House File 475 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  KELLEY

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to alternate energy by allowing the
  2    establishment of community solar garden projects.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 1455YH (2) 86
    rn/nh

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 476.1, Code 2015, is amended by adding
  1  2 the following new subsection:
  1  3    NEW SUBSECTION.  5A.  A community solar garden project
  1  4 established pursuant to section 476.49 shall not be regarded as
  1  5 a public utility for purposes of this chapter.
  1  6    Sec. 2.  Section 476.25, Code 2015, is amended by adding the
  1  7 following new unnumbered paragraph:
  1  8 NEW UNNUMBERED PARAGRAPH  The furnishing of electricity
  1  9 pursuant to a community solar garden project under section
  1 10 476.49 shall not be considered an unnecessary duplication
  1 11 of electric utility facilities and shall not constitute a
  1 12 violation of this section.
  1 13    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  476.49  Community solar garden
  1 14 projects.
  1 15    1.  Definitions.  For purposes of this section, unless the
  1 16 context otherwise requires:
  1 17    a.  "Community solar garden project" means an electric
  1 18 generating facility with a nameplate generating capacity of
  1 19 two megawatts or less that generates electricity by means of a
  1 20 ground=mounted or roof=mounted solar photovoltaic device and
  1 21 that is comprised of a minimum of five subscribers who jointly
  1 22 share the beneficial use of the electricity generated by the
  1 23 project.
  1 24    b.  "Subscriber" means a retail customer of an electric
  1 25 utility subject to this division who owns a subscription and
  1 26 who has identified one or more physical locations to which the
  1 27 subscription shall be attributed or attached.
  1 28    c.  "Subscription" means a proportional interest in a
  1 29 community solar garden project, together with a proportional
  1 30 interest in any state or federal tax credits for which the
  1 31 facility associated with the project may be eligible.
  1 32    2.  Program established.
  1 33    a.  A community solar garden project may be established
  1 34 to encourage and enhance the ability of electric utility
  1 35 customers to participate in and derive benefit from solar
  2  1 energy projects.
  2  2    b.  A community solar garden project established pursuant to
  2  3 this section shall be subject to the following requirements and
  2  4 specifications:
  2  5    (1)  A project may be established by an electric utility
  2  6 or any other for=profit or nonprofit entity or organization,
  2  7 including a subscriber organization whose sole purpose shall be
  2  8 beneficially owning and operating the project.  Additionally,
  2  9 a project may be constructed, owned, and operated by a third
  2 10 party under contract with a subscriber organization and
  2 11 pursuant to a lease, sale=leaseback transaction, operating
  2 12 agreement, or other third=party ownership arrangement.
  2 13    (2)  Physical locations to which subscriptions are
  2 14 attributed or attached shall be located within the same county
  2 15 or municipality and within the same electric utility service
  2 16 area.   Each subscription shall represent at least one kilowatt
  2 17 of the community solar garden project's generating capacity and
  2 18 shall supply no more than one hundred twenty percent of the
  2 19 average annual consumption of electricity by each subscriber
  2 20 at the premises to which the subscription is attributed or
  2 21 attached.  Subscriptions may be transferred or assigned to a
  2 22 subscriber organization or to any person or entity otherwise
  2 23 qualifying as a subscriber pursuant to this section, and may
  2 24 be continued following relocation of a subscriber to another
  2 25 location within the same county or municipality and electric
  2 26 utility service area otherwise meeting the requirements of this
  2 27 section.  A subscription following relocation may be subject
  2 28 to adjustment to reflect any differences between the new and
  2 29 previous premises' electricity usage rate.  The board shall
  2 30 determine transfer, assignment, and relocation criteria by
  2 31 rule.
  2 32    (3)  Electricity generated pursuant to the project shall
  2 33 be aggregated and then proportionately allocated to each
  2 34 subscriber.  Excess electricity generated by the project not
  2 35 utilized at the premises to which a subscription is attributed
  3  1 or attached may be sold pursuant to a power purchase agreement
  3  2 entered into with the electric utility at the same rates
  3  3 applicable to alternate energy production facilities pursuant
  3  4 to section 476.43.
