SF 1637

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

1.1                                         A bill for an act
1.2     relating to energy; requiring utilities to meet certain renewable energy standards; 
1.3     amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 216B.1691.
1.4      BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5          Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 216B.1691, is amended to read:
1.6      216B.1691 RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES.
1.7          Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) Unless otherwise specified in law, "eligible energy 
1.8     technology" means an energy technology that:
1.9      (1) generates electricity from the following renewable energy sources:  solar; wind; 
1.10    hydroelectric with a capacity of less than 60 megawatts; hydrogen, provided that after 
1.11    January 1, 2010, the hydrogen must be generated from the resources listed in this clause; 
1.12    or biomass, which includes an energy recovery facility used to capture the heat value of 
1.13    mixed municipal solid waste or refuse-derived fuel from mixed municipal solid waste as 
1.14    a primary fuel; and
1.15     (2) was not mandated by Laws 1994, chapter 641, or by commission order issued 
1.16    pursuant to that chapter prior to August 1, 2001.
1.17     (b) "Electric utility" means a public utility providing electric service, a generation 
1.18    and transmission cooperative electric association, or a municipal power agency.
1.19     (c) "Total retail electric sales" means the kilowatt-hours of electricity sold in a year 
1.20    by an electric utility to retail customers of the electric utility or to a distribution utility for 
1.21    distribution to the retail customers of the distribution utility.
1.22         Subd. 2. Eligible energy objectives. (a) Each electric utility shall make a good 
1.23    faith effort to generate or procure sufficient electricity generated by an eligible energy 
2.1     technology to provide its retail consumers, or the retail customers of a distribution utility 
2.2     to which the electric utility provides wholesale electric service, so that:
2.3      (1) commencing in 2005, at least one percent of the electric utility's total retail 
2.4     electric sales is generated by eligible energy technologies;
2.5      (2) the amount provided under clause (1) is increased by one percent of the utility's 
2.6     total retail electric sales each year until 2015 2010; and
2.7      (3) ten five percent of the electric energy provided to retail customers in Minnesota 
2.8     by 2010 is generated by eligible energy technologies.
2.9      (b) Of the eligible energy technology generation required under paragraph (a), 
2.10    clauses (1) and (2), not less than 0.5 percent of the energy must be generated by biomass 
2.11    energy technologies, including an energy recovery facility used to capture the heat value 
2.12    of mixed municipal solid waste or refuse-derived fuel from mixed municipal solid waste 
2.13    as a primary fuel, by 2005.  By 2010, one percent of the eligible technology generation 
2.14    required under paragraph (a), clauses (1) and (2), shall be generated by biomass energy 
2.15    technologies.  An energy recovery facility used to capture the heat value of mixed 
2.16    municipal solid waste or refuse-derived fuel from mixed municipal solid waste, with a 
2.17    power sales agreement in effect as of May 29, 2003, that terminates after December 31, 
2.18    2010, does not qualify as an eligible energy technology unless the agreement provides for 
2.19    rate adjustment in the event the facility qualifies as a renewable energy source.
2.20        Subd. 2a. Eligible energy standard. Each electric utility shall generate or procure 
2.21    sufficient electricity generated by an eligible energy technology to provide its retail 
2.22    customers, or the retail customers of a distribution utility to which the electric utility 
2.23    provides wholesale electric service, so that at least the following percentages of the 
2.24    electric utility's total retail electric sales is generated by eligible energy technologies 
2.25    by the end of the year indicated:
2.26      (1)        2013       ten percent 
2.27      (2)        2015        15 percent 
2.28      (3)        2020        20 percent 
2.29    To be counted toward satisfying the standard, energy must be generated by a facility 
2.30    originally placed in service after January 1, 1975.  The commission must delay or modify 
2.31    the standard for an electric utility if it finds that compliance with a standard is not in 
2.32    the public interest because compliance will either produce undesirable impacts on the 
2.33    reliability of the utility's system or on the utility's ratepayers or if it finds that compliance 
2.34    is not technically feasible.  The standard is both an individual electric utility standard and a 
3.1     statewide standard so that by the end of 2020 at least 20 percent of the electric energy 
3.2     provided to retail customers in Minnesota is generated by eligible energy technologies.
3.3          (c) Subd. 2b. Commission order.  By June 1, 2004, and as needed thereafter, the 
3.4     commission shall issue an order detailing the criteria and standards by which it will 
3.5     measure an electric utility's efforts to meet the renewable energy objectives and standards 
3.6     of this section to determine whether the utility is making the required good faith effort 
3.7     and is meeting the standards.  In this order, the commission shall include criteria and 
3.8     standards that protect against undesirable impacts on the reliability of the utility's system 
3.9     and economic impacts on the utility's ratepayers and that consider technical feasibility.
3.10     (d) In its order under paragraph (c), the commission shall provide for a weighted 
3.11    scale of how energy produced by various eligible energy technologies shall count toward a 
3.12    utility's objective.  In establishing this scale, the commission shall consider the attributes 
3.13    of various technologies and fuels, and shall establish a system that grants multiple credits 
3.14    toward the objectives for those technologies and fuels the commission determines is in 
3.15    the public interest to encourage.
