Colorado passed one of the most progressive renewable energy bills in March of 2010, HB-10-1001.  It sets aggressive Renewable Energy Standards:

• 12% for 2011 – 2014
• 20% for 2015 – 2019,
• 30% for 2020 and beyond

What makes Colorado unique is that this Renewable Energy Standard states that of this distributed generation requirement, one half must come from retail distributed generation: smaller scale systems scaled to no more than 120% of the customer’s demand.  This is a great way to promote job creating solar, geothermal and small wind installation companies, rather than just utility scale developers.  You can read the full text of the bill here.

To protect these new solar installations, 1 in 3 Installers on the job will need to be NABCEP Certified PV Installers by January 1st, 2012. 

This is a bold new step for Colorado to maximize the number of jobs created by renewable energy policy. 

Here are some excerpts.  Note that this is not full, legal copy of HB 10-1001.  For exact legal interpretation, please refer to the bill itself.

Renewable Energy Standard:

(C) TWELVE percent of its retail electricity sales in Colorado for the years 2011 through 2014, WITH DISTRIBUTED GENERATION EQUALING AT LEAST ONE PERCENT OF ITS RETAIL ELECTRICITY SALES IN 2011 AND 2012 AND ONE AND ONE-FOURTH PERCENT OF ITS RETAIL ELECTRICITY SALES IN 2013 AND 2014;

(D) TWENTY percent of its retail electricity sales in Colorado for the years 2015 through 2019, WITH DISTRIBUTED GENERATION EQUALING AT LEAST ONE AND THREE-FOURTHS PERCENT OF ITS RETAIL ELECTRICITY SALES IN 2015 AND 2016 AND TWO PERCENT OF ITS RETAIL ELECTRICITY SALES IN 2017, 2018, AND 2019; and

(E) THIRTY percent of its retail electricity sales in Colorado for the years 2020 and thereafter, WITH DISTRIBUTED GENERATION EQUALING AT LEAST THREE PERCENT OF ITS RETAIL ELECTRICITY SALES.

(II) (A) Of the amounts OF DISTRIBUTED GENERATION in SUB-SUBPARAGRAPHS (C), (D), AND (E) OF subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (c), at least one-half shall be derived from  RETAIL DISTRIBUTED GENERATION.

Definition of "Retail Distributed Generation"

(V) "RETAIL DISTRIBUTED GENERATION" MEANS A RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE THAT IS LOCATED ON THE SITE OF A CUSTOMER'S FACILITIES AND IS INTERCONNECTED ON THE CUSTOMER'S SIDE OF THE UTILITY METER. IN ADDITION, RETAIL DISTRIBUTED GENERATION SHALL PROVIDE ELECTRIC ENERGY PRIMARILY TO SERVE THE CUSTOMER'S LOAD AND SHALL BE SIZED TO SUPPLY NO MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED TWENTY PERCENT OF THE AVERAGE ANNUAL CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRICITY BY THE CUSTOMER AT THAT SITE. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBPARAGRAPH (V), THE CUSTOMER'S "SITE" INCLUDES ALL CONTIGUOUS PROPERTY OWNED OR LEASED BY THE CUSTOMER WITHOUT REGARD TO INTERRUPTIONS IN CONTIGUITY CAUSED BY EASEMENTS, PUBLIC THOROUGHFARES, TRANSPORTATION RIGHTS-OF-WAY, OR UTILITY RIGHTS-OF-WAY.


One in Three NABCEP Installer Requirement, effective January 1st, 2012

(a) (I) THE PERFORMANCE OF ALL PHOTOVOLTAIC ELECTRICAL WORK, THE INSTALLATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES, AND THE INSTALLATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE MOUNTING EQUIPMENT SHALL BE SUBJECT TO ON-SITE SUPERVISION BY A CERTIFIED PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY PRACTITIONER AS DESIGNATED BY THE NORTH AMERICAN BOARD OF CERTIFIED ENERGY PRACTITIONERS (NABCEP) OR ANOTHER NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION DESIGNATED BY THE COLORADO STATE ELECTRICAL BOARD BY RULE. UPON THE INITIAL APPLICATION FOR FUNDING OR IN THE INITIAL CONTRACT PROPOSAL, THE APPLICANT SHALL ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR EMPLOYING OR CONTRACTING WITH ONE OR MORE CERTIFIED ENERGY PRACTITIONERS TO SUPERVISE THE INSTALLATION AND AS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN THE THREE-TO-ONE RATIO REQUIRED BY PARAGRAPHS (b) AND (c) OF THIS SUBSECTION (1), INCLUDING DURING ANY OFF-SITE, PRE-INSTALLATION ASSEMBLY. APPROVAL OF THE PAYMENT OF ANY INCENTIVES FOR THE WORK SHALL BE CONDITIONED UPON THE APPLICANT'S SUPPLYING THE NAME AND CERTIFICATION NUMBER OF EACH CERTIFIED ENERGY PRACTITIONER WHO ACTUALLY PROVIDED ON-SITE SUPERVISION OR WAS PRESENT TO MAINTAIN THE THREE-TO-ONE RATIO REQUIRED BY PARAGRAPHS (c) AND (d) OF THIS SUBSECTION (1).