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SF 3605

1st Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.
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7.1

A bill for an act
 relating to energy; renaming the Legislative Electric Energy Task Force and
clarifying its duties; amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 216C.051, as
amended.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 216C.051, as amended by Laws 2007,
chapter 57, article 2, sections 24 and 25, is amended to read:


216C.051 LEGISLATIVE deleted text begin ELECTRICdeleted text end ENERGY deleted text begin TASK FORCEdeleted text end new text begin
COMMISSIONnew text end .

Subd. 2.

Establishment.

(a) There is established a Legislative deleted text begin Electricdeleted text end Energy
deleted text begin Task Forcedeleted text end new text begin Commissionnew text end to study deleted text begin future electric energy sources and costsdeleted text end and to make
recommendations for legislation deleted text begin for an environmentally and economically sustainable
and advantageous electric energy supplydeleted text end new text begin concerning issues related to its duties under
subdivision 3new text end .

(b) The deleted text begin task forcedeleted text end new text begin commission new text end consists of:

(1) ten members of the house of representatives including the chairs of the
Environment and Natural Resources Committee and the Energy Finance and Policy
Division and eight members to be appointed by the speaker of the house, four of whom
must be from the minority caucus; and

(2) ten members of the senate including the chairs of the Environment, Energy
and Natural Resources Budget Division and Energy, Utilities, Technology and
Communications committees and eight members to be appointed by the Subcommittee on
Committees, four of whom must be from the minority caucus.

(c) The deleted text begin task forcedeleted text end new text begin commission new text end may employ staff, contract for consulting services,
and may reimburse the expenses of persons requested to assist it in its duties deleted text begin other
than state employees or employees of electric utilitiesdeleted text end . The director of the Legislative
Coordinating Commission shall assist the deleted text begin task forcedeleted text end new text begin commission new text end in administrative
matters. The deleted text begin task forcedeleted text end new text begin commission new text end shall elect cochairs, one member of the house and
one member of the senate from among the committee and subcommittee chairs named to
the deleted text begin committeedeleted text end new text begin commissionnew text end . The deleted text begin task forcedeleted text end new text begin commission new text end members from the house shall
elect the house cochair, and the deleted text begin task forcedeleted text end new text begin commission new text end members from the senate shall
elect the senate cochair.

Subd. 3.

deleted text begin Technical and economic considerations, analyses, and
recommendationsdeleted text end new text begin Dutiesnew text end .

