Bill Text: IA HF426 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to solar energy purchase requirements applicable to certain electric utilities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-03 - Subcommittee, Cownie, Oldson, and Soderberg. H.J. 452. [HF426 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF426-Introduced.html

---

House File 426 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  ISENHART, KELLEY,
                                     STAED, McCONKEY,
                                     KEARNS, HANSON,
                                     FORBES, GAINES,
                                     WESSEL=KROESCHELL,
                                     DUNKEL, DAWSON,
                                     LENSING, BENNETT,
                                     T. TAYLOR, WINCKLER,
                                     ANDERSON, KRESSIG,
                                     BROWN=POWERS, and
                                     GASKILL

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to solar energy purchase requirements
  2    applicable to certain electric utilities.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 1981YH (2) 86
    rn/nh

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 476.44, subsection 2, Code 2015, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    2.  a.  (1)  An electric utility subject to this subchapter,
  1  4 except a utility that elects rate regulation pursuant to
  1  5 section 476.1A, shall not be required, by January 1, 2020,
  1  6  to own or purchase, at any one time, more than its share of
  1  7 one hundred five megawatts of power from alternative energy
  1  8 production facilities or small hydro solar energy facilities
  1  9 located in this state at the rates established pursuant to
  1 10 section 476.43. The board shall allocate the one hundred five
  1 11 megawatts based upon each utility's percentage of the total
  1 12 Iowa retail peak demand, for the year beginning January 1, 1990
  1 13  2015, of all utilities subject to this section. If a utility
  1 14 undergoes reorganization as defined in section 476.76, the
  1 15 board shall combine the allocated purchases of power for each
  1 16 utility involved in the reorganization.
  1 17    (2)  In satisfying the solar energy ownership or purchase
  1 18 requirements pursuant to subparagraph (1), a minimum of ten
  1 19 percent of the energy produced or purchased shall be produced
  1 20 by or purchased from solar energy facilities with a nameplate
  1 21 generating capacity of twenty kilowatts or less.
  1 22    b.  Notwithstanding the one hundred five megawatt maximum
  1 23  requirement, the board may increase the amount of power solar
  1 24 energy that a utility is required to own or purchase at the
  1 25 rates established pursuant to section 476.43 if the board
  1 26 finds that a utility, including a reorganized utility, exceeds
  1 27 its 1990 2015 Iowa retail peak demand by twenty percent and
  1 28 the additional power solar energy the utility is required to
  1 29 purchase will encourage the development of alternate energy
  1 30 production facilities and small hydro solar energy facilities.
  1 31 The increase shall not exceed the utility's increase in peak
  1 32 demand multiplied by the ratio of the utility's share of the
  1 33 one hundred five megawatt maximum requirement to its 1990 2015
  1 34  Iowa retail peak demand.
  1 35                           EXPLANATION
  2  1 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2  2 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2  3    This bill specifies solar energy purchase requirements
  2  4 applicable to electric public utilities.
  2  5    Currently, electric utilities are required to own alternate
  2  6 energy production facilities or small hydro facilities located
  2  7 in Iowa, or to enter into long=term contracts to purchase or
  2  8 wheel electricity from such facilities.  Alternate energy
  2  9 production facilities are defined in Code section 476.42
  2 10 to include solar, wind turbine, waste management, resource
  2 11 recovery, refuse=derived fuel, agricultural crops or residues,
  2 12 or woodburning facilities.
  2 13    There is a limitation on the amount of electricity required
  2 14 to be produced by a facility which is owned by an electric
  2 15 utility, or purchased or wheeled from an alternate energy
  2 16 production facility or small hydro facility.  An electric
  2 17 utility is not required to own or purchase, at any one time,
  2 18 more than its share of 105 megawatts of power from alternate
  2 19 energy production facilities or small hydro facilities.
  2 20    The bill modifies the 105 megawatt purchase requirement
  2 21 and limitation to make it applicable strictly to solar energy
  2 22 derived from solar energy facilities in this state.  The 105
  2 23 megawatt solar energy ownership or purchase requirements must
  2 24 be attained by January 1, 2020.  The bill provides that out of
  2 25 this amount, a minimum of 10 percent of the energy produced
  2 26 or purchased shall be produced by or purchased from solar
  2 27 energy facilities with a nameplate generating capacity of
  2 28 20 kilowatts or less. The bill makes conforming changes to
  2 29 related provisions.
       LSB 1981YH (2) 86
       rn/nh