HF 1525

as introduced - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 04/18/2011 09:40am

A bill for an act
relating to energy; eliminating certain allocations and temporarily prohibiting
approval of certain expenditures from renewable development account; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116C.779, subdivisions 1, 3.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, is amended to
read:

Subdivision 1.

Renewable development account.

(a) The public utility that owns
the Prairie Island nuclear generating plant must transfer to a renewable development
account $500,000 each year for each dry cask containing spent fuel that is located at the
Prairie Island power plant for each year the plant is in operation, and $7,500,000 each
year the plant is not in operation if ordered by the commission pursuant to paragraph (d).
The fund transfer must be made if nuclear waste is stored in a dry cask at the independent
spent-fuel storage facility at Prairie Island for any part of a year. Funds in the account
may be expended only for development of renewable energy sources. Preference must be
given to development of renewable energy source projects located within the state. The
utility that owns a nuclear generating plant is eligible to apply for renewable development
fund grants. The utility's proposals must be evaluated by the renewable development fund
board in a manner consistent with that used to evaluate other renewable development fund
project proposals.

(b) The public utility that owns the Monticello nuclear generating plant must transfer
to the renewable development account $350,000 each year for each dry cask containing
spent fuel that is located at the Monticello nuclear power plant for each year the plant is
in operation, and $5,250,000 each year the plant is not in operation if ordered by the
commission pursuant to paragraph (d). The fund transfer must be made if nuclear waste
is stored in a dry cask at the independent spent-fuel storage facility at Monticello for
any part of a year.

(c) Expenditures new text begin authorized by this subdivision new text end from the account may only be made
after approval by order of the Public Utilities Commission upon a petition by the public
utility. new text begin Commission approval is not required for expenditures required under subdivisions
2 and 3, section 116C.7791, or other law.
new text end

(d) After discontinuation of operation of the Prairie Island nuclear plant or the
Monticello nuclear plant and each year spent nuclear fuel is stored in dry cask at the
discontinued facility, the commission shall require the public utility to pay $7,500,000 for
the discontinued Prairie Island facility and $5,250,000 for the discontinued Monticello
facility for any year in which the commission finds, by the preponderance of the evidence,
that the public utility did not make a good faith effort to remove the spent nuclear
fuel stored at the facility to a permanent or interim storage site out of the state. This
determination shall be made at least every two years.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 116C.779, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment.

(a) Beginning
July 1, 2009, and each July 1 through deleted text begin 2012 deleted text end new text begin 2011 new text end , $5,000,000 must be allocated from the
renewable development account to fund a grant to the Board of Regents of the University
of Minnesota for the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment for the purposes
described in paragraph (b). The Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment
must set aside at least 15 percent of the funds received annually under the grant for
qualified projects conducted at a rural campus or experiment station. Any set-aside funds
not awarded to a rural campus or experiment station at the end of the fiscal year revert
back to the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment for its exclusive use.
This subdivision does not create an obligation to contribute funds to the account.

(b) Activities funded under this grant may include, but are not limited to:

(1) environmentally sound production of energy from a renewable energy source,
including biomass and agricultural crops;

(2) environmentally sound production of hydrogen from biomass and any other
renewable energy source for energy storage and energy utilization;

(3) development of energy conservation and efficient energy utilization technologies;

(4) energy storage technologies; and

(5) analysis of policy options to facilitate adoption of technologies that use or
produce low-carbon renewable energy.

(c) For the purposes of this subdivision:

(1) "biomass" means plant and animal material, agricultural and forest residues,
mixed municipal solid waste, and sludge from wastewater treatment; and

(2) "renewable energy source" means hydro, wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal
energy, and microorganisms used as an energy source.

(d) Beginning January 15 of 2010, and each year thereafter, the director of the
Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment at the University of Minnesota shall
submit a report to the chair and ranking minority members of the senate and house of
representatives committees with primary jurisdiction over energy finance describing the
activities conducted during the previous year funded under this subdivision.

Sec. 3. new text begin TEMPORARY PROHIBITION ON PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
APPROVAL OF CERTAIN RENEWABLE DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT
EXPENDITURES.
new text end

new text begin (a) Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, the Public Utilities
Commission may not approve expenditures from the renewable development account
for which commission approval is required by Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779,
subdivision 1, during the period between the effective date of this section and July 1, 2012.
new text end

new text begin (b) This section does not prohibit commission approval for rate recovery rider filings
for expenditures from the renewable development account.
new text end

new text begin (c) This section does not prohibit payments for expenditures approved by the
commission before the effective date of this section.
new text end

Sec. 4. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final enactment.
new text end