deleted text begin (a) In light of the electric energy guidelines established in
subdivision 7 and utility resource plans and competitive bidding dockets before the
commission, the task force shall gather information and make recommendations to the
legislature regarding potential electric energy resources. The task force may contract
with one or more energy policy experts and energy economists to assist it in its analysis.
The task force may not contract for service nor employ any person who was involved in
any capacity in any portion of any proceeding before the Public Utilities Commission,
the administrative law judge, the state Court of Appeals, or the United States Nuclear
Regulatory Commission related to the dry cask storage proposal on Prairie Island. The
task force must gather information on at least the following electric energy resources, but
may expand its inquiry as warranted by the information collected:
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (1) wind energy;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) hydrogen as a fuel carrier produced from renewable and fossil fuel resources;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (3) biomass;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (4) decomposition gases produced by solid waste management facilities;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (5) solid waste as a direct fuel or refuse-derived fuel; and
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (6) clean coal technology.
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (b) In evaluating these electric energy resources, the task force must consider at
least the following:
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (1) to the best of forecasting abilities, how much electric generation capacity
and demand for electric energy is necessary to maintain a strong economy and a high
quality of life in the state over the next 15 to 20 years; how is this demand level affected
by achievement of the maximum reasonably feasible and cost-effective demand-side
management and generation and distribution efficiencies;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) what alternative forms of energy can provide a stable supply of energy and are
producible and sustainable in the state and at what cost;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (3) what are the costs to the state and ratepayers to ensure that new electric energy
generation utilizes less environmentally damaging sources; how do those costs change
as the time frame for development and implementation of new generation sources is
compressed;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (4) what are the implications for delivery systems for energy produced in areas of
the state that do not now have high-volume transmission capability; are new transmission
technologies being developed that can address some of the concerns with transmission; can
a more dispersed electric generation system lessen the need for long-distance transmission;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (5) what are the actual costs and benefits of purchasing electricity and fuel to
generate electricity from outside the state; what are the present costs to the state's economy
of exporting a large percentage of the state's energy dollars and what is the future
economic impact of continuing to do so;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (6) are there benefits to be had from a large immediate investment in quickly
implementing alternative electric energy sources in terms of developing an exportable
technology and/or commodity; is it feasible to turn around the flow of dollars for energy
so that the state imports dollars and exports energy and energy technology; what is a
reasonable time frame for the shift if it is possible;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (7) are there taxation or regulatory barriers to developing more sustainable and
less problematic electric energy generation; what are they specifically and how can they
be specifically addressed;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (8) can an approach be developed that moves quickly to development and
implementation of alternative energy sources that can be forgiving of interim failures but
that is also sufficiently deliberate to ensure ultimate success on a large scale; and
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (9) in what specific ways can the state assist regional energy suppliers to accelerate
phasing out energy production processes that produce wastes or emissions that must
necessarily be carefully controlled and monitored to minimize adverse effects on the
environment and human health and to assist in developing and implementing base load
energy production that both prevents or minimizes by its nature adverse environmental
and human health effects and utilizes resources that are available or producible in the state.
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (c) The task force must study issues related to the transportation of spent nuclear
fuel from this state to interim or permanent repositories outside this state. The task force
must also gather information on at least the following factors, but may expand its inquiry
as warranted by the information collected:
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (1) Minnesota's actual and projected electricity demand;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) electricity export potential;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (3) inventory of energy resources currently used to generate all electricity sold
in Minnesota and an analysis of the social, economic, and environmental benefits and
burdens associated with each energy resource;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (4) electricity demand savings from greater efficiency; and
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (5) job growth and economic development potential.
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (d)deleted text end new text begin The commission shall study, analyze, and make legislative recommendations
from among the following issues:
new text end

new text begin new text end

new text begin (1) the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity;
 new text end

new text begin (2) the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;
 new text end

new text begin (3) the conservation of energy;
 new text end

new text begin (4) alternative energy sources available to replace dwindling fossil fuel and other
nonrenewable fuel sources;
 new text end

new text begin (5) the development of renewable energy supplies;
 new text end

new text begin (6) the economic development possibilities associated with issues described in
clauses (1) to (5); and
new text end

new text begin (7) other energy-related subjects the commission finds significant.
 new text end

new text begin Subd. 3a. new text end

new text begin Nuclear report. new text end

The public utility that owns the Prairie Island and
Monticello nuclear generation facilities shall update the reports required under section
116C.772, subdivisions 3 to 5, and shall submit those updates periodically to the Public
Utilities Commission with the utility's resource plan filing under section 216B.2422 and to
the deleted text begin task forcedeleted text end new text begin commissionnew text end .

deleted text begin Subd. 4a. deleted text end

deleted text begin Report and recommendations. deleted text end

deleted text begin By January 15, 2005, and every two
years thereafter, the task force shall submit a report to the chairs of the committees in
the house of representatives and the senate that have responsibility for energy and for
environmental and natural resources issues that contains an overview of information
gathered and analyses that have been prepared, and specific recommendations, if any, for
legislative action that will ensure development and implementation of electric energy
policy that will provide the state with adequate, renewable, and economic electric power
for the long term. The report shall also identify issues that must be addressed to provide
Minnesotans with adequate electricity from in-state renewable energy sources for the
long term and export to adjacent states.
 deleted text end

Subd. 6.

Assessment; appropriation.

