Xcel Energy has requested permission from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to raise $6 million per year for clean energy research. The funds would be raised by adding a nominal fee to customers’ bills. Most residential customers would pay an extra .14 per month, and most small businesses would see a .22 increase.

According to the Denver Business Journal, here’s what that money would go toward:

Xcel (NYSE: XEL) says it wants to test small demonstration projects to determine if they are commercially viable before using them on a large scale.

Subject to PUC approval, the first project to be examined under the ICT proposal would be a $4.5 million solar power demonstration at Xcel’s Cameo Generating Station near Grand Junction.

The project involves concentrating solar energy to produce supplemental steam for power generation at an existing power plant.

“In this period of difficult economic times, it is crucial for us to explore new, cleaner technologies by the most economical means possible,” Tim Taylor, president/CEO of Public Service Company of Colorado, Xcel Energy’s Colorado unit, said in a statement Wednesday.