SB 26-82

Senate Bill 26-82, known as the "Local Government Renewable Energy Development Fee," allows local governments in Colorado to set their own fees and timelines for approving renewable energy projects. It offers two application tracks: a standard track with lower fees but no guaranteed timeline, and an expedited track that charges higher fees but guarantees a decision within 120 days (with partial refunds if delayed). The bill also lets local governments hire outside experts to review applications and requires developers to pay additional success fees based on the time it takes for approval. This bill has been signed into law, meaning local governments can now implement these processes for renewable energy projects.

Official Summary

A renewable energy project developer (facility owner) that intends to undertake a project to build a renewable energy facility (renewable energy project) may currently submit an application for land use approval from the renewable energy project to a local government. However, current law does not specify what process a local government may use to charge fees or set a timeline for the local government to make a final decision regarding land use approval for the renewable energy project. The bill specifies that control over the specifics of the application process rests with the local government. The local government may establish fees for an application for a renewable energy project and may offer two independent tracks for the application based on the fee the facility owner pays. The standard track allows a facility owner to pay a lower fee, but does not guarantee a specific timeline for the local government to issue a final decision on the application. The expedited track allows a facility owner to pay an additional fee, with an agreement that if the local government takes longer than 120 days, minus any permitted tolling periods, a percentage of the higher fee will be refunded.     The bill gives local governments authority to contract with third-party technical reviewers to review the application for a final decision. The bill also requires a facility owner to pay a success fee to the local government upon final approval of the project, based on the amount of time between receipt of the application and when the project is approved, to be used by the local government for expenses related to regulating renewable energy facilities and maintaining local roads impacted by facility construction.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)

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