Bill Text: MA S1478 | 2009-2010 | 186th General Court | Introduced
Bill Title:
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-01-20 - Public Hearing date 4/15 at 2:00 PM in Hearing Room B2 [S1478 Detail]
Download: Massachusetts-2009-S1478-Introduced.html
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
PRESENTED BY:
Cynthia Stone Creem
_______________
To the
Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the passage of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to consumer choice of green electricity.
_______________
PETITION OF:
|
Name: |
District/Address: |
|
Cynthia Stone Creem |
First Middlesex and Norfolk |
|
Susan C. Fargo |
Third Middlesex |
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS
SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. S01925 OF 2007-2008.]
The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts
_______________
In the Year Two Thousand and Nine
_______________
An Act relative to consumer choice of green electricity.
Be
it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 164 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 1H the following section:--
SECTION 1I. The department is hereby authorized and directed to require electric companies organized pursuant to this chapter to provide retail customers with the option of purchasing electricity derived from renewable energy. The department shall: promulgate rules and regulations to establish a “green electricity purchasing” program; establish fair and efficient rates for electricity generated from renewable energy sources; and develop a program to educate retail customers about renewable energy options. Renewable energy purchasing options established by this act will be separate and distinct from what is required by the renewable portfolio standard regulations (225 CMR 14.00), as established by the division of energy resources. The department shall implement the requirements of this act no later than July 1, 2010. Biannual reports must be filed by the department to the general court’s joint committee on energy and joint committee on government regulations detailing the implementation of the act. For the purposes of this section “renewable energy” or “renewables” will be defined as either (i) resources whose common characteristic is that they are nondepletable or are naturally replenishable but flow-limited, or (ii) existing or emerging non-fossil fuel energy sources or technologies, which have significant potential for commercialization in New England and New York, and shall include the following: solar photovoltaic or solar thermal electric energy; wind energy; ocean thermal, wave, or tidal energy; fuel cells; landfill gas; waste-to-energy which is a component of conventional municipal solid waste plant technology in commercial use; naturally flowing water and hydroelectric; and low-emission, advanced biomass power conversion technologies, such as gasification using such biomass fuels as wood, agricultural, or food wastes, energy crops, biogas, biodiesel, or organic refuse-derived fuel. The following technologies or fuels shall not be considered renewable energy supplies: coal, oil, natural gas except when used in fuel cells, and nuclear power.
