Bill Text: MN SF1281 | 2011-2012 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Minnesota Solar Energy Act
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-04-26 - Referred to Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications [SF1281 Detail]
Download: Minnesota-2011-SF1281-Introduced.html
1.2relating to energy; creating solar energy standard for utilities; regulating solar
1.3energy; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 216B.1691, subdivision 4,
1.4by adding subdivisions.
1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. CITATION; PURPOSES.
1.7 Subdivision 1. Citation. Sections 1 to 5 may be cited as the Minnesota Solar Energy
1.8Act.
1.9 Subd. 2. Purposes. The purposes of sections 1 to 5 are to:
1.10(1) provide for the orderly incorporation of solar-generated electricity into the mix
1.11of electricity sources that serve Minnesota consumers to ensure greater diversity among
1.12those sources;
1.13(2) increase in-state economic development of Minnesota energy resources;
1.14(3) reduce Minnesota's heavy reliance on non-Minnesota fuels for electricity
1.15generation and decrease the economic drain of Minnesota financial resources to pay for
1.16those fuels;
1.17(4) increase energy security for Minnesota;
1.18(5) develop new, and encourage growth of existing, solar energy businesses in
1.19Minnesota;
1.20(6) develop a strong manufacturing base for solar equipment in Minnesota;
1.21(7) develop a strong base for solar energy-related jobs in Minnesota;
1.22(8) develop a robust private market for solar-generated electricity; and
1.23(9) reduce and eliminate insufficient, unreliable, and unsustainable financial
1.24mechanisms to support solar energy development.
2.1 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 216B.1691, is amended by adding a
2.2subdivision to read:
2.3 Subd. 2e. Solar energy standard. (a) In addition to the requirements of subdivision
2.42a, each electric utility subject to subdivision 2a shall generate or procure sufficient
2.5electricity generated by solar energy to serve its direct or indirect retail customers in
2.6Minnesota so that at least the following standard percentages of the electric utility's total
2.7retail electric sales to retail customers in Minnesota are generated by solar energy by the
2.8end of the year indicated:
2.14(b) The commissioner of commerce may adjust a goal for a specific electric utility
2.15under paragraph (a) or delay its implementation after:
2.16(1) receipt of a petition from an electric utility that clearly shows that the utility's
2.17average retail rates, or the utility's members' average retail rates, must increase by more
2.18than two percent in order to meet a specified goal;
2.19(2) notice to interested persons with at least 60 days for them to submit comments
2.20and at least one public meeting to discuss the petition; and
2.21(3) analysis of the petition and all comment by department staff in light of the utility's
2.22then existing rate structure and a staff recommendation for action by the commissioner.
2.23The commissioner shall publish the final decision in the State Register and on the
2.24department's Web site and shall transmit the final decision to the commission and the chairs
2.25and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with primary jurisdiction
2.26over energy policy. In no case may a goal for any utility drop below 7.5 percent in 2030.
2.27 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 216B.1691, is amended by adding a
2.28subdivision to read:
2.29 Subd. 2f. Solar energy standard; compliance. (a) To meet the standard and
2.30benchmarks in subdivision 2e, a utility may:
2.31(1) construct and own solar energy installations;
2.32(2) purchase electricity and solar renewable energy credits from independent solar
2.33energy power producers or utility customers;
2.34(3) purchase solar renewable energy credits from any renewable energy credit
2.35market approved by the commission that separately tags solar renewable energy credits; or
3.1(4) remit to the commissioner an amount equal to the number of solar renewable
3.2energy credits the utility needs to comply with a benchmark, times the average market
3.3price of a credit at the time the benchmark must be met, plus 25 percent.
3.4(b) The commissioner shall deposit funds remitted under paragraph (a) in the
3.5energy and conservation account in the state treasury established in section 216B.241,
3.6subdivision 2a. The commissioner shall account for money in the fund deposited under
3.7this paragraph by the source of the funds and shall make every reasonable effort to use
3.8the money to provide incentives for solar energy installations in that specific utility's
3.9service territory. If the commissioner is unable, after a three-year period, to fully expend
3.10a utility's payment to the fund in that utility's service territory, the commissioner may
3.11aggregate all such funds and provide incentives for solar energy installations statewide on
3.12a first-come, first-served basis.
