Florida Senate - 2021                                     SB 198
       
       
        
       By Senator Berman
       
       
       
       
       
       31-00419-21                                            2021198__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to solar schools; amending s. 366.91,
    3         F.S.; defining terms; authorizing a public educational
    4         customer to enter into a contract for the
    5         installation, maintenance, or operation of a renewable
    6         energy source device on property owned or controlled
    7         by the public educational customer; providing that
    8         financing arrangements for such contracts are not
    9         considered retail sales of electricity; limiting the
   10         capacity of the renewable energy source device;
   11         requiring electric utilities to provide meter
   12         aggregation to public educational customers under
   13         certain circumstances; providing that shared solar
   14         facilities may participate in an electric utility’s
   15         net metering program; limiting a public educational
   16         customer’s annual allocated credits; requiring
   17         electric utilities to adopt a tariff, subject to
   18         Public Service Commission review, by a specified date;
   19         amending s. 1013.44, F.S.; prohibiting costs
   20         associated with certain solar energy systems from
   21         being included in certain cost per student station
   22         limitations; amending ss. 366.92, 373.236, and
   23         403.973, F.S.; conforming cross-references; providing
   24         an effective date.
   25          
   26  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   27  
   28         Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 366.91, Florida
   29  Statutes, is amended, and subsections (9) and (10) are added to
   30  that section, to read:
   31         366.91 Renewable energy.—
   32         (2) As used in this section, the term:
   33         (a)“Aggregated solar school facility” means a single solar
   34  facility that is less than 5 megawatts-AC and serves a public
   35  educational customer.
   36         (b)(a) “Biomass” means a power source that is comprised of,
   37  but not limited to, combustible residues or gases from forest
   38  products manufacturing, waste, byproducts, or products from
   39  agricultural and orchard crops, waste or coproducts from
   40  livestock and poultry operations, waste or byproducts from food
   41  processing, urban wood waste, municipal solid waste, municipal
   42  liquid waste treatment operations, and landfill gas.
   43         (c)(b) “Customer-owned renewable generation” means an
   44  electric generating system located on a customer’s premises that
   45  is primarily intended to offset part or all of the customer’s
   46  electricity requirements with renewable energy.
   47         (d)(c) “Net metering” means a metering and billing
   48  methodology whereby customer-owned renewable generation is
   49  allowed to offset the customer’s electricity consumption on
   50  site.
   51         (e)“Public educational customer” means a publicly funded
   52  K-12 educational institution.
   53         (f)(d) “Renewable energy” means electrical energy produced
   54  from a method that uses one or more of the following fuels or
   55  energy sources: hydrogen produced from sources other than fossil
   56  fuels, biomass, solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy,
   57  ocean energy, and hydroelectric power. The term includes the
   58  alternative energy resource, waste heat, from sulfuric acid
   59  manufacturing operations and electrical energy produced using
   60  pipeline-quality synthetic gas produced from waste petroleum
   61  coke with carbon capture and sequestration.
   62         (g)“Renewable energy source device” has the same meaning
   63  as in s. 193.624(1).
   64         (9)(a)A public educational customer may enter into a
   65  contract with a third party for the installation, maintenance,
   66  or operation of a renewable energy source device located on
   67  property owned or controlled by the public educational customer.
   68  The contracted third party may sell the electricity generated
   69  from the renewable energy source device to the public
   70  educational customer through a power purchase agreement or
   71  similar financing arrangement. For purposes of this chapter,
   72  such financing arrangements are not retail sales of electricity
   73  and do not subject the contracted third party to regulation
   74  under this chapter.
   75         (b)The capacity of the renewable energy source device may
   76  not exceed 125 percent of the prior 3-year annual average usage
   77  of the public educational customer.
   78         (10)(a)To facilitate the adoption of solar energy by
   79  public educational customers, each electric utility shall
   80  provide meter aggregation for purposes of net metering to all
   81  public educational customers that seek to allocate bill credits
   82  within a single school district from an aggregated solar school
   83  facility.
   84         (b)If the facility and accounts are within the same county
   85  and served by the same electric utility, a public educational
   86  customer may elect to have net metering bill credits from a
   87  single aggregated solar school facility allocated to at least 2
   88  and not more than 20 public educational customer accounts within
   89  a single school district without regard to physical location.
   90         (c)Shared solar school facilities are eligible to fully
   91  participate in each electric utility’s net metering program.
   92  Electric utilities shall allocate the net electricity generated
   93  in each billing period from the aggregated solar school facility
   94  to each qualifying account per the instructions of the public
   95  educational customer.
   96         (d)The annual allocated credits in kilowatt hours may not
   97  exceed 115 percent of the prior 3-year annual average usage of
   98  the public educational customer’s aggregated qualifying accounts
   99  to which the bill credits are transferred.
  100         (e)Subject to review by the commission, each electric
  101  utility shall adopt a tariff providing for meter aggregation
  102  which complies with this subsection by January 1, 2021.
  103         Section 2. Subsection (4) is added to section 1013.44,
  104  Florida Statutes, to read:
  105         1013.44 Low-energy use design; solar energy systems;
  106  swimming pool heaters.—
  107         (4) Any costs associated with a solar energy system that is
  108  located on the property of an educational facility may not be
  109  included in the total cost per student station limitations on
  110  new construction established in s. 1013.64(6)(b).
  111         Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
  112  366.92, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  113         366.92 Florida renewable energy policy.—
  114         (2) As used in this section, the term:
  115         (b) “Renewable energy” means renewable energy as defined in
  116  s. 366.91(2) s. 366.91(2)(d).
  117         Section 4. Subsection (7) of section 373.236, Florida
  118  Statutes, is amended to read:
  119         373.236 Duration of permits; compliance reports.—
  120         (7) A permit approved for a renewable energy generating
  121  facility or the cultivation of agricultural products on lands
  122  consisting of 1,000 acres or more for use in the production of
  123  renewable energy, as defined in s. 366.91(2) s. 366.91(2)(d),
  124  shall be granted for a term of at least 25 years at the
  125  applicant’s request based on the anticipated life of the
  126  facility if there is sufficient data to provide reasonable
  127  assurance that the conditions for permit issuance will be met
  128  for the duration of the permit; otherwise, a permit may be
  129  issued for a shorter duration that reflects the longest period
  130  for which such reasonable assurances are provided. Such a permit
  131  is subject to compliance reports under subsection (4).
  132         Section 5. Paragraph (f) of subsection (3) and paragraph
  133  (b) of subsection (19) of section 403.973, Florida Statutes, are
  134  amended to read:
  135         403.973 Expedited permitting; amendments to comprehensive
  136  plans.—
  137         (3)
  138         (f) Projects resulting in the production of biofuels
  139  cultivated on lands that are 1,000 acres or more or in the
  140  construction of a biofuel or biodiesel processing facility or a
  141  facility generating renewable energy, as defined in s. 366.91(2)
  142  s. 366.91(2)(d), are eligible for the expedited permitting
  143  process.
  144         (19) The following projects are ineligible for review under
  145  this part:
  146         (b) A project, the primary purpose of which is to:
  147         1. Effect the final disposal of solid waste, biomedical
  148  waste, or hazardous waste in this state.
  149         2. Produce electrical power, unless the production of
  150  electricity is incidental and not the primary function of the
  151  project or the electrical power is derived from a fuel source
  152  for renewable energy as defined in s. 366.91(2) s. 366.91(2)(d).
  153         3. Extract natural resources.
  154         4. Produce oil.
  155         5. Construct, maintain, or operate an oil, petroleum, or
  156  sewage pipeline.
  157         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.