SB 24-212

Senate Bill 24-212, which has been signed into law in Colorado, aims to support local and tribal governments in developing renewable energy projects like wind and solar. It requires the state’s energy commission to provide technical help for creating codes that govern these projects and offers guidance on how to minimize impacts on wildlife. The bill also mandates a report by September 30, 2025, evaluating the processes and impacts of such projects. Additionally, it prohibits local governments from approving certain renewable energy facilities in areas historically significant to Ute tribes without consulting those tribes first. This law is now effective as of May 21, 2024, meaning that local governments must start following its guidelines immediately.

Official Summary

The act requires the director of the energy and carbon management commission in the department of natural resources, at the request of a local government or tribal government, to provide technical support concerning: The development of local codes governing wind, solar, energy storage, and energy transmission projects (renewable energy projects); or The review of renewable energy projects for which a local government or a tribal government receives an application for land use approval after June 30, 2024. At the request of an owner or operator of a renewable energy facility (facility owner), a local government, or a tribal government, the division of parks and wildlife (division) must provide a set of best management practices to avoid, minimize, and mitigate wildlife impacts of renewable energy projects. The facility owner, local government, or tribal government may incorporate the best management practices into project plans, and the best management practices may be considered as conditions of approval by a local government or tribal government with land use authority over a renewable energy project. The division must also identify high-priority habitats based on the best available science, update the list of high-priority habitats at least annually, and make the list publicly available. A facility owner, local government, or tribal government may consider the high-priority habitats in planning, siting, permitting, and developing renewable energy projects. The act requires the Colorado energy office (office), in cooperation with the department of local affairs and the department of natural resources, to develop a repository of codes and ordinances that support renewable energy projects and commercial energy transmission facilities for the purpose of providing conceptual frameworks that local governments and tribal governments may consider and adapt to suit local circumstances and address local energy resources. On or before September 30, 2025, the office must submit to the general assembly a report that: Evaluates local government processes for the siting of commercially viable renewable energy projects and commercial energy transmission facilities; and Evaluates the impact of renewable energy projects and commercial energy transmission facilities on wildlife resources; the use of wildlife mitigation, decommissioning, and community benefit agreements; and the range of fees imposed by local governments. In preparing the report, the office must provide opportunities for stakeholders and the public to provide input before the final report is completed. For renewable energy projects for which a local government receives an application for land use approval after June 30, 2024, the act prohibits a local government from granting a development permit for the construction of a facility in any area that is included within the land relinquished and conveyed by the confederated bands of the Ute nation to the United States in the Brunot Agreement of September 13, 1873, unless the local government first consults with the tribal governments of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe concerning the potential impacts to hunting, fishing, and gathering rights related to the construction of the facility. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $307,991 to the department of natural resources from the wildlife cash fund. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $95,490 to the department of natural resources from the energy and carbon management cash fund for use by the energy and carbon management commission. APPROVED by Governor May 21, 2024 EFFECTIVE May 21, 2024(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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