3.13 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 216B.1691, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
3.14 Subd. 4. Renewable energy credits. (a) To facilitate compliance with this section,
3.15the commission, by rule or order, shall establish by January 1, 2008, a program for
3.16tradable renewable energy credits for electricity generated by eligible energy technology.
3.17The credits must represent energy produced by an eligible energy technology, as defined in
3.18subdivision 1. Each kilowatt-hour of renewable energy credits must be treated the same as
3.19a kilowatt-hour of eligible energy technology generated or procured by an electric utility if
3.20it is produced by an eligible energy technology. The program must permit a credit to be
3.21used only once. The program must treat all eligible energy technology equally and shall
3.22not give more or less credit to energy based on the state where the energy was generated or
3.23the technology with which the energy was generated. The commission must determine the
3.24period in which the credits may be used for purposes of the program.
3.25 (b) In lieu of generating or procuring energy directly to satisfy the eligible energy
3.26technology objective or standard of this section, an electric utility may utilize renewable
3.27energy credits allowed under the program to satisfy the objective or standard.
3.28 (c) The commission shall facilitate the trading of renewable energy credits between
3.29states.
3.30 (d) The commission shall require all electric utilities to participate in a
3.31commission-approved credit-tracking system or systems. Once a credit-tracking system is
3.32in operation, the commission shall issue an order establishing protocols for trading credits.
3.33(e) An electric utility subject to subdivision 2a, paragraph (b), may not sell renewable
3.34energy credits to an electric utility subject to subdivision 2a, paragraph (a), until 2021.
4.1(f) The commission shall ensure that solar renewable energy credits used to meet
4.2the standards in subdivision 2e are separately tagged. Any utility may purchase and any
4.3utility or other person may sell solar renewable energy credits at any time for the purposes
4.4of compliance with subdivision 2e. Solar renewable energy credits may be used to
4.5meet either the standards in subdivision 2a or those in subdivision 2e, but not both. In
4.6all instances, solar renewable energy credits belong to the project owner and must be
4.7purchased separately from the energy, although they may be purchased under the same
4.8contract, power purchase agreement, or other transaction. The commission shall establish
4.9guidelines and a methodology for retail electricity customers who generate solar electric
4.10or thermal energy that is used by the customer and not sold to a utility, so that those
4.11self-generators may sell solar renewable energy credits in the renewable energy credit
4.12market like any other solar electric or solar thermal energy producer.
4.13(g) By January 31, 2012, and every two years thereafter, for residential solar
4.14installations with a rated or converted capacity of 100 kilowatts or smaller, the
4.15commissioner of commerce shall determine and publish a base price for solar renewable
4.16energy credits for sale through the program established under paragraph (a) that ensures
4.17that the minimum purchase price reflects at least the average price paid by public utilities
4.18to purchase solar renewable energy credits, determined by the most recent two-year time
4.19period. The commissioner shall ensure that the price is sufficient, when added to the price
4.20of the energy produced by solar projects, to cover the costs of the projects and provide a
4.21reasonable return on investment to the project owner and may:
4.22(1) require any Minnesota electric utility to provide specific cost and price data the
4.23utility may have to assist in determining base price;
4.24(2) include cost and price data from states with similar insolation levels, particularly
4.25states within the Midwest/Great Plains region, to the extent that data is available to the
4.26commissioner; and
4.27(3) adjust the base price downward more often as the private market becomes
4.28functional.
4.29The commissioner shall treat as trade secret all cost and price data from a utility or
4.30from any other source that is not otherwise available to a member of the public. The
4.31commissioner shall solicit advice from all interested stakeholders, including, but not
4.32limited to, utilities, solar energy and other businesses, ratepayer advocates, and energy and
4.33environmental policy advocates and shall require confidentiality agreements from each
4.34entity or individual who requests to participate in the determination of base prices and
4.35who seeks access to trade secret data. The commissioner shall determine appropriate
4.36project size groupings within each different solar electric generation technology and
5.1determine base prices for each. The size groupings may change over time when data exist
5.2to support the changes.
