Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is directing state agencies to prioritize clean energy projects in a bid to make use of tax credits that are now set to expire early under President Donald Trump’s tax bill.
Polis delivered the instruction in a letter Friday. He told reporters his intent was to “get red tape out of the way” so that the state could approve clean energy projects more quickly. His letter specifically calls out projects that qualify for three tax credits that were limited by the sweeping tax-and-spend bill passed by Congress and signed into law last month.
The credits have provided tax incentives for homeowners who install clean energy systems like solar panels and for energy producers that use clean technology, including wind or solar. The tax bill gave homeowners and producers a shorter runway to make use of them.
Polis also urged utilities and private sector energy producers in the letter to “bring forward the investment, equipment, and workforce to augment our efforts to deploy this infrastructure as quickly as possible,” alongside local governments.
“We can confidently commit to utilities, investors, developers, and customers that we will work to ensure qualifying, cost-effective energy generation starts construction or is placed in service in time to receive federal tax credits,” Polis wrote.
To do that, the governor said, the Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Public Health and Environment will both work to provide faster responses, prioritize clean energy-related permitting and decisions, and provide technical assistance to local governments.
The state will also try to speed up contracts for efforts on state property that are eligible for tax credits, such as electric vehicle charging and standing up renewable energy projects.
“Colorado’s swift response to the devastating impacts of (the federal tax bill) shows true leadership at a critical moment for our economy and clean energy goals,” said Emilie Olson, the Colorado lead of Advanced Energy United, an industry group that advocates for the transition to clean energy.
Polis previously had pledged to shift the state’s clean energy goals to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and to have 100% renewable energy sources by 2040. Lawmakers and Polis’ office considered enshrining the 2040 target in state law earlier this year, but they ran out of time to introduce legislation to that effect.
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