Bill Text: FL S1764 | 2022 | Regular Session | Engrossed
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy Program
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2022-06-09 - Signed by Officers and presented to Governor [S1764 Detail]
Download: Florida-2022-S1764-Engrossed.html
Bill Title: Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy Program
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2022-06-09 - Signed by Officers and presented to Governor [S1764 Detail]
Download: Florida-2022-S1764-Engrossed.html
CS for SB 1764 First Engrossed 20221764e1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy 3 Program; creating s. 377.814, F.S.; creating the 4 Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy Program within the 5 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for a 6 specified purpose; defining terms; requiring the 7 department, subject to appropriation, to provide 8 annual financial assistance grants to municipal solid 9 waste-to-energy facilities that meet certain 10 requirements; requiring the department to distribute 11 funds to qualifying applicants based on certain 12 criteria; requiring the department to establish a 13 process to verify the amount of certain electric power 14 purchases; directing the Public Service Commission to 15 provide assistance in verifying grant eligibility; 16 requiring the department, subject to appropriation, to 17 provide incentive grants to municipal solid waste-to 18 energy facilities to assist with certain costs; 19 specifying requirements for applying for the funding; 20 requiring the Department of Environmental Protection 21 to provide assistance in determining grant eligibility 22 and establishing requirements; requiring the 23 department to perform grant overview; prohibiting 24 funds from being used for specified purposes; 25 establishing priority for funding for the grants; 26 authorizing the balance of certain unexpended funds to 27 be carried forward for a specified number of years; 28 requiring the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 29 Services to adopt rules; providing an effective date. 30 31 WHEREAS, as provided in s. 366.91(1), Florida Statutes, the 32 Legislature has determined that it is in the public interest to 33 promote the development of renewable energy resources in this 34 state, and 35 WHEREAS, under s. 366.91, Florida Statutes, municipal solid 36 waste-to-energy facilities that use biomass as a fuel or energy 37 source are deemed to be producing renewable energy, and 38 WHEREAS, municipal solid waste-to-energy facilities provide 39 a practical and sustainable solution to reducing landfill waste, 40 reducing volume by about 87 percent, and 41 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes the benefits that 42 municipal solid waste-to-energy facilities contribute to the 43 state and its local communities, and 44 WHEREAS, the Legislature intends to incentivize the 45 production and sale of energy from municipal solid waste-to 46 energy facilities through grant programs, NOW, THEREFORE, 47 48 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 49 50 Section 1. Section 377.814, Florida Statutes, is created to 51 read: 52 377.814 Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy Program.— 53 (1) CREATION AND PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM.—The Municipal 54 Solid Waste-to-Energy Program is created within the department. 55 The purpose of the program is to provide financial assistance 56 grants and incentive grants to municipal solid waste-to-energy 57 facilities to incentivize the production and sale of energy from 58 municipal solid waste-to-energy facilities while also reducing 59 the amount of waste that would otherwise be disposed of in a 60 landfill. 61 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term: 62 (a) “Department” means the Department of Agriculture and 63 Consumer Services. 64 (b) “Municipal solid waste-to-energy facility” means a 65 publicly owned facility that uses an enclosed device using 66 controlled combustion to thermally break down solid waste to an 67 ash residue that contains little or no combustible material and 68 that produces electricity, steam, or other energy as a result. 69 The term does not include facilities that primarily burn fuels 70 other than solid waste even if such facilities also burn some 71 solid waste as a fuel supplement. The term does not include 72 facilities that primarily burn vegetative, agricultural, or 73 silvicultural wastes, bagasse, clean dry wood, methane or other 74 landfill gas, wood fuel derived from construction or demolition 75 debris, or waste tires, alone or in combination with fossil 76 fuels. 77 (3) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM.—The department, 78 subject to appropriation, shall provide annual financial 79 assistance grants to municipal solid waste-to-energy facilities 80 that entered into a power purchase agreement with an electric 81 utility before January 1, 2022, which included capacity and 82 energy payments, and the owner of the municipal solid waste-to 83 energy facility has entered into a new or amended power purchase 84 agreement that either no longer includes capacity payments or 85 includes capacity and energy payments in an amount less than the 86 total of the capacity and energy payments the municipal solid 87 waste-to-energy facility received under the power purchase 88 agreement entered into before January 1, 2022. 