5.3 Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 216B.1691, is amended by adding a
5.4subdivision to read:
5.5 Subd. 4a. Solar electricity; public property. (a) An electric utility subject to this
5.6section shall purchase electricity generated by a solar energy project with a rated capacity
5.7of two megawatts or less that is located on property owned by the state, any local unit of
5.8government, or any tribe in Minnesota, or a project that is owned by the state, local unit of
5.9government, or tribe and located on property in Minnesota that is leased by the state, local
5.10unit of government, or tribe. A power purchase agreement must be for a period of at least
5.1120 years, or 30 years if the installation is owned by the public or a tribe.
5.12(b) The utility shall pay the following amounts per kilowatt hour of electricity
5.13generated by a project governed by this section that is in excess of what the public facility
5.14at which the project is located can use at any given time:
5.19 (c) Solar renewable energy credits associated with the electricity produced and
5.20used on site may be marketed through renewable energy credit markets approved by the
5.21commission. For ground-mounted photovoltaic systems, the minimum amount to be paid
5.22by a utility is 20 percent less than the amount listed in paragraph (b).
5.23 (d) Beginning in 2014, the commissioner of commerce shall, not later than December
5.2431 of each year, reevaluate the price schedule in paragraph (b) and shall adjust prices
5.25downward as the costs of solar energy projects decrease, but not below an amount to
5.26ensure that the electricity sales from a project can, within 20 years, or 30 years for a project
5.27that is owned by the public or a tribe, at least pay for the costs to install and maintain the
5.28project. When the commissioner determines that the private market is fully functional for
5.29certain types of installations, the commissioner shall no longer determine prices for those
5.30types of installations and shall provide notice to utilities, the commission, and interested
5.31stakeholders of the types of installations no longer governed by the minimum prices in
5.32this section. Lack of an identified minimum price does not affect the responsibility of any
5.33utility to continue to purchase electricity from projects that are governed by this section.
1.3energy; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 216B.1691, subdivision 4,
1.4by adding subdivisions.
1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. CITATION; PURPOSES.
1.7 Subdivision 1. Citation. Sections 1 to 5 may be cited as the Minnesota Solar Energy
1.8Act.
1.9 Subd. 2. Purposes. The purposes of sections 1 to 5 are to:
1.10(1) provide for the orderly incorporation of solar-generated electricity into the mix
1.11of electricity sources that serve Minnesota consumers to ensure greater diversity among
1.12those sources;
1.13(2) increase in-state economic development of Minnesota energy resources;
1.14(3) reduce Minnesota's heavy reliance on non-Minnesota fuels for electricity
1.15generation and decrease the economic drain of Minnesota financial resources to pay for
1.16those fuels;
1.17(4) increase energy security for Minnesota;
1.18(5) develop new, and encourage growth of existing, solar energy businesses in
1.19Minnesota;
1.20(6) develop a strong manufacturing base for solar equipment in Minnesota;
1.21(7) develop a strong base for solar energy-related jobs in Minnesota;
1.22(8) develop a robust private market for solar-generated electricity; and
1.23(9) reduce and eliminate insufficient, unreliable, and unsustainable financial
1.24mechanisms to support solar energy development.
2.1 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 216B.1691, is amended by adding a
2.2subdivision to read:
2.3 Subd. 2e. Solar energy standard. (a) In addition to the requirements of subdivision
2.42a, each electric utility subject to subdivision 2a shall generate or procure sufficient
2.5electricity generated by solar energy to serve its direct or indirect retail customers in
2.6Minnesota so that at least the following standard percentages of the electric utility's total
2.7retail electric sales to retail customers in Minnesota are generated by solar energy by the
2.8end of the year indicated:
| 2.9 |
(1) |
2012 |
0.1 percent; |
| 2.10 |
(2) |
2016 |
0.4 percent; |
| 2.11 |
(3) |
2020 |
1 percent; |
| 2.12 |
(4) |
2025 |
5 percent; and |
| 2.13 |
(5) |
2030 |
10 percent. |
2.15under paragraph (a) or delay its implementation after:
2.16(1) receipt of a petition from an electric utility that clearly shows that the utility's
2.17average retail rates, or the utility's members' average retail rates, must increase by more
2.18than two percent in order to meet a specified goal;
2.19(2) notice to interested persons with at least 60 days for them to submit comments
2.20and at least one public meeting to discuss the petition; and
2.21(3) analysis of the petition and all comment by department staff in light of the utility's
2.22then existing rate structure and a staff recommendation for action by the commissioner.
