Colorado

Summary: Modeled very closely on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) interconnection standard for small generators, Colorado’s interconnection standards are a product of its Renewable Energy Standard, adopted in 2005. Like the FERC standard, Colorado delineates three distinct tiers of interconnection to cover systems up to 10MW in size. CHP is explicitly eligible for interconnection under these standards.

Links:

• The rules regulating the interconnection of CHP can be found here: Regulations

Contact:

Richard Mignogna
1560 Broadway
Suite 250
Denver, CO 80202 
richard.mignogna@dora.state.co.us
(303) 894-2871

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Description: The New Energy Economic Development (NEED), the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office (GEO), provides grants to support renewable energy and energy efficiency throughout the state. In July 2009, the GEO announced a new round of funding using $2 million allocated to Colorado by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. The submission deadline for this round was in August 2009. It is mandatory that funded projects begin construction within three months of the execution of the contract and have a targeted completion date within eight months of the contract execution date. More details and specific project requirements are available on the website below. The GEO offers NEED grants approximately two times per year, and while they are not specifically called out for CHP, a CHP project can apply.

Links:

• Colorado Energy Office Website
• Visit the DSIRE Database for more information about the grant program.

Contact:

Seth Portner
Governor's Energy Office
1580 Logan Street
Suite 100
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: (303) 866-2100
Phone 2: (800) 632-6662
Fax: (303) 866-2930
E-Mail: seth.portner@state.co.us
Web Site: http://www.colorado.gov/energy

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Summary: Customers wishing to secure standby service for CHP systems may contract with Xcel Energy for a specified amount of standby capacity. A monthly customer charge and a demand-based reservation charge and assessed regardless of usage, while a moderate energy charge and high demand-based charge fluctuate with usage. This rate is generally seen as neutral to CHP deployment.

Links:

• Xcel’s Schedule PST can be viewed here: Tariff

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Summary:  In 2004, Colorado became the first state to establish a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which has since been modified and now includes “recycled energy” as an eligible renewable energy resource for purposes of meeting the RPS yearly goals. In this case, “recycled energy" is defined as "energy produced by a generation unit with a nameplate capacity of not more than 15 megawatts (MW) that converts the otherwise lost energy from the heat from exhaust stacks or pipes to electricity and that does not combust additional fossil fuel." Thus, CHP systems may be eligible to partake in the RPS mechanism, which is linked to a renewable energy credit (REC) trading system. By 2020, 10% of retail electric sales in Colorado must be renewable/recycled energy according to the RPS.

Links:

• The applicable regulations for this standard can be found here: Regulations
• For more information, visit the DSIRE database page on this policy

Contact:

Richard Mignogna
1560 Broadway
Suite 250
Denver, CO 80202 
richard.mignogna@dora.state.co.us
(303) 894-2871

Last Updated 10/13/2009

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