HF 5016

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/18/2024 02:06pm

A bill for an act
relating to energy; establishing an ongoing grant program for renewable energy
projects; appropriating money from the renewable development account; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 116C.779, subdivision 1.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, is
amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Renewable development account.

(a) The renewable development
account is established as a separate account in the special revenue fund in the state treasury.
Appropriations and transfers to the account shall be credited to the account. Earnings, such
as interest, dividends, and any other earnings arising from assets of the account, shall be
credited to the account. Funds remaining in the account at the end of a fiscal year are not
canceled to the general fund but remain in the account until expended. The account shall
be administered by the commissioner of management and budget as provided under this
section.

(b) On July 1, 2017, the public utility that owns the Prairie Island nuclear generating
plant must transfer all funds in the renewable development account previously established
under this subdivision and managed by the public utility to the renewable development
account established in paragraph (a). Funds awarded to grantees in previous grant cycles
that have not yet been expended and unencumbered funds required to be paid in calendar
year 2017 under paragraphs (f) and (g), and sections 116C.7792 and 216C.41, are not subject
to transfer under this paragraph.

(c) Except as provided in subdivision 1a, beginning January 15, 2018, and continuing
each January 15 thereafter, the public utility that owns the Prairie Island nuclear generating
plant must transfer to the 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 (i). 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. The total amount transferred annually under this paragraph must be reduced
by $3,750,000.

(d) Except as provided in subdivision 1a, beginning January 15, 2018, and continuing
each January 15 thereafter, 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 (i). 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.

(e) Each year, the public utility shall withhold from the funds transferred to the renewable
development account under paragraphs (c) and (d) the amount necessary to pay its obligations
under paragraphs (f) and (g), and sections 116C.7792 and 216C.41, for that calendar year.

(f) If the commission approves a new or amended power purchase agreement, the
termination of a power purchase agreement, or the purchase and closure of a facility under
section 216B.2424, subdivision 9, with an entity that uses poultry litter to generate electricity,
the public utility subject to this section shall enter into a contract with the city in which the
poultry litter plant is located to provide grants to the city for the purposes of economic
development on the following schedule: $4,000,000 in fiscal year 2018; $6,500,000 each
fiscal year in 2019 and 2020; and $3,000,000 in fiscal year 2021. The grants shall be paid
by the public utility from funds withheld from the transfer to the renewable development
account, as provided in paragraphs (b) and (e).

(g) If the commission approves a new or amended power purchase agreement, or the
termination of a power purchase agreement under section 216B.2424, subdivision 9, with
an entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by two municipal utilities located north
of Constitutional Route No. 8, that was previously used to meet the biomass mandate in
section 216B.2424, the public utility that owns a nuclear generating plant shall enter into a
grant contract with such entity to provide $6,800,000 per year for five years, commencing
30 days after the commission approves the new or amended power purchase agreement, or
the termination of the power purchase agreement, and on each June 1 thereafter through
2021, to assist the transition required by the new, amended, or terminated power purchase
agreement. The grant shall be paid by the public utility from funds withheld from the transfer
to the renewable development account as provided in paragraphs (b) and (e).

(h) The collective amount paid under the grant contracts awarded under paragraphs (f)
and (g) is limited to the amount deposited into the renewable development account, and its
predecessor, the renewable development account, established under this section, that was
not required to be deposited into the account under Laws 1994, chapter 641, article 1, section
10.

(i) 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.

(j) Funds in the account deleted text begin may be expended only deleted text end new text begin are appropriated to the commissioner of
commerce to administer a grant program under this subdivision. Grants must be awarded new text end
for any of the following purposes:

(1) to stimulate research and development of renewable electric energy technologies;

(2) to encourage grid modernization, including, but not limited to, projects that implement
electricity storage, load control, and smart meter technology; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(3) new text begin to design, engineer, and build ultra-efficient electric vehicles using proprietary
technology; and
new text end

new text begin (4) new text end to stimulate other innovative energy projects that reduce demand and increase system
efficiency and flexibility.

new text begin (k) new text end Expenditures from the deleted text begin fund deleted text end new text begin account new text end must benefit Minnesota ratepayers receiving
electric service from the utility that owns a nuclear-powered electric generating plant in this
state or the Prairie Island Indian community or its members.

new text begin (l) new text end The utility that owns a nuclear generating plant is eligible to apply for grants under
this subdivision.

deleted text begin (k) deleted text end new text begin (m) new text end For the purposes of paragraph (j), the following terms have the meanings given:

