Senate Bill 13-252 Summary

• Amends Colorado's renewable energy standard to include coal mine methane and synthetic gas from municipal solid waste pyrolysis as eligible energy resources if determined to be greenhouse gas neutral by the Public Utilities Commission.

• Establishes a 20 percent renewable energy standard for cooperative electric associations serving 100,000 or more meters and qualifying wholesale utilities by 2020, with an existing 2 percent rate impact cap increased to 2 percent for all utilities.

• Requires one-tenth (or one percent) of electricity from qualifying retail utilities to come from distributed generation, with limited exceptions for smaller cooperative associations (three-quarters of one percent).

• Creates new "qualifying wholesale utility" category for generation and transmission cooperatives serving Colorado members at wholesale, with annual reporting requirements and tradable renewable energy credits expiring after five years.

• Effective July 1, 2013, with provisions allowing the Public Utilities Commission to establish rules and determine greenhouse gas neutrality of eligible resources.