Customer-Focused Clean Energy Policy Guidance
Founded in 1997, the Colorado Energy Group (CEG) is a customer-focused strategic energy planning advisor to governments, utilities, homebuilders, developers and energy efficiency and renewable energy providers and suppliers.
George Burmeister is the President of CEG. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, CEG has satellite offices in Stockton, CA, Dallas, TX and Washington, DC.
CEG is hired primarily for our energy efficiency and solar Best Practice implementation experience with industry and local and state governments, our writing skills, relationship-building and facilitation services, stakeholder
engagement strategies, codes and standards knowledge, balanced Community Choice Energy (CCE) expertise, survey capabilities and our comprehensive clean energy technology policy expertise. We place a strong emphasis on voluntary,
market-based solutions and are one of a few organizations at the forefront of writing and implementing local government 100-Percent Renewable Energy Strategies.
Notable Projects
Six New Decarbonization White Papers
On behalf of the Southern California Edison Company, CEG was paid to lead the writing and policy analysis on the following six new white papers:
City of Lewisville, Texas…New Sustainability Action Plan
CEG was hired to author a new Sustainability Action Plan (SAP) for this growing north Texas community of 100,000. In addition to suggesting final strategies and writing the actual SAP, CEG helped lead related public workshops.
Long-term Solar and Storage Strategy for Boulder, Colorado
The City of Boulder needed to get from their 20 Megawatts (MW) of solar to 50 MW by 2020, and 100 MW by 2030, so they hired CEG as the prime contractor to help them figure out how to do it--both as a customer of Xcel energy,
and as a potential new municipal utility. CEG shared more than 50 solar Best Practices with City staff and local leaders, ranging from new PPAs for city buildings, on-bill financing, utilizing parking lot structures,
establishing new Community Solar program(s), and starting aggressive new solar programs for the C & I sectors which comprise ~75-percent of the electricity load. Click
here access the City of Boulder website
and view the final reports.
Electrification Revenue Impacts on Local Governments
CEG delivered a report that quantifies the likely fiscal impacts for California local governments as they decarbonize in response to State of California goals. Local governments are moving away from natural gas to
electricity and electrifying more of their end-uses to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, address increasing safety concerns and improve indoor air quality. This important work involved compiling and evaluating franchise
fee, utility user tax (UUT) and other energy tax trade-offs that occur under different electrification scenarios.
100-Percent Renewable Energy Supply RoadMap and Strategic Energy Planning Services
As the primary expert and team lead on local government renewable energy and related energy efficiency Best Practices CEG helped win competitive RFPs to design new renewable energy strategies for the cities of Santa Barbara,
California and Lafayette, Colorado and the County of Santa Barbara to take them to 100-percent renewable energy goals. CEG’s analysis and most of our draft energy strategies were ultimately included by each of these local
governments in their final roadmaps.
CEG Authored an Innovative Comprehensive Renewable Energy Plan (CREP) for San Diego County
CEG and a team of colleagues completed a Comprehensive Renewable Energy Plan (CREP) for the County of San Diego. Purposes of the CREP include identifying opportunities for increased renewable energy production while protecting
habitat-sensitive land and identifying investment patterns needed for future planning scenarios involving an increasing State Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that goes from 33% to 50%, to 75% and 100%. CEG led a year-long
review of national Best Practices for this innovative project.
GHG-Reduction Strategies White Paper for the Southern California Edison Company (SCE)
CEG was hired to research and compile an exhaustive list of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies available through buildings and codes and standards policies, along with an implementation timeline for making
many of them a reality in the Southern California Edison (SCE) Company service territory. To their credit, SCE is aggressively pursuing strategies to reduce GHGs as part of a new, Company-wide focus. The White Paper was a
companion piece to the Company’s 2017 release of the Clean Power and Electrification Pathway initiative.
Successful “Value of Solar”
CEG was hired by the Governor and the Colorado State Energy Office Director, Jeff Ackerman to facilitate and help negotiate common ground and agreement between the solar industry and Xcel Energy. Despite ongoing legal
proceedings that prohibited the parties from speaking frankly, CEG managed to devise a solution over a few months, and led the group of statewide industry and utility leaders through an in-depth discussion on the “true value
of solar.” To read press related to this project, please see the articles in the
Denver Business Journal ,
GreenTech Media and the
Denver Post .
The Sustainable Energy Roadmap Project: San Joaquin Valley, California
California’s San Joaquin Valley is ground-zero for large scale solar project encroachment on America’s most prized agricultural land. The stakes are high not only for the Valley but for the more than 50-percent of Americans
that rely on this food source. CEG provided technical assistance to Valley local governments over two years, and CEG was the lead author on a highly acclaimed 70-page White Paper which documents the major public policy issues
related to this important topic.
