Bill Text: IA SSB3180 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to solar energy by establishing a community solar facility program.(See SF 2356.)
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-02-14 - Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 2356. [SSB3180 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2023-SSB3180-Introduced.html
Senate
Study
Bill
3180
-
Introduced
SENATE
FILE
_____
BY
(PROPOSED
COMMITTEE
ON
COMMERCE
BILL
BY
CHAIRPERSON
BROWN)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
solar
energy
by
establishing
a
community
1
solar
facility
program.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
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Section
1.
Section
476.1,
Code
2024,
is
amended
by
adding
1
the
following
new
subsection:
2
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
5.
A
community
solar
facility
established
3
pursuant
to
section
476.50
shall
not
be
regarded
as
a
public
4
utility
for
purposes
of
this
chapter.
5
Sec.
2.
Section
476.25,
Code
2024,
is
amended
by
adding
the
6
following
new
subsection:
7
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
4.
The
furnishing
of
electricity
pursuant
8
to
a
community
solar
facility
under
section
476.50
shall
not
9
be
considered
an
unnecessary
duplication
of
electric
utility
10
facilities
and
shall
not
constitute
a
violation
of
this
11
section.
12
Sec.
3.
NEW
SECTION
.
476.50
Community
solar
facility
13
program
——
established.
14
1.
As
used
in
this
section,
unless
the
context
otherwise
15
requires:
16
a.
“Bill
credit”
means
the
monetary
value
of
the
electricity
17
in
kilowatt-hours
generated
by
the
community
solar
facility
18
allocated
to
a
subscriber
to
offset
that
subscriber’s
19
electricity
bill.
20
b.
“Community
solar
facility”
means
a
distributed
generation
21
facility
that
generates
electricity
by
means
of
a
solar
22
photovoltaic
device
whereby
subscribers
receive
a
bill
credit
23
for
the
electricity
generated
in
proportion
to
the
size
of
the
24
customer’s
subscription
and
all
of
the
following
conditions
25
apply:
26
(1)
The
facility
is
located
on
one
or
more
parcels
of
land
27
and
no
other
community
solar
facility
under
the
control
of
the
28
same
entity,
an
affiliate’s
entity,
or
an
entity
under
common
29
control
is
located
on
that
land.
30
(2)
At
the
time
the
facility
initially
meets
the
31
requirements
set
forth
in
the
tariff
to
participate
in
the
32
program,
the
facility
is
not
located
within
one
mile,
measured
33
from
the
point
of
interconnection,
of
a
community
solar
34
facility
under
the
control
of
the
same
entity.
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(3)
The
facility
has
at
least
three
subscribers.
1
(4)
The
facility
generates
not
more
than
five
megawatts
of
2
electricity
as
measured
in
alternating
current.
3
(5)
No
subscriber
holds
more
than
a
forty
percent
interest
4
in
the
output
of
the
facility.
5
(6)
Not
less
than
sixty
percent
of
the
capacity
of
the
6
facility
is
subscribed
to
by
subscriptions
of
not
more
than
7
forty
kilowatts.
8
c.
“Electric
utility”
means
a
public
utility
that
furnishes
9
electricity
to
the
public
for
compensation
that
is
required
to
10
be
rate-regulated
under
this
chapter.
11
d.
“Subscriber”
means
a
customer
of
an
electric
utility
12
subject
to
this
section
who
owns
one
or
more
subscriptions
to
a
13
community
solar
facility
interconnected
with
that
utility.
14
e.
“Subscriber
organization”
means
a
for-profit
or
nonprofit
15
entity
that
owns
or
operates
one
or
more
community
solar
16
facilities.
17
f.
“Subscription”
means
a
proportional
contractual
interest
18
in
a
community
solar
facility
under
which
the
estimated
bill
19
credits
of
the
subscriber
do
not
exceed
the
average
annual
20
bill
for
the
customer
account
to
which
the
subscription
is
21
attributed.
22
2.
a.
A
community
solar
facility
program
is
established
23
to
encourage
and
enhance
the
generation
of
solar
energy
and
to
24
encourage
and
enhance
the
ability
of
electric
utility
customers
25
to
participate
in
and
derive
benefit
from
alternate
solar
26
energy
projects.
