Bill Text: NY S00941 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to enacting the "renewable energy credit opportunity and exchange protection act" establishing the rights of consumers and businesses to own and trade renewable energy credits.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [S00941 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S00941-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         941--A
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     January 5, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  FUNKE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
          cations  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation  to  the  "renewable
          energy  credit  opportunity  and exchange protection act" establishing
          the rights of consumers and businesses  to  own  and  trade  renewable
          energy credits
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the  "renewable
     2  energy credit opportunity and exchange protection act".
     3    § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 66-o to
     4  read as follows:
     5    §  66-o.  Renewable  energy credit opportunity and exchange protection
     6  act.  1. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall
     7  have the following meanings:
     8    (a) "Attribute" has the meaning  given  such  term  in  the  operating
     9  rules, as the same may be amended and revised, and includes the environ-
    10  mental attributes;
    11    (b) "Renewable energy credit", "renewable energy certificate", "renew-
    12  able  generation  attribute  certificate",  or  "rec"  means a tradable,
    13  contractual instrument that represents the  full  suite  of  attributes,
    14  including  all  of  the  environmental  attributes,  associated with the
    15  generation of kilowatt-hours or megawatt-hours  of  electricity  from  a
    16  renewable energy generation facility;
    17    (c) "Qualified generation attribute tracking system" means:
    18    (i) ERCOT: electric reliability council of Texas;
    19    (ii) MIRECS: Michigan renewable energy certification system;
    20    (iii) M-RETS: Midwest renewable energy tracking system;
    21    (iv) NAR: North American renewables registry;
    22    (v) NC-RETS: North Carolina renewable energy tracking system;
    23    (vi) NEPOOL-GIS: New England power pool generation information system;
    24    (vii) NYGATS: New York generation attribute tracking system;
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04273-03-7
        S. 941--A                           2
     1    (viii) NVTREC: Nevada tracks renewable energy credits;
     2    (ix) PJM-GATS: PJM EIS'S generation attribute tracking system;
     3    (x) WREGIS: Western renewable energy generation information system; or
     4    (xi)  any  other  attribute  tracking  system  approved for use by the
     5  authority;
     6    (d) "Renewable energy generation facility" means an electric  generat-
     7  ing  facility  that  produces or generates electricity from a recognized
     8  renewable fuel type under the operating rules, and shall include renewa-
     9  ble energy generation facilities paired with storage;
    10    (e) "Renewable energy generator" means the owner of a renewable energy
    11  generation facility;
    12    (f) "REC owner" means the renewable  energy  generator  or  person  or
    13  entity  to whom the renewable energy generator transfers and assigns the
    14  right to its recs  within  a  qualified  generation  attribute  tracking
    15  system.  The  authority  or an electric corporation can be a "REC owner"
    16  upon the transfer and assignment by the renewable energy generator;
    17    (g) "Authority" means the New York state energy research and  develop-
    18  ment authority;
    19    (h)  "Commission"  means the New York state public service commission;
    20  and
    21    (i) "Operating rules" means the New York generation attribute tracking
    22  system operating rules issued by the  authority,  as  the  same  may  be
    23  amended or revised.
    24    2.  Renewable  energy  generator's rights to renewable energy credits.
    25  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or claims of the authori-
    26  ty or the commission to the contrary, a renewable energy generator shall
    27  have full rights of ownership of its recs, including but not limited  to
    28  the  right  to register, record, transfer, trade, sell, assign or other-
    29  wise dispose of such recs on a  nondiscriminatory  basis  in  accordance
    30  with  the  rules of the relevant qualified generation attribute tracking
    31  system(s). Neither the authority  nor  the  commission  shall  make  any
    32  claims  to  RECs  in  contradiction  of  this  section, and any rulings,
    33  orders, guidance, or other claims of the  authority  or  the  commission
    34  inconsistent  with  this  section,  whether issued prior to or after the
    35  effective date of this section, shall be void.
    36    (b) Neither the authority, the commission,  nor  any  electric  corpo-
    37  ration shall make any claims to a renewable energy generation facility's
    38  RECs, or deny a renewable energy generator the rights and benefits under
    39  this  law, based on: (i) a renewable energy generator's receipt of funds
    40  or payments from the authority, or federal or state tax  incentives;  or
    41  (ii)  participation  in  net  metering  under  sections  sixty-six-j and
    42  sixty-six-l of this article, as the same may be amended  or  superseded,
    43  or  any  similar  or successor mechanism that results in compensation to
    44  the renewable energy generation facility or its owner or customers  from
    45  an electric corporation.
    46    3. Registration, recording, tracking and transferring renewable energy
    47  credits.    (a)  Any generation attribute tracking system established in
    48  New York state, whether under section eighteen hundred fifty-four of the
    49  public authorities law or otherwise, shall permit rec owners  to  regis-
    50  ter,  record,  transfer,  trade,  sell and assign their renewable energy
    51  credits on a nondiscriminatory basis in such system.
    52    (b) The commission and the authority shall issue any necessary rulings
    53  or orders clarifying the rights  of  REC  owners  as  outlined  in  this
    54  section  no  later  than  thirty  days  after the effective date of this
    55  section.
    56    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.