As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Aircraft" means any contrivance now known or hereafter invented, used, or designed for navigation or flight through the air and designed to carry at least one person.
"Airline company" means any operator who engages in the carriage by aircraft ofpersons or property as a common carrier for compensation or hire, or the carriage of mail, or any aircraft operator who operates regularly between two or more points and publishes a flight schedule. "Airline company" shall not include operators whose aircraft are all certified for a gross takeoff weight of twelve thousand five hundred pounds or less and who do not engage in scheduled or mail carriage service.
(2.3) "Biomass energy facility" means a new facility first placed in production on or after January 1, 2010, that uses real and personal property, including leaseholds and easements, to generate and deliver to the interconnection meter any source of electrical or mechanical energy by combusting only biomass or biosolids derived from the treatment of wastewater and that is not primarily designed to supply electricity for consumption on site.
(2.4) "Geothermal energy facility" means a new facility first placed in production on or after January 1, 2010, that uses real and personal property, including but not limited to leaseholds and easements, to generate and deliver to the interconnection meter any source of electrical or mechanical energy by harnessing the heat energy of groundwater or the ground and that is not primarily designed to supply electricity for consumption on site.
(2.5) Repealed.
(3) (a) "Public utility" means, for property tax years commencing on or after January 1, 1987, every sole proprietorship, firm, limited liability company, partnership, association, company, or corporation, and the trustees or receivers thereof, whether elected or appointed, that does business in this state as a railroad company, airline company, electric company, small or low impact hydroelectric energy facility, geothermal energy facility, biomass energy facility, wind energy facility, solar energy facility, rural electric company, telephone company, telegraph company, gas company, gas pipeline carrier company, domestic water company selling at retail except nonprofit domestic water companies, pipeline company, coal slurry pipeline, or private car line company.
(b) On and after January 1, 2010, for purposes of this article, "public utility" shall not include any affiliate or subsidiary of a sole proprietorship, firm, limited liability company, partnership, association, company, or corporation of any type of company described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) that is not doing business in the state primarily as a railroad company, airline company, electric company, small or low impact hydroelectric energy facility, geothermal energy facility, biomass energy facility, wind energy facility, solar energy facility, rural electric company, telephone company, telegraph company, gas company, gas pipeline carrier company, domestic water company selling at retail except nonprofit domestic water companies, pipeline company, coal slurry pipeline, or private car line company. Valuation and taxation of any such affiliate or subsidiary of a public utility as defined in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) shall be assessed pursuant to article 5 of this title.
(3.3) (a) "Small or low impact hydroelectric energy facility" means a new facility first placed in production on or after January 1, 2010, that uses real and personal property, including but not limited to leaseholds and easements, to generate and deliver to the interconnection meter any source of electrical or mechanical energy by harnessing the kinetic energy of water, that is not primarily designed to supply electricity for consumption on site, and that is:
A new facility that is a small facility that has a nameplate rating of ten megawatts orless; or
A new facility that has a nameplate rating of more than ten megawatts and that:
Is an addition to water infrastructure such as a reservoir, a ditch, or a pipeline thatexisted before January 1, 2010;
Does not result in any change in the quantity or timing of diversions or releases forpurposes of peak power generation;
Includes measures to prevent fish mortality in facilities on on-stream reservoirs andnatural waterways; and
Does not cause any violation of state water quality standards when operated; or
(III) A new facility that has a nameplate rating of more than ten megawatts and that:
Is placed into production as part of new water infrastructure such as a reservoir, aditch, or a pipeline constructed on or after January 1, 2010, and operated for primary beneficial uses of water other than solely for production of electricity;
Includes measures to prevent fish mortality in facilities on reservoirs and naturalwaterways; and
Does not cause any violation of state water quality standards when operated.
(b) For purposes of this subsection (3.3), "new facility" includes a combined facility that is a combination of a facility placed in production before January 1, 2010, that uses real and personal property to generate and deliver to the interconnection meter any source of electric or mechanical energy by harnessing the kinetic energy of water and that is not primarily designed to supply energy for consumption on site and an addition or energy efficiency improvement to the facility first placed in production on or after January 1, 2010, if the addition or efficiency improvement increases the electrical or mechanical energy-producing capacity of the combined facility by at least twenty-five percent over the capacity of the facility placed in production before January 1, 2010, alone.
(3.5) "Solar energy facility" means a new facility first placed in production on or after January 1, 2009, that uses real and personal property, including but not limited to one or more solar energy devices, as defined in section 38-32.5-100.3 (2), C.R.S., leaseholds, and easements, to generate and deliver to the interconnection meter any source of electrical, thermal, or mechanical energy in excess of two megawatts by harnessing the radiant energy of the sun and that is not primarily designed to supply electricity for consumption on site.
(4) "Wind energy facility" means a new facility first placed in production on or after January 1, 2006, that uses property, real and personal, including one or more wind turbines, leaseholds, and easements, to generate and deliver to the interconnection meter any source of electrical or mechanical energy in excess of two megawatts by harnessing the kinetic energy of the wind.
Source: L. 64: R&RE, p. 688, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 137-4-1. L. 76: Entire section amended, p. 768, § 1, effective April 26; entire section amended, p. 759, § 16, effective July 1, 1977. L. 81: (2.5) added and (3) amended, p. 1854, §§ 3, 4, effective January 1, 1982; (3) amended, p. 1847, § 1, effective January 1, 1982. L. 82: (2.5) amended, p. 628, § 41, effective April 2. L. 83: (2.5) and (3) amended, p. 1496, § 3, effective April 28. L. 84: (2.5) and (3) amended, p. 989, § 2, effective February 23; (2.5) and (3) amended, p. 997, § 2, effective May 22. L. 90: (3) amended, p. 450, § 27, effective April 18. L. 2000: (3) amended, p. 1738, § 2, effective June 1. L. 2006: (3) amended and (4) added, p. 889, § 1, effective May 9. L. 2008: (4) amended, p. 1319, § 2, effective May 27. L. 2009: (3) amended and (3.5) added, (SB 09-177), ch. 186, p. 812, § 1, effective April 22. L. 2010: (3) amended and (3.3) added, (SB 10-019), ch. 382, p. 1784, § 1, effective June 8; (2.3) added and (3) amended, (SB 10-177), ch. 392, p. 1862, § 3, effective August 11; (2.4) added and (3) amended, (SB 10-174), ch. 189, p. 813, § 8, effective August 11.
Editor's note: (1) Subsection (2.5) provided for the repeal of subsection (2.5), effective January 1, 1987. (See L. 84, p. 989.)
(2) Amendments to this section by House Bill 76-1235 and House Bill 76-1025 were harmonized. Amendments to subsection (3) by House Bill 81-1309 and Senate Bill 81-025 were harmonized. Amendments to subsections (2.5) and (3) by House Bill 84-1051 and Senate Bill 84-214 were harmonized. Amendments to subsection (3) by Senate Bill 10-019, Senate Bill 10174, and Senate Bill 10-177 were harmonized.
Cross references: For the legislative intent contained in the 2008 act amending subsection (4), see section 9 of chapter 302, Session Laws of Colorado 2008.