27
b.
An
electric
utility
shall
provide
a
bill
credit
to
a
28
subscriber’s
subsequent
monthly
electric
bill.
Any
amount
of
29
the
bill
credit
that
exceeds
the
subscriber’s
monthly
bill
30
shall
be
carried
over
and
applied
to
the
next
month’s
bill
in
31
perpetuity.
32
c.
An
electric
utility
shall
be
required
to
purchase
from
33
a
community
solar
facility
in
accordance
with
section
476.49.
34
The
amount
of
a
subscriber’s
subscription
shall
be
credited
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to
the
subscriber’s
account
with
the
utility.
The
board
1
shall
develop
interconnection
agreements
for
utilization
by
a
2
community
solar
facility
interconnecting
with
a
utility.
3
d.
A
community
solar
facility
shall
be
subject
to
all
of
the
4
following
requirements:
5
(1)
Utilize
facilities
generating
electricity
by
means
of
6
community
solar
facility
solar
photovoltaic
devices.
7
(2)
Provide
subscription
access
to
the
community
solar
8
facility
exclusively
to
customers
of
a
single
electric
utility.
9
e.
The
subscriber
must
be
located
within
the
service
10
territory
of
the
electric
utility
where
the
community
solar
11
facility
is
located.
Customers
located
outside
of
the
state
12
shall
not
be
allowed
to
subscribe
to
the
community
solar
13
facility.
14
f.
A
subscriber
may
subscribe
all
of
their
electricity
15
meters
to
a
community
solar
facility.
16
g.
Community
solar
facilities
may
be
owned
by
investors.
17
h.
An
electric
utility
shall
provide
a
bill
credit
to
18
a
subscriber’s
subsequent
monthly
electric
bill
for
the
19
proportional
output
of
a
community
solar
facility
attributable
20
to
that
subscriber
for
not
less
than
twenty-five
years
from
the
21
date
the
solar
facility
is
first
placed
into
operation.
22
i.
A
subscriber
organization
shall
periodically
and
in
23
a
standardized
electronic
format
provide
to
the
electric
24
utility
whose
service
territory
includes
the
location
of
the
25
subscriber
organization’s
community
solar
facility
a
subscriber
26
list
indicating
the
percentage
of
generation
attributable
27
to
each
of
the
electric
utility’s
retail
customers
who
are
28
subscribers
to
a
community
solar
facility
in
accordance
with
29
the
subscriber’s
portion
of
the
output
of
the
community
solar
30
facility.
The
electric
utility
shall
create
a
platform
for
the
31
subscriber
organization
to
periodically
communicate
updates
to
32
the
subscriber
list
to
reflect
cancelling
subscribers
and
new
33
subscribers.
The
investor-owned
electric
utility
shall
apply
34
bill
credits
to
the
bills
of
subscribers
within
one
billing
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cycle
following
the
cycle
during
which
the
energy
earning
the
1
bill
credits
is
generated
by
the
community
solar
facility.
2
j.
An
electric
utility
shall
provide
a
subscriber
3
organization
a
report
each
month
in
a
standardized
electronic
4
format
detailing
the
total
value
of
bill
credits
generated
5
by
the
subscriber
organization’s
community
solar
facility
in
6
the
prior
month
and
the
amount
of
bill
credits
applied
to
each
7
subscriber.
8
k.
Any
renewable
energy
credits
created
from
the
production
9
of
electricity
in
a
community
solar
facility
are
the
property
10
of
the
subscriber
organization
that
owns
or
operates
the
11
community
solar
facility.
The
subscriber
organization
may
12
sell,
accumulate,
retire,
or
distribute
to
subscribers
the
13
renewable
energy
credits
of
the
subscriber
organization.
14
3.
The
board
shall
adopt
rules
to
implement
the
provisions
15
of
this
section
that
accomplish
all
of
the
following:
16
a.
Reasonably
allow
for
the
creation
and
financing
of
17
community
solar
facilities.
18
b.
