SF 3286

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 03/30/2016 08:56am

A bill for an act
relating to energy; regulating community solar gardens; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2014, section 216B.1641.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 216B.1641, is amended to read:

216B.1641 COMMUNITY SOLAR GARDEN.

(a) The public utility subject to section 116C.779 shall file by September 30, 2013, a
plan with the commission to operate a community solar garden program which shall begin
operations within 90 days after commission approval of the plan. Other public utilities
may file an application at their election. The community solar garden program must be
designed to offset the energy use of not less than five subscribers in each community
solar garden facility of which no single subscriber has more than a 40 percent interest.
The owner of the community solar garden may be a public utility or any other entity or
organization that contracts to sell the output from the community solar garden to the
utility under section 216B.164. There shall be no limitation on the number or cumulative
generating capacity of community solar garden facilities other than the limitations imposed
under section 216B.164, subdivision 4c, or other limitations provided in law or regulations.

(b) A solar garden is a facility that generates electricity by means of a ground-mounted
or roof-mounted solar photovoltaic device whereby subscribers receive a bill credit for
the electricity generated in proportion to the size of their subscription. The solar garden
must have a nameplate capacity of no more than one megawatt. Each subscription shall be
sized to represent at least 200 watts of the community solar garden's generating capacity
and to supply, when combined with other distributed generation resources serving the
premises, no more than 120 percent of the average annual consumption of electricity by
each subscriber at the premises to which the subscription is attributed.

(c) The solar generation facility must be located in the service territory of the public
utility filing the plan. Subscribers must be retail customers of the public utility located in
the same county or a county contiguous to where the facility is located.

(d) The public utility must purchase from the community solar garden all energy
generated by the solar garden. The purchase shall be at the rate calculated under section
216B.164, subdivision 10, or, until that rate for the public utility has been approved by
the commission, the applicable retail rate. A solar garden is eligible for any incentive
programs offered under either section 116C.7792 or section 216C.415. A subscriber's
portion of the purchase shall be provided by a credit on the subscriber's bill.

(e) The commission may approve, disapprove, or modify a community solar garden
program. Any plan approved by the commission must:

(1) reasonably allow for the creation, financing, and accessibility of community
solar gardens;

(2) establish uniform standards, fees, and processes for the interconnection
of community solar garden facilities that allow the utility to recover reasonable
interconnection costs for each community solar garden;

(3) not apply different requirements to utility and nonutility community solar garden
facilities;

(4) be consistent with the public interest;

(5) identify the information that must be provided to potential subscribers to ensure
fair disclosure of future costs and benefits of subscriptions;

(6) include a program implementation schedule;

(7) identify all proposed rules, fees, and charges; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(8) identify the means by which the program will be promoted deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ;
new text end

new text begin (9) certify that the following information must be contained in any promotional
materials developed by the owner of the solar garden or the utility purchasing the solar
garden's generation and must be provided separately in writing to prospective subscribers
at least 15 days prior to the date a contract is entered into by the subscriber and the owner
of the community solar garden:
new text end

new text begin (i) an estimate of the annual generation of electricity by the community solar garden,
calculated according to the formula developed by the commission under paragraph (i); and
new text end

new text begin (ii) an estimate of the length of time required to fully recover a subscriber's
initial lump-sum payments made to the owner of the solar garden prior to the delivery
of electricity to the subscriber by the solar garden, calculated according to the formula
developed by the commission under paragraph (j);
new text end

new text begin (10) certify that the utility and the owner of a solar garden must submit copies of
all marketing and promotional material and sample contracts to the commission, and that
the materials will be updated periodically;
new text end

new text begin (11) certify that the owner of the solar garden has placed sufficient financial
resources into an escrow account that will be used to reimburse subscribers for any
financial losses incurred if the project fails to meet the provisions of the contract;
new text end

new text begin (12) provide a mechanism for subscribers to transfer subscriptions to other new or
current subscribers, or to cancel subscriptions for a full refund;
new text end

new text begin (13) require an owner of a solar garden and the utility purchasing electricity
generated by the solar garden to forward customer complaints regarding the operation of
the solar garden to the commission;
new text end

new text begin (14) require that the contract between a subscriber and the owner of a solar garden
contain a warranty for a minimum level of electricity to be delivered to the subscriber
from the community garden; and
new text end

new text begin (15) reflect the commission's determination that:
new text end

new text begin (i) the plan is financially viable; and
new text end

new text begin (ii) the contract between a subscriber and the owner of a solar garden is fair,
reasonable, and not discriminatory.
new text end

(f) Notwithstanding any other law, neither the manager of nor the subscribers to a
community solar garden facility shall be considered a utility solely as a result of their
participation in the community solar garden facility.

(g) Within 180 days of commission approval of a plan under this section, a utility
shall begin crediting subscriber accounts for each community solar garden facility in
its service territory, and shall file with the commissioner of commerce a description of
its crediting system.

(h) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given:

(1) "subscriber" means a retail customer of a utility who owns one or more
subscriptions of a community solar garden facility interconnected with that utility; and

(2) "subscription" means a contract between a subscriber and the owner of a solar
garden.

new text begin (i) By July 30, 2016, the commission must develop a formula to be used by all owners
of a solar garden to estimate the annual amount of electricity generated by the solar garden.
new text end

new text begin (j) By July 30, 2016, the commission must develop a formula used by all owners
of a solar garden to estimate the length of time required to fully recover a subscriber's
lump-sum payments made to the owner of the solar garden prior to the delivery of
electricity to the subscriber by the solar garden.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies to any plan submitted to the commission for approval on or after that date.
new text end