2.23The commissioner shall publish the final decision in the State Register and on the
2.24department's Web site and shall transmit the final decision to the commission and the chairs
2.25and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with primary jurisdiction
2.26over energy policy. In no case may a goal for any utility drop below 7.5 percent in 2030.
2.27 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 216B.1691, is amended by adding a
2.28subdivision to read:
2.29 Subd. 2f. Solar energy standard; compliance. (a) To meet the standard and
2.30benchmarks in subdivision 2e, a utility may:
2.31(1) construct and own solar energy installations;
2.32(2) purchase electricity and solar renewable energy credits from independent solar
2.33energy power producers or utility customers;
2.34(3) purchase solar renewable energy credits from any renewable energy credit
2.35market approved by the commission that separately tags solar renewable energy credits; or
3.1(4) remit to the commissioner an amount equal to the number of solar renewable
3.2energy credits the utility needs to comply with a benchmark, times the average market
3.3price of a credit at the time the benchmark must be met, plus 25 percent.
3.4(b) The commissioner shall deposit funds remitted under paragraph (a) in the
3.5energy and conservation account in the state treasury established in section 216B.241,
3.6subdivision 2a. The commissioner shall account for money in the fund deposited under
3.7this paragraph by the source of the funds and shall make every reasonable effort to use
3.8the money to provide incentives for solar energy installations in that specific utility's
3.9service territory. If the commissioner is unable, after a three-year period, to fully expend
3.10a utility's payment to the fund in that utility's service territory, the commissioner may
3.11aggregate all such funds and provide incentives for solar energy installations statewide on
3.12a first-come, first-served basis.
3.13 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 216B.1691, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
3.14 Subd. 4. Renewable energy credits. (a) To facilitate compliance with this section,
3.15the commission, by rule or order, shall establish by January 1, 2008, a program for
3.16tradable renewable energy credits for electricity generated by eligible energy technology.
3.17The credits must represent energy produced by an eligible energy technology, as defined in
3.18subdivision 1. Each kilowatt-hour of renewable energy credits must be treated the same as
3.19a kilowatt-hour of eligible energy technology generated or procured by an electric utility if
3.20it is produced by an eligible energy technology. The program must permit a credit to be
3.21used only once. The program must treat all eligible energy technology equally and shall
3.22not give more or less credit to energy based on the state where the energy was generated or
3.23the technology with which the energy was generated. The commission must determine the
3.24period in which the credits may be used for purposes of the program.
3.25 (b) In lieu of generating or procuring energy directly to satisfy the eligible energy
3.26technology objective or standard of this section, an electric utility may utilize renewable
3.27energy credits allowed under the program to satisfy the objective or standard.
3.28 (c) The commission shall facilitate the trading of renewable energy credits between
3.29states.
3.30 (d) The commission shall require all electric utilities to participate in a
3.31commission-approved credit-tracking system or systems. Once a credit-tracking system is
3.32in operation, the commission shall issue an order establishing protocols for trading credits.
3.33(e) An electric utility subject to subdivision 2a, paragraph (b), may not sell renewable
3.34energy credits to an electric utility subject to subdivision 2a, paragraph (a), until 2021.