89 (a) To apply for an annual financial assistance grant, the 90 owner of a municipal solid waste-to-energy facility must submit 91 an application to the department. The application must include 92 the name of the applicant’s municipal solid waste-to-energy 93 facility, the name of the utility purchasing the electric power 94 from the municipal solid waste-to-energy facility, the total 95 capacity and energy payment the municipal solid waste-to-energy 96 facility received during the last year of the power purchase 97 agreement entered into before January 1, 2022, and the amount of 98 energy delivered to and the total amount paid for such power by 99 an electric utility pursuant to a new or amended power purchase 100 agreement during the preceding state fiscal year. 101 (b) The department shall distribute funds, subject to 102 appropriation, to each qualifying applicant at a rate of 2 cents 103 per kilowatt-hour of electric power purchased by an electric 104 utility during the preceding state fiscal year, not to exceed 105 the difference between the total capacity and energy payment the 106 municipal solid waste-to-energy facility received during the 107 last year of the power purchase agreement entered into before 108 January 1, 2022, and the total of the capacity and energy 109 payment the municipal solid waste-to-energy facility received 110 under a new or amended power purchase agreement during the 111 preceding state fiscal year. To the extent that funds are not 112 available to provide financial assistance to each qualifying 113 applicant for every qualifying kilowatt-hour purchased, the 114 department shall prorate the funds on an equitable basis. 115 (c) The department shall establish a process to verify the 116 amount of electric power purchased from a municipal solid waste 117 to-energy facility by an electric utility during each preceding 118 state fiscal year. The Public Service Commission shall provide 119 assistance to the department to help verify the information 120 provided pursuant to paragraph (a). 121 (4) INCENTIVE GRANT PROGRAM.—The department, subject to 122 appropriation, shall provide incentive grants to municipal solid 123 waste-to-energy facilities to assist with the planning and 124 designing for constructing, upgrading, or expanding a municipal 125 solid waste-to-energy facility, including necessary legal or 126 administrative expenses. 127 (a) To qualify for an incentive grant, the owner of a 128 municipal solid waste-to-energy facility must apply to the 129 department for funding; provide matching funds on a dollar-for 130 dollar basis; and demonstrate that the project is cost 131 effective, permittable, and implementable and complies with s. 132 403.7061. 133 (b) The Department of Environmental Protection shall 134 provide assistance to the department in determining the 135 eligibility of grant applications and establishing requirements 136 to ensure the long-term and efficient operation and maintenance 137 of facilities constructed or expanded under an incentive grant. 138 (c) The department shall perform adequate overview of each 139 grant application and grant award, including technical review, 140 regular inspections, disbursement approvals, and auditing, to 141 implement this section. 142 (d) Funds awarded under the incentive grant program may not 143 be used to promote, establish, or convert a residential 144 collection system that does not provide for the separate 145 collection of residential solid waste from recovered materials 146 as defined in s. 403.703. 147 (e) The department shall require the termination or 148 repayment of incentive grant funds if the department determines 149 that program requirements are not being met. 150 (5) FUNDING.— 151 (a) Funds appropriated for the Municipal Solid Waste-to 152 Energy Program must first be used for financial assistance 153 grants. Any funds remaining in a state fiscal year after 154 disbursement to all qualifying applicants may be used to fund 155 the incentive grant program. 156 (b) Funds awarded under the grant programs set forth in 157 this section may not be used to support, subsidize, or enable 158 the sale of electric power generated by a municipal solid waste 159 to-energy facility to any small electric utility eligible to 160 petition the commission under s. 366.06(4). 161 (c) Notwithstanding s. 216.301 and pursuant to s. 216.351, 162 funds allocated for the purpose of this section which are not 163 disbursed by June 30 of the fiscal year in which the funds are 164 allocated may be carried forward for up to 5 years after the 165 effective date of the original appropriation. 166 (6) RULES.—The department shall adopt rules to implement 167 and administer this section, including establishing grant 168 application processes for financial assistance grants and 169 incentive grants. The rules shall include application deadlines 170 and establish the supporting documentation necessary to be 171 provided to the department. In adopting rules relating to the 172 financial assistance grant program, the department shall consult 173 the Public Service Commission. In adopting rules for the 174 incentive grant program, the department shall consult the 175 Department of Environmental Protection. 176 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.