HF 1645

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to energy; reducing the length of state
permitting processes for electric transmission lines;
allowing for automatic cost recovery for certain
electric transmission facilities; providing options
for easement payments for electric transmission lines;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 116C.63,
subdivision 3; 116D.04, by adding a subdivision;
216B.16, by adding a subdivision; 216B.2411,
subdivision 1; 216B.243, subdivision 8, by adding a
subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapters 116C; 216C.

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

Section 1.

new text begin [116C.578] ALTERNATIVE REVIEW FOR QUALIFYING
HIGH-VOLTAGE TRANSMISSION LINES.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Authority to adopt rules. new text end

new text begin The
Environmental Quality Board shall adopt rules to implement an
alternative process for issuing a route permit for a
high-voltage transmission line to an applicant that has been
granted a conditional certificate of need under section
216B.243, subdivision 9, and that elects to follow the
procedures in this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Process duration. new text end

new text begin An applicant choosing to
follow the procedures in this section shall complete the public
notice, public meeting, and scoping process described in rules
adopted by the board in Minnesota Rules, chapter 4400, within 45
days after submitting an application.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Review process. new text end

new text begin An applicant choosing to follow
the procedures in this section shall prepare and submit an
environmental impact statement to the Environmental Quality
Board containing the information required by rules adopted by
the board in Minnesota Rules, chapter 4400. The board shall
review the environmental impact statement and, no more than 30
days after the date of submission of the environmental impact
statement, shall certify it as adequate or return it to the
applicant with a detailed list of issues that must be addressed
in order for the board to determine its adequacy. Subsequent
submissions of a revised environmental impact statement by the
applicant must undergo a similar review, except that each review
must not exceed ten days.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 116C.63,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Payment.

new text begin (a) new text end When such property is acquired by
eminent domain proceedings or voluntary purchase and the amount
the owner shall receive for the property is finally determined,
the owner who is entitled to payment may elect to have the
amount paid in not more than ten annual installments, with
interest on the deferred installments, at the rate of eight
percent per annum on the unpaid balance, by submitting a written
request to the utility before any payment has been made. After
the first installment is paid the petitioner may make its final
certificate, as provided by law, in the same manner as though
the entire amount had been paid.

new text begin (b) In eminent domain proceedings by a utility for the
acquisition of real property upon which a high-voltage
transmission line is to be constructed, a utility is required to
offer the property owner the option to have the payment made in
the form of annual installments. The right to receive these
payments runs with the land and is transferred to a new owner
when the land is sold, inherited, or otherwise conveyed, and
continues until the transmission line is dismantled and removed
from the property. A property owner may revoke an agreement to
receive annual payments, or an agreement to receive a single
lump sum payment, within 30 days of signing the agreement,
without penalty. The value of the payment must be adjusted
annually each December for the coming year, by an amount equal
to the annual percentage change in the implicit price deflator
for the gross domestic product, 2000 = 100, compiled by the
United States Department of Commerce, calculated as of October 1
each year.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 116D.04, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 11a. new text end

new text begin Transmission line deadline. new text end

new text begin If the board
fails to issue a siting and routing permit for a high-voltage
transmission line within 180 days of accepting an application
for a permit, a permit for the preferred route must be issued to
the applicant immediately.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 216B.16, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 7b. new text end

new text begin Transmission cost adjustment. new text end

new text begin Notwithstanding
any other provision of this chapter, the commission may permit a
public utility providing electric service to file a rate
schedule providing for the automatic annual adjustment of
charges for changes in transmission costs, including costs of
investments in transmission facilities, a current return on
construction work in progress for transmission facilities based
on the utility's authorized rate of return, and related
operations and maintenance expenses, provided that the
transmission line meets the specifications in section 216B.243,
subdivision 8, clause (7).
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 216B.2411,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Generation projects.

(a) deleted text begin Any deleted text end new text begin In order to
facilitate compliance with the renewable energy objectives under
section 216B.1691, each electric utility, including each public
utility, new text end municipality new text begin , new text end or rural electric association deleted text begin providing
electric service and deleted text end new text begin , that is new text end subject to section 216B.241 new text begin and
new text end that new text begin the commission finds new text end is new text begin not new text end meeting the objectives under
section 216B.1691 deleted text begin may, and each public utility may deleted text end , new text begin shall new text end use
five percent of the total amount to be spent on energy
conservation improvements under section 216B.241, new text begin and may use an
additional ten percent of that total, new text end on:

(1) projects in Minnesota to construct an electric
generating facility that utilizes eligible renewable energy
sources as defined in subdivision 2, such as methane or other
combustible gases derived from the processing of plant or animal
wastes, biomass fuels such as short-rotation woody or fibrous
agricultural crops, or other renewable fuel, as its primary fuel
source; or

(2) projects in Minnesota to install a distributed
generation facility of ten megawatts or less of interconnected
capacity that is fueled by natural gas, renewable fuels, or
another similarly clean fuel.