(1) "renewable" has the meaning given in section 216B.2422, subdivision 1, paragraph
(c), clauses (1), (2), (4), and (5); and

(2) "grid modernization" means:

(i) enhancing the reliability of the electrical grid;

(ii) improving the security of the electrical grid against cyberthreats and physical threats;
and

(iii) increasing energy conservation opportunities by facilitating communication between
the utility and its customers through the use of two-way meters, control technologies, energy
storage and microgrids, technologies to enable demand response, and other innovative
technologies.

deleted text begin (l) deleted text end new text begin (n) new text end A renewable development account advisory group that includes, among others,
representatives of the public utility and its ratepayers, and includes at least one representative
of the Prairie Island Indian community appointed by that community's tribal council, shall
develop recommendations deleted text begin on account expenditures deleted text end new text begin for the commissioner of commerce for
grant awards new text end . The advisory group must design a request for proposal and evaluate projects
submitted in response to a request for proposals. The advisory group must deleted text begin utilize deleted text end new text begin use new text end an
independent third-party expert to evaluate proposals submitted in response to a request for
proposal, including all proposals made by the public utility. A request for proposal for
research and development under paragraph (j), clause (1), may be limited to or include a
request to higher education institutions located in Minnesota for multiple projects authorized
under paragraph (j), clause (1). The request for multiple projects may include a provision
that exempts the projects from the third-party expert review and instead provides for project
evaluation and selection by a merit peer review grant system. In the process of determining
request for proposal scope and subject and in evaluating responses to request for proposals,
the advisory group must strongly consider, where reasonable:

(1) potential benefit to Minnesota citizens and businesses and the utility's ratepayers;
and

(2) the proposer's commitment to increasing the diversity of the proposer's workforce
and vendors.

deleted text begin (m) The advisory group shall submit funding recommendations to the public utility,
which has full and sole authority to determine which expenditures shall be submitted by
the advisory group to the legislature. The commission may approve proposed expenditures,
may disapprove proposed expenditures that it finds not to be in compliance with this
subdivision or otherwise not in the public interest, and may, if agreed to by the public utility,
modify proposed expenditures. The commission shall, by order, submit its funding
recommendations to the legislature as provided under paragraph (n).
deleted text end

deleted text begin (n) The commission shall present its recommended appropriations from the account to
the senate and house of representatives committees with jurisdiction over energy policy and
finance annually by February 15. Expenditures from the account must be appropriated by
law. In enacting appropriations from the account, the legislature:
deleted text end

deleted text begin (1) may approve or disapprove, but may not modify, the amount of an appropriation for
a project recommended by the commission; and
deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) may not appropriate money for a project the commission has not recommended
funding.
deleted text end

(o) A request for proposal for renewable energy generation projects must, when feasible
and reasonable, give preference to projects that are most cost-effective for a particular energy
source.

(p) The deleted text begin advisory group deleted text end new text begin commissioner of commerce new text end must annually, by February 15,
report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with
jurisdiction over energy policy on projects funded by the account for the prior year and all
previous years. The report must, to the extent possible and reasonable, itemize the actual
and projected financial benefit to the public utility's ratepayers of each project.

(q) By February 1, 2018, and each February 1 thereafter, the commissioner of
management and budget shall submit a written report regarding the availability of funds in
and obligations of the account to the chairs and ranking minority members of the senate
and house committees with jurisdiction over energy policy and finance, the public utility,
and the advisory group.

(r) A project receiving funds from the account must produce a written final report that
includes sufficient detail for technical readers and a clearly written summary for nontechnical
readers. The report must include an evaluation of the project's financial, environmental, and
other benefits to the state and the public utility's ratepayers. A project receiving funds from
the account must submit a report that meets the requirements of section 216C.51, subdivisions
3 and 4, each year the project funded by the account is in progress.

(s) Final reports, any mid-project status reports, and renewable development account
financial reports must be posted online on a public website designated by the commissioner
of commerce.

(t) All final reports must acknowledge that the project was made possible in whole or
part by the Minnesota renewable development account, noting that the account is financed
by the public utility's ratepayers.

(u) Of the amount in the renewable development account, priority must be given to
making the payments required under section 216C.417.

(v) Construction projects receiving funds from this account are subject to the requirement
to pay the prevailing wage rate, as defined in section 177.42 and the requirements and
enforcement provisions in sections 177.27, 177.30, 177.32, 177.41 to 177.435, and 177.45.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2025.
new text end