3.16         Subd. 3. Utility plans filed with commission. (a) Each electric utility shall report 
3.17    on its plans, activities, and progress with regard to these objectives and standards in its 
3.18    filings under section 216B.2422 or in a separate report submitted to the commission every 
3.19    two years, whichever is more frequent, demonstrating to the commission that the utility is 
3.20    making the required good faith utility's effort to comply with this section.  In its resource 
3.21    plan or a separate report, each electric utility shall provide a description of:
3.22     (1) the status of the utility's renewable energy mix relative to the good faith 
3.23    objective and standards;
3.24     (2) efforts taken to meet the objective and standards;
3.25     (3) any obstacles encountered or anticipated in meeting the objective or standards; 
3.26    and
3.27     (4) potential solutions to the obstacles.
3.28     (b) The commissioner shall compile the information provided to the commission 
3.29    under paragraph (a), and report to the chairs of the house of representatives and senate 
3.30    committees with jurisdiction over energy and environment policy issues as to the progress 
3.31    of utilities in the state in increasing the amount of renewable energy provided to retail 
3.32    customers, with any recommendations for regulatory or legislative action, by January 
3.33    15 of each odd-numbered year.
3.34         Subd. 4. Renewable energy credits. (a) To facilitate compliance with this section, 
3.35    the commission, by rule or order, may establish a program for tradable credits for 
3.36    electricity generated by an eligible energy technology.  In doing so, the commission shall 
4.1     implement a system that constrains or limits the cost of credits, taking care to ensure that 
4.2     such a system does not undermine the market for those credits.
4.3      (b) In lieu of generating or procuring energy directly to satisfy the renewable energy 
4.4     objective and standard of this section, an electric utility may purchase sufficient renewable 
4.5     energy credits, issued pursuant to this subdivision, to meet its objective and standard.
4.6      (c) Upon the passage of a renewable energy standard, portfolio, or objective in 
4.7     a bordering state that includes a similar definition of eligible energy technology or 
4.8     renewable energy, the commission may facilitate the trading of renewable energy credits 
4.9     between states.
4.10         Subd. 5. Technology based on fuel combustion. (a) Electricity produced by fuel 
4.11    combustion may only count toward a utility's objectives or standards if the generation 
4.12    facility:
4.13     (1) was constructed in compliance with new source performance standards 
4.14    promulgated under the federal Clean Air Act for a generation facility of that type; or
4.15     (2) employs the maximum achievable or best available control technology available 
4.16    for a generation facility of that type.
4.17     (b) An eligible energy technology may blend or co-fire a fuel listed in subdivision 1, 
4.18    paragraph (a), clause (1), with other fuels in the generation facility, but only the percentage 
4.19    of electricity that is attributable to a fuel listed in that clause can be counted toward an 
4.20    electric utility's renewable energy objectives.
4.21         Subd. 6. Electric utility that owns nuclear generation facility. (a) An electric 
4.22    utility that owns a nuclear generation facility, as part of its good faith effort under this 
4.23    subdivision and subdivision 2, shall deploy an additional 300 megawatts of nameplate 
4.24    capacity of wind energy conversion systems by 2010, beyond the amount of wind energy 
4.25    capacity to which the utility is required by law or commission order as of May 1, 2003.  
4.26    At least 100 megawatts of this capacity are to be wind energy conversion systems of two 
4.27    megawatts or less, which shall not be eligible for the production incentive under section 
4.28    216C.41.  To the greatest extent technically feasible and economic, these 300 megawatts 
4.29    of wind energy capacity are to be distributed geographically throughout the state.  The 
4.30    utility may opt to own, construct, and operate up to 100 megawatts of this wind energy 
4.31    capacity, except that the utility may not own, construct, or operate any of the facilities 
4.32    that are under two megawatts of nameplate capacity.  The deployment of the wind energy 
4.33    capacity under this subdivision must be consistent with the outcome of the engineering 
4.34    study required under Laws 2003, First Special Session chapter 11, article 2, section 21.
4.35     (b) The renewable energy objective set forth in subdivision 2 shall be a requirement 
4.36    for the public utility that owns the Prairie Island nuclear generation plant.  The objective is 
5.1     a requirement subject to resource planning and least-cost planning requirements in section 
5.2     216B.2422, unless implementation of the objective can reasonably be shown to jeopardize 
5.3     the reliability of the electric system.  The least-cost planning analysis must include the 
5.4     costs of ancillary services and other necessary generation and transmission upgrades.
5.5      (c) Also as part of its good faith effort under this section, the utility that owns a 
5.6     nuclear generation facility is to enter into a power purchase agreement by January 1, 2004, 
5.7     for ten to 20 megawatts of biomass energy and capacity at an all-inclusive price not to 
5.8     exceed $55 per megawatt-hour, for a project described in section 216B.2424, subdivision 
5.9     5, paragraph (e), clause (2).  The project must be operational and producing energy by 
5.10    June 30, 2005.
5.11        Subd. 7. Compliance. The commission, on its own motion or upon petition, may 
5.12    investigate whether an electric utility is in compliance with its standard obligation under 
5.13    subdivision 2a and if it finds noncompliance may order the electric utility to construct 
5.14    facilities or purchase credits to achieve compliance. If an electric utility fails to comply 
5.15    with an order under this subdivision, the commission may impose a financial penalty on 
5.16    the electric utility in an amount up to the electric utility's estimated cost of compliance.