  3  5    (4)  Notwithstanding the maximum purchase and ownership
  3  6 restrictions contained in section 476.44, an electric utility
  3  7 subject to this division shall enter into one or more power
  3  8 purchase agreements with one or more projects to purchase a
  3  9 minimum of five hundred kilowatts of electricity annually.  The
  3 10 board may by rule adjust this requirement on or after July 1,
  3 11 2018.
  3 12    (5)  Federal or state tax credits for which the community
  3 13 solar garden facility associated with the project qualifies
  3 14 shall be proportionately allocated to each subscriber.
  3 15    3.  Rules.  The board shall adopt rules governing the
  3 16 establishment of community solar garden projects pursuant to
  3 17 this section.
  3 18                           EXPLANATION
  3 19 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  3 20 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  3 21    This bill allows the establishment of community solar garden
  3 22 projects.
  3 23    The bill defines a "community solar garden project" to
  3 24 mean a facility with a nameplate generating capacity of two
  3 25 megawatts or less that generates electricity by means of a
  3 26 ground=mounted or roof=mounted solar photovoltaic device and
  3 27 that is comprised of a minimum of five subscribers who jointly
  3 28 share the beneficial use of the electricity generated by the
  3 29 project.  The bill defines a "subscriber" to mean a retail
  3 30 customer of an electric utility who owns a subscription and
  3 31 who has identified one or more physical locations to which the
  3 32 subscription shall be attributed or attached.  The bill defines
  3 33 a "subscription" to mean a proportional interest in a community
  3 34 solar garden project, together with a proportional interest
  3 35 in any tax credits for which the facility associated with the
  4  1 project may be eligible.
  4  2    The bill states that the objective of a project shall be to
  4  3 encourage and enhance the ability of public utility customers
  4  4 to participate in and derive benefit from solar energy
  4  5 projects.
  4  6    Regarding project ownership, the bill provides that
  4  7 a project may be established by an electric or any other
  4  8 for=profit or nonprofit entity or organization, including a
  4  9 subscriber organization whose sole purpose is to beneficially
  4 10 own and operate the project.  A project can also be
  4 11 constructed, owned, and operated by a third party under
  4 12 contract with a subscriber organization and pursuant to a
  4 13 lease, sale=leaseback transaction, operating agreement, or
  4 14 other third=party ownership arrangement.
  4 15    The bill provides that physical locations to which
  4 16 subscriptions are attributed or attached must be located within
  4 17 the same county or municipality and within the same electric
  4 18 utility service area.  The bill states that each subscription
  4 19 shall represent at least one kilowatt of a project's generating
  4 20 capacity and shall supply no more than 120 percent of the
  4 21 average annual consumption of electricity by each subscriber
  4 22 at the premises to which the subscription is attributed or
  4 23 attached. The bill authorizes the transfer, assignment, or
  4 24 relocation of subscriptions, under conditions to be determined
  4 25 by the board by rule.
  4 26    The bill states that electricity generated pursuant to
  4 27 a project shall be aggregated and then proportionately
  4 28 allocated to each subscriber, and that excess electricity
  4 29 generated by the project not utilized at the premises to which
  4 30 a subscription is attributed may be sold pursuant to a power
  4 31 purchase agreement entered into with the electric utility
  4 32 at the same rates applicable to alternate energy production
  4 33 facilities pursuant to Code section 476.43.
  4 34    The bill imposes purchase requirements on electric
  4 35 utilities.  The bill states that an electric utility shall
  5  1 enter into one or more power purchase agreements with one
  5  2 or more projects to purchase a minimum of 500 kilowatts of
  5  3 electricity annually. The bill provides that the board may by
  5  4 rule adjust this requirement on or after July 1, 2018, and that
  5  5 subscribers shall qualify for the federal and state tax credits
  5  6 for which the community solar garden facility qualifies on a
  5  7 proportionate basis.
  5  8    The bill provides that a community solar garden project
  5  9 shall not be considered a public utility subject to the
  5 10 regulatory provisions of Code chapter 476, and that such a
  5 11 project does not violate provisions contained in Code chapter
  5 12 476 prohibiting the unnecessary duplication of electric utility
  5 13 facilities.
       LSB 1455YH (2) 86
       rn/nh