Dear Editor:
This is an open letter to Gov. John Hickenlooper concerning Senate Bill 46, concerning Renewable Energy Standard Adjustments and REA Distributed Generation.
The Western Colorado Congress (WCC) is pleased that this bill as amended has made it to your desk. We urge you to sign it. While WCC was opposed to the initial language, the amendments placed on it by the Legislature have won broad support.
WCC recognizes the difficulty certain rural electric associations (REA) have in achieving the Renewable Energy Standard (RES) without allowing community solar gardens to contribute to the standard.
We applaud the work it took to get proper amendments on the bill as well as the thoughtful strategies that led this bill to a successful conclusion. While we supported SB 252, we never intended to make reaching the standard impossible.
The Western Colorado Congress believes SB-46 will be a benefit to qualifying rural electric associations without penalizing the hard work many of us have done to boost renewable energy generation in our state, including the Colorado Energy Office.
Therefore, we ask for your signature, Gov. Hickenlooper, to make this legislation law. Thank you for your time.
Rein van West
President
Western Colorado Congress
Ridgway
