Colorado Governor Jared Polis was on campus on Tuesday, May 27 to sign House Bill 25-1165 Geologic Storage Enterprise & Geothermal Resources into law. Gov. Polis noted that it was significant to be signing the bill – one that sets up the future of geothermal energy in Colorado – at CC, specifically in Tutt Library, as Tutt is the largest net-zero academic library in the country.
“This bill helps lay the foundation for geothermal and carbon capture to be even more competitive,” says Polis. “We want to signal to the marketplace that Colorado is ready for geothermal, ready for carbon sequestration. There's vast potential here. This bill makes it easier to scale and deploy geothermal energy projects across our state like the one that we have right here at this library at Colorado College.”
Members of CC’s Office of Sustainability were in attendance along with members of the Department of Natural Resources, who were instrumental in the bill’s construction.
House Bill 25-1165 is a bi-partisan bill that focuses on the management of underground energy resources in the state. It creates a geologic storage stewardship enterprise in the Department of Natural Resources and a board to administer the enterprise. The bill also makes several updates to laws concerning the administration of underground geothermal resources and brings regulatory clarity to geothermal water projects as they relate to other water projects.
“We continue to look at where and how we can take bold action to open the door for opportunity and to make sure that we can use every tool possible to generate low-cost energy, to store energy, to reduce pollution,” says Polis. “That's really what this bill is all about. It streamlines geothermal development and minimizes cost. It expedites permitting. It also reduces the risk to industry and the public and it uplifts existing geothermal operations.”
The bill sets up Colorado as a leader in the future of geothermal energy, while also providing for the state’s residents, saving them money and assuring them an eco-friendly energy source. The prime sponsors of HB25-1165 are Rep. Amy Paschal, Rep. Matt Soper, Sen. Cleave Simpson, and Sen. Cathy Kipp.
“I am super excited to have this bill signed today,” says Paschal. “It’s an extremely important bill for Colorado. I'm hoping that this brings some geothermal operations to Colorado that can contribute to our energy resources here. It's yet another option for clean energy as we move towards our goal of 100% renewable and clean energy here in Colorado.”