HF 1966

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to energy; altering a wind energy mandate; 
  1.3             setting aside a portion of a wind energy mandate for 
  1.4             farmers; creating a revolving loan account; regulating 
  1.5             utility renewable energy obligations; appropriating 
  1.6             money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 
  1.7             116C.779; and 216B.2423, subdivision 2; proposing 
  1.8             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116J.
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 116C.779, is 
  1.11  amended to read: 
  1.12     116C.779 [FUNDING FOR RENEWABLE DEVELOPMENT.] 
  1.13     The public utility that operates the Prairie Island nuclear 
  1.14  generating plant must transfer pay to a renewable the department 
  1.15  of trade and economic development account $500,000 each year for 
  1.16  each dry cask containing spent fuel that is located at the 
  1.17  independent spent fuel storage installation at Prairie Island 
  1.18  after January 1, 1999.  The fund transfer payment must be made 
  1.19  if waste is stored in a cask for any part of a year.  Funds in 
  1.20  the account can only be expended for development of renewable 
  1.21  energy sources.  Payment must be made by January 30 next 
  1.22  following the year for which payment is due.  The department 
  1.23  must deposit the payment into the wind energy revolving loan 
  1.24  account. 
  1.25     Sec. 2.  [116J.416] [WIND ENERGY REVOLVING LOAN PROGRAM.] 
  1.26     Subdivision 1.  [PROGRAM CREATED.] There is established a 
  1.27  wind energy revolving loan program in the department.  The 
  2.1   program shall participate in loans made to farmers to finance 
  2.2   the construction of wind energy conversion systems built to 
  2.3   satisfy the 100 megawatts of wind energy produced electricity 
  2.4   set aside by section 216B.2423 for those receiving loans under 
  2.5   this section. 
  2.6      Subd. 2.  [REVOLVING LOAN ACCOUNT.] There is established in 
  2.7   the state treasury a wind energy revolving loan account, which 
  2.8   is eligible to receive appropriations.  All repayments of 
  2.9   financial assistance granted under this section, including 
  2.10  principal and interest, must be deposited into this account.  
  2.11  Interest earned on money in the account accrues to the account, 
  2.12  and money in the account is appropriated to the commissioner of 
  2.13  trade and economic development for purposes of the wind energy 
  2.14  revolving loan program, including costs incurred by the 
  2.15  department to establish and administer the program. 
  2.16     Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBILITY.] An applicant is eligible for a 
  2.17  loan if all of the following conditions are satisfied: 
  2.18     (a) The facility is owned and operated by a cooperative 
  2.19  organized under chapter 308A.  For purposes of this subdivision, 
  2.20  "owned and operated" includes a contractual arrangement with 
  2.21  another entity to provide management and operations services for 
  2.22  a facility owned by the cooperative. 
  2.23     (b) All shares and membership in the cooperative are held 
  2.24  by natural persons or estates, at least 51 percent of whom 
  2.25  reside in a county or contiguous to a county where 
  2.26  farm-generated wind energy production facilities of the 
  2.27  cooperative are located. 
  2.28     (c) The applicant's farm-generated wind energy production 
  2.29  facilities are located entirely on agricultural property in 
  2.30  Minnesota principally used for farming as defined in section 
  2.31  500.24, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), owned by the shareholders 
  2.32  of the cooperative, with no more than two megawatts of nameplate 
  2.33  capacity located on any one shareholder's agricultural property. 
  2.34     Subd. 4.  [LOANS.] (a) The department may participate in a 
  2.35  wind energy loan with a lender to a farmer who is eligible under 
  2.36  subdivision 3.  Participation is limited to 45 percent of the 
  3.1   principal amount of the loan or $50,000, whichever is less.  The 
  3.2   interest rates and repayment terms of the department's 
  3.3   participation interest may differ from the interest rates and 
  3.4   repayment terms of the lender's retained portion of the loan, 
  3.5   but the department's interest rate must not exceed four percent. 
  3.6      (b) The department shall set the standards for loan 
  3.7   amortization not to exceed ten years. 
  3.8      (c) Security for the loans must be a personal note executed 
  3.9   by the borrower and whatever other security is required by the 
  3.10  lender or the department. 
  3.11     (d) The department may impose a reasonable nonrefundable 
  3.12  application fee for a loan.  The department may review the fee 
  3.13  annually and make adjustments as necessary.  The application fee 
  3.14  is initially $50.  Application fees received by the department 
  3.15  must be deposited in the revolving loan account. 
  3.16     (e) Loans under this program will be made using money in 
  3.17  the wind energy revolving loan account established under 
  3.18  subdivision 2. 
  3.19     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 216B.2423, 
  3.20  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.21     Subd. 2.  [RESOURCE PLANNING MANDATE.] The public utilities 
  3.22  commission shall order a public utility subject to subdivision 
  3.23  1, to construct and operate, purchase, or contract to purchase 
  3.24  an additional 400 megawatts of electric energy installed 
  3.25  capacity generated by wind energy conversion systems by December 
  3.26  31, 2002, subject to resource planning and least cost planning 
  3.27  requirements in section 216B.2422.  One hundred megawatts of the 
  3.28  additional 400 megawatts is set aside and must be purchased or 
  3.29  contracted to be purchased from wind energy conversion systems 
  3.30  owned or operated by persons or entities eligible for loans 
  3.31  under section 116J.416.