2009 CO Legislative Actions: Green Energy Bills

The Colorado legislature has been busy keeping Colorado’s New Energy Economy moving forward.  Recognizing the enormity of the risks climate change and foreign-supplied fossil fuels pose to Colorado’s health and safety, Democrats are pushing initiatives through that will benefit us all.  I tracked down the following bills that are or have been introduced in the Colorado legislature this year.  I’ve included basic descriptions of the bills to round out what’s going on. I’m going to go over the status of these bills in the future.

HB09-1149 “Solar Home Prewire And Consultation”, sponsored by Rep. Merrifield in the House and Sen. Morgan Carroll in the Senate would requires commercial home builders to offer prospective buyers the following:
1. The option of having the home include, or be pre-wired for, a solar photovoltaic installation; and

2. A list of local solar installers who can assess the home’s solar energy potential.

On a personal level, I’d rather see stronger language for increased solar power distribution in residences.  All houses should be pre-wired for solar PV.  There is simply too much infrastructure in Colorado’s metropolitan areas to not build solar PV out on a large scale.  Each panel would reduce the demand from GHG polluting power plants just that much more.  At the same time, I recognize that many people think these things probably need to be taken one step at a time.  The Governor’s Energy Office would maintain a list of expert solar system installers to be provided to anybody who requests a copy.  That’s a good idea.

More below…

Random News 6/24/08

Gov. Ritter announced a new statewide energy efficiency and conservation campaign yesterday. Entitled, “The New Energy Economy: Bringing It Home”, the campaign will consists of TV and radio spots that inform folks about simple, low-cost methods of saving money on energy. The methods include:

• “Turn it Down!” Install and use a programmable thermostat or adjust the temperature down when you aren’t at home. Programmable thermostats can save up to $150 a year in utility bills.
• “Unplug it!” Unplug electronics, such as cell phone chargers, when not in use, or install a power strip for controlling devices such as computers, TVs and entertainment systems. Seventy-five percent of electricity used by electronic devices is while the products are turned off.
• “Turn it Off” Turn off the lights when leaving a room and install energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). CFLs use about 75 percent less energy than standard lights and last 10 times longer.
• “Take a Ride” Gov. Ritter and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper ask you to “Take a ride, share a ride, or ride.” Besides getting exercise, you can save money on gas and vehicle maintenance by riding a bike. Relax on the bus or catch up with friends when you carpool.

The first ad can be seen on Gov. Ritter’s Energy Office website.

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The League of Conservation Voters has a new ad about Bob “Big Oil” Schaffer’s connections to the oil and gas industry, including supporting multi-billion dollar corporate welfare.

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Republicans think Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth “is replete with fantastic prophesies of doom for the planet unless America immediately regresses to third-world squalor.” If delayers get their way, the costs of mitigating and adapting to climate change will be much, much greater than if we take decisive action right now. The same is true for all the problems we face. And yet all Republicans want to do about them is give away our money to the largest corporations. That isn’t ethical and it doesn’t solve our very real issues of the day. Just the opposite: it makes them worse.

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10 million homeowners now have mortgages that are worth more than their houses. Republican economic policies do not work.

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People across the country are getting their power shut off by energy companies because they’re falling behind on their bills.  They must all be dead-beats living off the government, right?  Actually, more and more are middle class: four-member households earning between $33,500 and $55,500 are increasingly affected.  See, when you have to choose between gas bills, food, and health care costs while your wages have stagnated, something has to give.  But rest easy because CEO compensation was up 25% again last year.