Colorado Governor Polis signs bill on geothermal regulation into law

Golden, Colorado, U.S. (source: flickr/ Nikky, creative commons)

Governor Jared Polis of the State of Colorado, U.S., has signed into law SB23-285 or the “Energy and Carbon Management Regulation in Colorado.” The new law provides the framework for new state regulatory approvals that enable expanded power generation from geothermal resources.

The provisions under the new law are as summarized below:

• The Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has been renamed to be Energy and Carbon Management Commission, thus expanding the commission’s regulatory authority to include a broader scope of energy and carbon management areas beyond oil and gas.
• Section 8 grants the commission with the exclusive authority to regulate deep geothermal operations. These pertain to operations for the exploration for or production of an allocated geothermal resource, or a geothermal resource that is deeper than 2500 feet (762 meters) below the surface.
• The state engineer retains the exclusive authority to regulate shallow geothermal operations.
• The bill directs the commission to conduct the following studies, prepare reports summarizing the findings of the studies, and submit the reports to the general assembly:
  • A technical study of the state’s geothermal resource;
  • A study, in collaboration with the state engineer, that evaluates the state regulatory structure for geothermal resources and whether any changes to law or rules are necessary;
  • A study concerning the regulation and permitting of underground hydrogen operations;
  • A study, in coordination with the public utilities commission, examining the siting and regulation of interstate pipelines;

SB23-285 is a bipartisan bill sponsored by Representatives Karen McCormick and Ruby Dickson, Senators  Kevin Priola and Chris Hansen.

Governor Polis had previously signed two bipartisan bills on geothermal research, education, and implementation have been previously signed by Gov. Polis during the 2022 legislative session.

Source: Colorado State Government (1 and 2)