(b) For public utilities, as defined under section 216B.02,
subdivision 4, projects under this section must be considered
energy conservation improvements as defined in section
216B.241. For cooperative electric associations and municipal
utilities, projects under this section must be considered
load-management activities described in section 216B.241,
subdivision 1, paragraph (i).

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 216B.243,
subdivision 8, is amended to read:

Subd. 8.

Exemptions.

new text begin (a) new text end This section does not apply to:

(1) cogeneration or small power production facilities as
defined in the Federal Power Act, United States Code, title 16,
section 796, paragraph (17), subparagraph (A), and paragraph
(18), subparagraph (A), and having a combined capacity at a
single site of less than 80,000 kilowatts or to plants or
facilities for the production of ethanol or fuel alcohol nor in
any case where the commission shall determine after being
advised by the attorney general that its application has been
preempted by federal law;

(2) a high-voltage transmission line proposed primarily to
distribute electricity to serve the demand of a single customer
at a single location, unless the applicant opts to request that
the commission determine need under this section or section
216B.2425;

(3) the upgrade to a higher voltage of an existing
transmission line that serves the demand of a single customer
that primarily uses existing rights-of-way, unless the applicant
opts to request that the commission determine need under this
section or section 216B.2425;

(4) a high-voltage transmission line of one mile or less
required to connect a new or upgraded substation to an existing,
new, or upgraded high-voltage transmission line;

(5) conversion of the fuel source of an existing electric
generating plant to using natural gas; deleted text begin or
deleted text end

(6) modification of an existing electric generating plant
to increase efficiency, as long as the capacity of the plant is
not increased more than ten percent or more than 100 megawatts,
whichever is greater new text begin ; or
new text end

new text begin (7) a high-voltage transmission line:
new text end

new text begin (i) that serves network resources in Minnesota or is needed
to serve future load growth;
new text end

new text begin (ii) whose owner has signed power purchase agreements with
owners of electric generation facilities fueled by renewable
energy sources located in Minnesota to be connected to the line
that in aggregate account for at least 35 percent of the line's
capacity;
new text end

new text begin (iii) that matches the in-service date of the line with the
installation and commercial operation date of the electric
generation facilities fueled by renewable energy sources with
which it has signed power purchase agreements;
new text end

new text begin (iv) whose owner also owns less than 50 percent of the
capacity of the electric generation facilities fueled by
renewable resources that are to be connected to the transmission
line; and
new text end

new text begin (v) that complies with the requirements of subdivision 9 new text end .

new text begin (b) For the purposes of this subdivision and subdivision 9,
"renewable energy sources" means wind, solar, hydropower,
biomass as defined in section 216C.051, and methane or other
combustible gases derived from the processing of plant or animal
wastes.
new text end

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 216B.243, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Exempt transmission line requirements. new text end

new text begin (a) The
transmission line owner must submit the documentation specified
in subdivision 8, clause (7) to the commission for its review.
If the commission determines that the requirements of
subdivision 8, clause (7) are met, it shall issue the
transmission line owner a conditional certificate of need that
conditionally exempts the transmission line from the
requirements under this section if the following conditions are
met:
new text end

new text begin (1) the transmission line owner shall designate the
electric generation facilities fueled by renewable energy
resources signed to power purchase agreements as network
resources under the open-access transmission tariff of the
Midwest Independent Systems Operator as soon as permitted by the
Midwest Independent Systems Operator; and
new text end

new text begin (2) the transmission line owner shall, within 15 days of
obtaining the conditional certificate of need, make transmission
service requests for network (firm) service to the Midwest
Independent Systems Operator for the full amount of the capacity
of the transmission line accounted for by electric generation
facilities fueled by renewable energy sources.
new text end

new text begin (b) Failure to provide documentation of the fulfillment of
paragraph (a), clauses (1) and (2), constitutes grounds for the
commission's withdrawal of the conditional certificate of need.
new text end

Sec. 8.

new text begin [216C.053] RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
DIRECTOR.
new text end

new text begin The position of renewable energy development director is
established in the Department of Commerce. The director shall
act as an ombudsman for utilities, renewable energy developers,
regulators, regional transmission grid managers, and the public
on issues related to renewable energy development. The
development director shall coordinate the activities of the
reliability administrator and the Energy Division of the
Department of Commerce and shall advocate for the completion of
renewable energy projects throughout the state. The development
director must be an at-will appointee of the commissioner of
commerce, and supervised by the deputy commissioner for energy
and telecommunications. Administrative expenses of the director
are recoverable by the department as general administrative
expenses under section 216C.052, subdivision 2, and must be
included in the annual budget required under that section.
new text end

Sec. 9. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin Sections 1 to 8 are effective the day following final
enactment.
new text end