Allow
all
customer
classes
to
participate
as
subscribers
19
to
a
community
solar
facility,
and
ensure
participation
20
opportunities
for
all
customer
classes.
21
c.
Prohibit
removing
a
customer
from
the
customer’s
22
applicable
customer
class
due
to
the
customer
subscribing
to
a
23
community
solar
facility.
24
d.
Reasonably
allow
for
the
transferability
and
portability
25
of
subscriptions,
including
allowing
a
subscriber
to
retain
a
26
subscription
to
a
community
solar
facility
if
the
subscriber
27
moves
within
the
same
investor-owned
electric
utility’s
service
28
territory.
29
e.
Modify
existing
interconnection
standards,
fees,
30
and
processes
as
needed
to
facilitate
the
efficient
and
31
cost-effective
interconnection
of
community
solar
facilities
32
and
that
allow
an
electric
utility
to
recover
reasonable
33
interconnection
costs
for
each
community
solar
facility.
34
f.
Provide
for
consumer
protection
in
accordance
with
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existing
laws.
1
g.
Allow
an
electric
utility
to
recover
costs
of
applying
2
bill
credits
under
this
section.
3
h.
Require
that
electric
utilities
efficiently
connect
4
community
solar
facilities
to
the
electrical
distribution
grid
5
and
do
not
discriminate
against
community
solar
facilities.
6
i.
Require
a
subscriber
organization
to
satisfy
7
interconnection
process
benchmarks,
demonstrate
site
control,
8
and
obtain
all
applicable
nonministerial
permits
for
a
9
community
solar
facility
before
the
subscriber
organization
10
owns
or
operates
the
facility.
11
EXPLANATION
12
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
13
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
14
This
bill
establishes
a
community
solar
facility
program.
15
The
bill
specifies
that
an
“electric
utility”
for
16
purposes
of
the
bill
is
a
public
utility
that
provides
17
electricity
to
the
public
for
compensation
and
is
required
18
to
be
rate-regulated
under
Code
chapter
476.
The
bill
19
defines
“community
solar
facility”
to
mean
a
distributed
20
generation
facility
that
generates
electricity
through
solar
21
panels
whereby
subscribers
may
receive
bill
credits
for
22
the
electricity
generated
in
proportion
to
the
size
of
the
23
customer’s
subscription.
The
bill
defines
“subscriber”
to
mean
24
a
customer
of
an
electric
utility
who
owns
at
least
one
share
25
of
a
subscription
to
a
community
solar
facility.
A
“subscriber
26
organization”
is
a
for-profit
or
nonprofit
entity
that
owns
27
or
operates
one
or
more
community
solar
facilities.
The
bill
28
defines
“subscription”
to
mean
a
proportional
contractual
29
interest
in
a
community
solar
facility.
30
The
bill
provides
that
a
community
solar
facility
program
is
31
established
to
encourage
and
enhance
solar
energy
generation
32
and
the
ability
of
electric
public
utility
customers
to
33
participate
in
and
derive
benefit
from
alternate
solar
energy
34
projects.
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The
bill
provides
that
a
customer
shall
receive
a
credit
in
1
proportion
to
the
customer’s
subscription.
The
bill
provides
2
that
a
utility
shall
be
required
to
purchase
in
accordance
with
3
billing
methods
established
pursuant
to
Code
section
476.49.
A
4
subscriber’s
subscription
shall
be
credited
to
the
subscriber’s
5
account
with
the
utility.
The
bill
provides
that
the
Iowa
6
utilities
board
shall
develop
interconnection
agreements
for
7
utilization
by
a
community
solar
facility
interconnecting
with
8
the
utility.
9
The
bill
provides
that
a
community
solar
facility
may
10
consist
of
subscribers
located
within
the
state
and
shall
not
11
consist
of
out-of-state
subscribers.
The
bill
provides
that
12
a
subscriber
may
include
all
of
the
subscriber’s
electricity
13
meters
in
the
community
solar
facility.
The
bill
provides
that
14
a
community
solar
facility
may
be
owned
by
investors.
15
The
bill
requires
the
Iowa
utilities
board
to
adopt
rules
16
regarding
implementation
of
the
bill’s
provisions.
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