”

“This plan will create jobs while helping us meet our climate goals and lower energy costs for businesses and families,” said Rep. Ruby Dickson, D-Centennial. “Highlighted in this energy package are bills that will invest in innovative clean energy sources to power our economy and heat our buildings, as well as reducing emissions even in hard-to-decarbonize sectors. These bills will boost businesses, increase access to clean energy alternatives and ultimately cut back on our harmful carbon emissions.”

“Many of the bills in this package take an innovative approach for Colorado to lead the transition to clean energy and meet our climate goals while creating jobs and saving consumers, property owners and businesses money,” said Rep. Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins. “This proposal prioritizes reliable, clean energy sources and works to attract new businesses to the state while ensuring we are well-positioned to receive federal funding. Our focus is making Colorado a nationwide leader in energy innovation and reducing the use of fossil fuels.”

Colorado is leading a multi-state consortium with Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico to gain additional federal investment as a hydrogen hub. Colorado ranks fifth in the nation for electric vehicle sales.

Saving People Money on Energy

HB23-XXXX: Tax Incentives For Decarbonization - Representatives Weissman and Joseph and Senator Fenberg - This package of clean energy tax credits draws down the costs of clean energy technologies for residents and businesses across Colorado. The package includes investment incentives in geothermal electricity and high-efficiency heat pumps, efforts to reduce pollution from industrial facilities, and extension and expansion of tax credits for light, medium, and heavy-duty electric vehicles, and electric bikes.

SB23-016 Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Measures - Representative McCormick and Sirota and Senator Hansen - This establishes new statewide greenhouse gas emissions targets including net-zero emissions by 2050 and importantly enables the possibility of net-zero emissions by giving authority to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) over injection wells for carbon dioxide, a potentially critical tool to permanently remove GHG pollution from the atmosphere. Other provisions include a 30% tax credit on the purchase of electric-powered lawn equipment and technical changes to the community solar garden and electric transmission policy. The bill expands the disclosure of climate risks by insurance companies and encourages the Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association to consider long-term climate-friendly investment strategies.

HB23-1134: Electric Options in Home Warranties - Representatives Joseph and Kipp and Senator Cutter - This bill gives consumers more choices if a warrantied home appliance like a gas furnace breaks. Rather than requiring a like-for-like replacement, this bill ensures appliance warranties allow switching from a gas to an electric appliance if the consumer chooses.

HB23-1005: New Energy Improvement Program Changes - Representatives Willford and Titone and Senators Jaquez Lewis and Marchman - Expands options for building owners to pay off cost-saving energy retrofits on their property tax bill while immediately reducing utility bills. Expands the eligibility of building upgrades to include resilience and water-saving investments.

HB23-XXXX: Including Thermal Energy As A Clean Heat Resource - Representatives Lieder and Kipp - This bill continues Colorado’s work to reduce emissions from gas utilities by providing a pathway for those utilities to transition away from expensive fuel commodities like natural gas.

HB23-XXX: EV Charging and Parking Requirements - Representatives Mauro and Valdez and Senators Faith Winter and Priola - This bill ensures Coloradans across the State have access to high-quality EV charging, especially for renters or those living in multifamily housing.

HB23-1161: Environmental Standards for Appliances - Representative Kipp and Willford and Senator Cutter - This bill updates and modernizes Colorado's water and energy efficiency standards for appliances sold in Colorado.

Cutting Red Tape to Accelerate Clean Energy Transitions

HB23-XXXX: Assessing Reliable and Affordable Energy in Rural Colorado - Representatives Ty Winter and Lukens and Senator Roberts - This bill helps evaluate existing and potential future infrastructure investments across rural Colorado, with a focus on clean energy and transmission infrastructure opportunities, and next-generation energy production technologies.

HB23-XXX: Clean Firm Electricity - Representatives Dickson and Velasco - This bill provides a framework for Colorado to invest in the clean energy technologies of the future like geothermal, hydrogen, and long-duration battery storage which will be critical to completely clean up the power grid while ensuring affordable and reliable electricity.

HB23-XXXX: Streamlined Solar Permitting & Inspection Grants - Representative Brown and Soper and Senator Roberts - This bill develops new technology to help local governments accelerate processing time for solar, reduce staff time and costs for local governments, and reduce the time and cost of installing solar. This bill also provides grants for local governments to adopt this tool – which means faster, easier, and cheaper local approvals for rooftop solar projects.

HB23-1039: Electric Resource Adequacy Reporting - Representative Bird and Senators Rodriguez and Winter - This bill proactively ensures that electric utilities serving end-use retail customers have adequate resources to provide the energy that homes and businesses rely on each day.

Ensuring Colorado Continues to Lead on Clean Energy Solutions

HB23-1210: Carbon Management - Representative Dickson and Senator Hansen - This bill helps Colorado companies build and scale the technologies needed for the capture, removal, storage, and use of carbon dioxide pollution which is an area of emerging technology. The bill will also identify early investment opportunities to de-risk projects that hold the promise of reducing emissions from the most challenged sectors of the economy.

HB23-XXXX: Advancing Clean Hydrogen - Representative Titone - This bill creates a clear regulatory framework and incentives to spur the production of green hydrogen, from renewable energy to power sectors of the Colorado economy like industrial processes, long-haul trucking, and aviation. This bill creates a hydrogen usage credit to encourage the production of the cleanest possible hydrogen fuel and direct it toward these end-uses.

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