On request by the cochairs of the deleted text begin Legislative
Task Forcedeleted text end new text begin commission new text end and after approval of the Legislative Coordinating Commission,
the commissioner of commerce shall assess from all public utilities, generation and
transmission cooperative electric associations, and municipal power agencies providing
electric or natural gas services in Minnesota, in addition to assessments made under
section 216B.62, the amount requested for the operation of the deleted text begin task forcedeleted text end new text begin commission new text end not
to exceed $250,000 in a fiscal year. The amount assessed under this section is appropriated
to the director of the Legislative Coordinating Commission for those purposes, and is
available until expended. The department shall apportion those costs among all energy
utilities in proportion to their respective gross operating revenues from the sale of gas
or electric service within the state during the last calendar year. For the purposes of
administrative efficiency, the department shall assess energy utilities and issue bills in
accordance with the billing and assessment procedures provided in section 216B.62, to the
extent that these procedures do not conflict with this subdivision.

deleted text begin Subd. 7. deleted text end

deleted text begin Guidelines; preferred electric generation sources; definitions. deleted text end

deleted text begin (a) The
Legislative Task Force on Electric Energy shall undertake its responsibilities in light of
the guidelines specified in this subdivision.
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (b) The highest priority in electric energy production and consumption is
conservation of electric energy and management of demand by all segments of the
community.
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (c) The following energy sources for generating electric power distributed in the
state, listed in their descending order of preference, based on minimizing long-term
negative environmental, social, and economic burdens imposed by the specific energy
sources, are:
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (1) wind and solar;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) biomass and low-head or refurbished hydropower;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (3) decomposition gases produced by solid waste management facilities, natural
gas-fired cogeneration, and waste materials or byproducts combined with natural gas;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (4) natural gas, hydropower that is not low-head or refurbished hydropower, and
solid waste as a direct fuel or refuse-derived fuel; and
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (5) coal and nuclear power.
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (d) For the purposes of paragraph (c) within each clause, the more efficient an energy
source is in generating electricity or the more efficient a technology is that utilizes an
energy source, the more preferred it is for use in generating electricity for distribution and
consumption in the state.
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (e) For the purposes of paragraph (c), clauses (3) and (4), the use of waste materials
and byproducts for generating electric power must be limited to those waste materials
and byproducts that are necessarily generated or produced by efficient processes and
systems. Preventing and minimizing waste and byproducts are preferred in every situation
to relying on the continued generation or production of waste materials and byproducts.
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (f) For the purposes of this section, "preferred" or "renewable" energy sources are
those described in paragraph (c), clauses (1) to (3), and "subordinate" or "traditional"
energy sources are those described in paragraph (c), clauses (4) and (5).
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (g) For the purposes of this section:
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (1) "biomass" means herbaceous crops, trees, agricultural waste, and aquatic plant
matter, excluding mixed municipal solid waste, as defined in section 115A.03, used to
generate electricity; and
deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) "low-head hydropower" means a hydropower facility that has a head of less
than 66 feet.
 deleted text end

Subd. 8.

Subpoena power.

The deleted text begin task forcedeleted text end new text begin commission new text end may issue a subpoena under
section 3.153 to any person for production of information held by that person that is
relevant to the work of the deleted text begin task forcedeleted text end new text begin commissionnew text end .

deleted text begin Subd. 8a. deleted text end

deleted text begin Manitoba Hydro information. deleted text end

deleted text begin (a) By January 1, 2008, and each year
thereafter, the task force shall request the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board to provide
the following information for each community that is a signatory to the Northern Flood
Agreement, including South Indian Lake:
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (1) median household income and number of residents employed full time and
part time;
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) the number of outstanding claims filed against Manitoba Hydro by individuals
and communities and the number of claims settled by Manitoba Hydro; and
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (3) the amount of shoreline damaged by flooding and erosion and the amount of
shoreline restored and cleaned.
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as a directive to the government of
Canada or the province of Manitoba.
 deleted text end

deleted text begin (c) For the purposes of this subdivision, "Northern Flood Agreement" means the
agreement entered into by the Northern Flood Committee, Incorporated, the Manitoba
Hydro-Electric Board, the province of Manitoba, and the government of Canada on
December 16, 1977.
 deleted text end

Subd. 9.

Expiration.

This section is repealed June 30, 2010.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective January 6, 2009.
 new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin AUTHORIZATION.
new text end

new text begin The director of the Legislative Coordinating Commission may expend funds
appropriated for the use of the Legislative Electric Energy Task Force for the purposes
of section 1 and those funds are available until expended.
 new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective January 6, 2009.
 new text end