TO:  Senator Steve Fenberg, President of the Colorado State Senate 
Representative Julie McCluskie, Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives 
Transportation & Energy Senate Committee, c/o Chair Kevin Priola 
Energy & Environment House Committee, c/o Chair Cathy Kipp 
 

Background 

Over the past decade, many municipalities and counties across the United States have used and continue to use temporary moratoriums and restrictive policies to prevent solar project development. The fossil fuel industry consistently foments local opposition to solar projects by funding misinformation campaigns (Green et al., 2023). States like Illinois and Michigan have addressed this challenge by enacting legislation that limits local governments' ability to impose overly restrictive siting regulations (Eisenson et al., 2024). 
 

Key Findings 

In Colorado, five solar projects amounting to 660 MW face local opposition (Eisenson et al., 2024). These projects represent a 15.8% increase in solar capacity across the state (Solar Energy Industries Association, 2024) and could annually displace 460,712.6 metric tons of CO2 emitted by coal-fired power. The anti-solar groups cite reasons for opposition as follows: loss of wildlife habitat, lack of certain studies included in application submission, impeding views of mountains & wildlife, concerns about property values, and economic threats to agricultural livelihoods (Eisenson et al., 2024). 
 

Recommendations 

The Colorado General Assembly must pass preemptive legislation to protect solar development across the state to prevent local opposition from blocking statewide renewable energy goals. The House and Senate committees and the General Assembly itself have pro-renewable majorities, which could easily send this bill to the pro-renewable governor to sign into law. Modeled after Illinois’ Public Act 102-1123 as described by the Illinois State Association of Counties, this legislation aims to: 

• Prohibit local zoning authorities from passing more restrictive siting standards than those established by the state, 

• Establish reasonable and non-restrictive statewide setback standards, 

• Establish siting standards that local zoning authorities may require (fence heights, vegetative ground cover, height of solar arrays at full tilt, et cetera), and 

• Standardize environmental study requirements that local zoning authorities may require. 

Response to Opposition 

• In response to economic disruption: The Western Way, a conservative, pro-clean energy group, found that the property tax revenue grew by 63% in Kit Carson County between 2011-2021, which the group attributes to its pro-growth renewable energy policies, compared with neighboring anti-renewables Washington County whose property tax revenue only grew by 36% in the same period. By 2030, the American Clean Power Association projects that Colorado will benefit from $64 million in tax revenue from renewable energy projects and that land lease payments to rural landowners will inject $78 million into rural economies. This policy seeks to protect this projected revenue to state & local governments and to landowners. 

• In response to ecological disruption: Solar farms can in fact disrupt local ecologies, BUT when developers design solar projects with ecological considerations, the installations can act as a refuge for biodiversity by maintaining native vegetation attracting pollinators among the panels and on the grounds of the installation and by incorporating wildlife-permeable fencing to allow small animals to pass through such as raccoons and foxes (Kalies et al., 2022). This policy seeks to establish statewide standards for fence and solar panel height as well as vegetation management, so the solar installations could co-exist with local wildlife. The solar panels would minimally impede the view of wildlife and of the mountains and have the potential to attract additional pollinators. 

• In response to agricultural disruption: Colorado is one of the leading states promoting and piloting agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics would not threaten agricultural livelihoods as local opposition groups worry, but rather it would create additional income streams for farmers in rural communities of Colorado (The Potential of Agrivoltaics, 2023).  

Conclusion

A unified state policy ensures that all stakeholders, including rural communities, benefit equitably from the transition to clean energy. By addressing local concerns through thoughtful legislation and siting standards, Colorado can meet its renewable energy goals while fostering rural economic growth and environmental stewardship. 

References 

“Clean Energy Powers Colorado,” American Clean Power Association, cleanpower.org/wp-content/uploads/gateway/2023/09/ACP_Clean-Energy-Powers-Colorado_2023.pdf.  

“Climate & Energy,” Colorado Energy Office, 2024, https://energyoffice.colorado.gov/climate-energy.  

Eisenson, Matthew, Jacob Elkin, Harmukh Singh & Noah Schaffir, “Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the United States.” June 2024 Edition, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, June 2024, https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sabin_climate_change/226 

Green, Miranda, Michael Copley & Ryan Kellman. “An Activist Group Is Spreading Misinformation to Stop Solar Projects in Rural America.” NPR, Floodlight, 19 Feb. 2023, www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1154867064/solar-power-misinformation-activists-rural-america.  

Issue Brief: County Wind and Solar Zoning Restrictions (P.A. 102-1123), Illinois State Association of Counties, 20 Dec. 2023, www.isacoil.org/Resources/1bc94692-24fc-4189-b9aa-ea9d48d4733f/HB%204412%20Issue%20Brief.pdf.  

Liz, Kalies, et al. The Nature Conservancy, Impacts of Conservation Practices at Solar Facilities: Vegetation, Pollinator, and Wildlife Monitoring (2018-2021), https://ncpollinatoralliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Solar-farm-monitoring-report-FINAL-May-2022.pdf.  

“The Potential of Agrivoltaics for the U.S. Solar Industry, Farmers, and Communities,” Solar Energy Technologies Office, Department of Energy, www.energy.gov/eere/solar/articles/potential-agrivoltaics-us-solar-industry-farmers-and-communities. 

State Solar Spotlight: Colorado, Solar Energy Industries Association, June 2024, www.seia.org/sites/default/files/2019-12/Colorado.pdf.  

“The Tale of Two Counties: The Fiscal Impacts of Pro-Growth Renewable Energy Policies at the Local Level.” The Western Way, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5734cf71b6aa60fb98e91bf2/t/63a5e6abdfe53e33bb0942b9/1671816878076/TWW_Tale+of+Two+Counties_v2.pdf. Accessed 7 Sept. 2024.