4.1(f) The commission shall ensure that solar renewable energy credits used to meet
4.2the standards in subdivision 2e are separately tagged. Any utility may purchase and any
4.3utility or other person may sell solar renewable energy credits at any time for the purposes
4.4of compliance with subdivision 2e. Solar renewable energy credits may be used to
4.5meet either the standards in subdivision 2a or those in subdivision 2e, but not both. In
4.6all instances, solar renewable energy credits belong to the project owner and must be
4.7purchased separately from the energy, although they may be purchased under the same
4.8contract, power purchase agreement, or other transaction. The commission shall establish
4.9guidelines and a methodology for retail electricity customers who generate solar electric
4.10or thermal energy that is used by the customer and not sold to a utility, so that those
4.11self-generators may sell solar renewable energy credits in the renewable energy credit
4.12market like any other solar electric or solar thermal energy producer.
4.13(g) By January 31, 2012, and every two years thereafter, for residential solar
4.14installations with a rated or converted capacity of 100 kilowatts or smaller, the
4.15commissioner of commerce shall determine and publish a base price for solar renewable
4.16energy credits for sale through the program established under paragraph (a) that ensures
4.17that the minimum purchase price reflects at least the average price paid by public utilities
4.18to purchase solar renewable energy credits, determined by the most recent two-year time
4.19period. The commissioner shall ensure that the price is sufficient, when added to the price
4.20of the energy produced by solar projects, to cover the costs of the projects and provide a
4.21reasonable return on investment to the project owner and may:
4.22(1) require any Minnesota electric utility to provide specific cost and price data the
4.23utility may have to assist in determining base price;
4.24(2) include cost and price data from states with similar insolation levels, particularly
4.25states within the Midwest/Great Plains region, to the extent that data is available to the
4.26commissioner; and
4.27(3) adjust the base price downward more often as the private market becomes
4.28functional.
4.29The commissioner shall treat as trade secret all cost and price data from a utility or
4.30from any other source that is not otherwise available to a member of the public. The
4.31commissioner shall solicit advice from all interested stakeholders, including, but not
4.32limited to, utilities, solar energy and other businesses, ratepayer advocates, and energy and
4.33environmental policy advocates and shall require confidentiality agreements from each
4.34entity or individual who requests to participate in the determination of base prices and
4.35who seeks access to trade secret data. The commissioner shall determine appropriate
4.36project size groupings within each different solar electric generation technology and
5.1determine base prices for each. The size groupings may change over time when data exist
5.2to support the changes.
5.3 Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 216B.1691, is amended by adding a
5.4subdivision to read:
5.5 Subd. 4a. Solar electricity; public property. (a) An electric utility subject to this
5.6section shall purchase electricity generated by a solar energy project with a rated capacity
5.7of two megawatts or less that is located on property owned by the state, any local unit of
5.8government, or any tribe in Minnesota, or a project that is owned by the state, local unit of
5.9government, or tribe and located on property in Minnesota that is leased by the state, local
5.10unit of government, or tribe. A power purchase agreement must be for a period of at least
5.1120 years, or 30 years if the installation is owned by the public or a tribe.
5.12(b) The utility shall pay the following amounts per kilowatt hour of electricity
5.13generated by a project governed by this section that is in excess of what the public facility
5.14at which the project is located can use at any given time:
5.19 (c) Solar renewable energy credits associated with the electricity produced and
5.20used on site may be marketed through renewable energy credit markets approved by the
5.21commission. For ground-mounted photovoltaic systems, the minimum amount to be paid
5.22by a utility is 20 percent less than the amount listed in paragraph (b).
5.23 (d) Beginning in 2014, the commissioner of commerce shall, not later than December
5.2431 of each year, reevaluate the price schedule in paragraph (b) and shall adjust prices
5.25downward as the costs of solar energy projects decrease, but not below an amount to
5.26ensure that the electricity sales from a project can, within 20 years, or 30 years for a project
5.27that is owned by the public or a tribe, at least pay for the costs to install and maintain the
5.28project. When the commissioner determines that the private market is fully functional for
5.29certain types of installations, the commissioner shall no longer determine prices for those
5.30types of installations and shall provide notice to utilities, the commission, and interested
5.31stakeholders of the types of installations no longer governed by the minimum prices in
5.32this section. Lack of an identified minimum price does not affect the responsibility of any
5.33utility to continue to purchase electricity from projects that are governed by this section.
