HF 780

as introduced - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 02/22/2013 01:37pm

A bill for an act
relating to energy; conservation; permitting waste heat recovered and used as
thermal energy and biomass-generated thermal energy to be counted towards
energy savings goals; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.241,
subdivision 1, by adding subdivisions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.241, subdivision 1, is amended to
read:

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

For purposes of this section and section 216B.16,
subdivision 6b, the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings given them.

(a) "Commission" means the Public Utilities Commission.

(b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of commerce.

(c) "Department" means the Department of Commerce.

(d) "Energy conservation" means demand-side management of energy supplies
resulting in a net reduction in energy use. Load management that reduces overall energy
use is energy conservation.

(e) "Energy conservation improvement" means a project that results in energy
efficiency or energy conservation. Energy conservation improvement may include waste
heat deleted text begin recovery deleted text end new text begin that is recovered and new text end converted into electricity new text begin , new text end but does not include electric
utility infrastructure projects approved by the commission under section 216B.1636.
new text begin Energy conservation improvement also includes waste heat recovered and used as thermal
energy.
new text end

(f) "Energy efficiency" means measures or programs, including energy conservation
measures or programs, that target consumer behavior, equipment, processes, or devices
designed to produce either an absolute decrease in consumption of electric energy or natural
gas or a decrease in consumption of electric energy or natural gas on a per unit of production
basis without a reduction in the quality or level of service provided to the energy consumer.

(g) "Gross annual retail energy sales" means annual electric sales to all retail
customers in a utility's or association's Minnesota service territory or natural gas
throughput to all retail customers, including natural gas transportation customers, on a
utility's distribution system in Minnesota. For purposes of this section, gross annual
retail energy sales exclude:

(1) gas sales to:

(i) a large energy facility;

(ii) a large customer facility whose natural gas utility has been exempted by the
commissioner under subdivision 1a, paragraph (b), with respect to natural gas sales made
to the large customer facility; and

(iii) a commercial gas customer facility whose natural gas utility has been exempted
by the commissioner under subdivision 1a, paragraph (c), with respect to natural gas sales
made to the commercial gas customer facility; and

(2) electric sales to a large customer facility whose electric utility has been exempted
by the commissioner under subdivision 1a, paragraph (b), with respect to electric sales
made to the large customer facility.

(h) "Investments and expenses of a public utility" includes the investments
and expenses incurred by a public utility in connection with an energy conservation
improvement, including but not limited to:

(1) the differential in interest cost between the market rate and the rate charged on a
no-interest or below-market interest loan made by a public utility to a customer for the
purchase or installation of an energy conservation improvement;

(2) the difference between the utility's cost of purchase or installation of energy
conservation improvements and any price charged by a public utility to a customer for
such improvements.

(i) "Large customer facility" means all buildings, structures, equipment, and
installations at a single site that collectively (1) impose a peak electrical demand on an
electric utility's system of not less than 20,000 kilowatts, measured in the same way as the
utility that serves the customer facility measures electrical demand for billing purposes or
(2) consume not less than 500 million cubic feet of natural gas annually. In calculating
peak electrical demand, a large customer facility may include demand offset by on-site
cogeneration facilities and, if engaged in mineral extraction, may aggregate peak energy
demand from the large customer facility's mining and processing operations.

(j) "Large energy facility" has the meaning given it in section 216B.2421,
subdivision 2, clause (1).

(k) "Load management" means an activity, service, or technology to change the
timing or the efficiency of a customer's use of energy that allows a utility or a customer to
respond to wholesale market fluctuations or to reduce peak demand for energy or capacity.

(l) "Low-income programs" means energy conservation improvement programs that
directly serve the needs of low-income persons, including low-income renters.

(m) "Qualifying utility" means a utility that supplies the energy to a customer that
enables the customer to qualify as a large customer facility.

new text begin (n) "Waste heat recovered and used as thermal energy" means heat energy recovered
from equipment, buildings, or industrial processes, including but not limited to electric
energy generation, that is distributed as thermal energy in the form of hot water, chilled
water, or steam and used to heat or cool one or more buildings or processes, resulting in a
net reduction in the demand side consumption of natural gas, electric energy, or both.
new text end

deleted text begin (n) deleted text end new text begin (o) new text end "Waste heat recovery converted into electricity" means an energy recovery
process that converts otherwise lost energy from the heat of exhaust stacks or pipes used
for engines or manufacturing or industrial processes, or the reduction of high pressure
in water or gas pipelines.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.241, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 10. new text end

new text begin Waste heat recovery; thermal energy distribution. new text end

new text begin Demand side natural
gas or electric energy displaced by use of waste heat recovered and used as thermal energy
is eligible to be counted towards a utility's natural gas or electric energy savings goals.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.241, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 11. new text end

new text begin Qualifying biomass-generated thermal energy projects. new text end

new text begin A utility or
association may include in its conservation plan a program that installs biomass-generated
thermal energy to displace use of natural gas, fuel oil, or propane to heat buildings in a city
or on a college or university campus. Subject to approval by the commissioner, the natural
gas displaced through the use of biomass-generated thermal energy is eligible to be counted
toward natural gas savings goals. In those locations where a natural gas utility does not
exist, the commissioner may allow an electric utility to count the resulting energy savings
based upon one kilowatt-hour of electric energy savings for each 3,415 British thermal
units of reduced propane or fuel oil consumption, provided the commissioner determines
it is in the public interest to encourage use of thermal energy generated from biomass.
new text end