Complete Bill History



Senate File 225      



                                    SENATE FILE       
                                    BY  BEALL, BOLKCOM, HOGG,
                                        HOUSER, and KIBBIE

                                         A BILL FOR

     1 An Act relating to alternate and renewable energy production
     2    by establishing an alternate and renewable energy incentive
     3    program applicable to alternate energy production facilities
     4    under specified circumstances.
     5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  476.43A  Alternate and renewable
  1  2 energy incentive program.
  1  3    1.  It is the intent of the general assembly to encourage
  1  4 the development of utility=owned and customer=owned alternate
  1  5 and renewable energy production facilities.  The board shall
  1  6 establish and administer an alternate and renewable energy
  1  7 incentive program to encourage the development of alternate
  1  8 energy production projects across this state.
  1  9    2.  An alternate energy production facility with a nameplate
  1 10 generating capacity of less than or equal to twenty megawatts
  1 11 which seeks to enter into an interconnection and power sales
  1 12 agreement with an electric utility may submit an application
  1 13 for approval to the board.  The board shall develop an
  1 14 application form and establish approval criteria by rule.
  1 15    3.  a.  Eligibility for the program shall be contingent upon
  1 16 the following:
  1 17    (1)  Meeting the requirements of section 476C.1, subsection
  1 18 6, paragraph "b", subparagraphs (1) through (3), and
  1 19 subparagraphs (6) and (7), with regard to fifty=one percent
  1 20 ownership in the facility being comprised of one or more of
  1 21 the individuals or entities identified pursuant to those
  1 22 subparagraphs.
  1 23    (2)  Having applied for or obtained the necessary financing
  1 24 to cover facility construction and operation costs.
  1 25    (3)  Completing a standard interconnection request form
  1 26 established by the board by rule.
  1 27    (4)  Meeting the requirements for a qualifying facility
  1 28 pursuant to the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act
  1 29 of 1978, 16 U.S.C. { 2601 et seq.
  1 30    b.  Notwithstanding the maximum ownership or purchase
  1 31 requirements of section 476.44, an electric utility shall
  1 32 interconnect with a facility which is approved by the board
  1 33 for participation in the program and shall purchase energy
  1 34 from that facility at the rates approved in the standard
  1 35 offer contract filed pursuant to subsection 4 with the board.
  2  1 However, an electric utility shall not be required to purchase
  2  2 an amount of energy from new program participants in a given
  2  3 year which exceeds fifty percent of its retail sales growth
  2  4 during the previous year.  Any amount of energy not purchased
  2  5 from program participants in a single year may be carried
  2  6 forward to subsequent years for at least five years.
  2  7    4.  The board shall develop a standard offer contract form
  2  8 to facilitate interconnection between an electric utility and
  2  9 a program participant.  The form shall be subject to biannual
  2 10 review and periodic adjustment by the board with respect to new
  2 11 program participants.  The board shall require all electric
  2 12 utilities to file with the board standard offer contracts
  2 13 consistent with the form, subject to modification and approval
  2 14 by the board.  Electric utilities shall make the contracts
  2 15 available to any approved program participant. Standard offer
  2 16 contracts shall continue in effect for a twenty=year period,
  2 17 subject to termination provisions for failure to perform, to be
  2 18 established by the board by rule.
  2 19    5.  The standard offer contracts shall be calculated on
  2 20 a kilowatt=hour basis, and shall be based on each utility's
  2 21 cost, inclusive of its required rate of return, for the new
  2 22 development of each form of technology and project size,
  2 23 according to the following schedule:
  2 24    a.  For wind turbine facilities, separate standard offer
  2 25 contracts shall be calculated for facilities of between zero
  2 26 and one=half megawatt of nameplate generating capacity, and for
  2 27 facilities larger than one=half megawatt but less than twenty
  2 28 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity.  The contracts
  2 29 shall incorporate rates based on a single reference tower wind
  2 30 speed, to be determined by the board by rule, and adjusted to
  2 31 the wind speed of the project location.
  2 32    b.  For photovoltaic facilities, separate standard offer
  2 33 contracts shall be calculated for facilities of between zero
  2 34 and twenty kilowatts of nameplate generating capacity, and for
  2 35 facilities larger than twenty kilowatts of nameplate generating
  3  1 capacity.
  3  2    c.  For waste management facilities, agricultural crop and
  3  3 residue facilities, and hydroelectric facilities, separate
  3  4 standard offer contracts shall be calculated for facilities
  3  5 of between zero and one=half megawatt of nameplate generating
  3  6 capacity, and for facilities larger than one=half megawatt and
  3  7 less than twenty megawatts of nameplate generating capacity.
  3  8    6.  Standard offer contracts shall be in lieu of rates
  3  9 otherwise determined by the board pursuant to section 476.43.
  3 10 An unsuccessful applicant, or an alternate energy production
  3 11 facility with larger than twenty megawatts of nameplate
  3 12 generating capacity, shall be governed by the rates established
  3 13 in section 476.43.
  3 14    7.  The board shall submit a report to the general assembly
  3 15 by January 1 annually regarding participation levels and
  3 16 program results.
  3 17                           EXPLANATION
  3 18    This bill establishes an alternate and renewable energy
  3 19 incentive program applicable to alternate energy production
  3 20 facilities approved for participation in the program.
  3 21    The bill provides that an alternate energy production
  3 22 facility with a nameplate generating capacity of less
  3 23 than or equal to 20 megawatts which seeks to enter into an
  3 24 interconnection and power sales agreement with an electric
  3 25 utility may submit an application for approval to the Iowa
  3 26 utilities board.  To be eligible to apply for the program, a
  3 27 facility must meet certain percentage ownership requirements
  3 28 specified in Code section 476C.1, subsection 6, paragraph "b",
  3 29 have applied for or obtained the necessary financing to cover
  3 30 facility construction and operation costs, complete a standard
  3 31 interconnection request form established by the board by rule,
  3 32 and meet the requirements for a qualifying facility pursuant to
  3 33 the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978.
  3 34    The bill provides that notwithstanding the maximum ownership
  3 35 or purchase requirements of Code section 476.44, an electric
  4  1 utility shall be required to interconnect with a facility
  4  2 approved by the board for the program, but shall not be
  4  3 required to purchase an amount of energy from new program
  4  4 participants in a given year which exceeds 50 percent of its
  4  5 retail sales growth during the previous year.  The bill states
  4  6 that amounts not purchased from program participants in a
  4  7 single year may be carried forward to subsequent years for at
  4  8 least five years.
  4  9    The bill directs the board to develop a standard offer
  4 10 contract form to facilitate interconnection between an electric
  4 11 utility and a program participant, which shall be subject to
  4 12 biannual review and periodic adjustment by the board with
  4 13 respect to new program participants.  All electric utilities
  4 14 shall file with the board standard offer contracts consistent
  4 15 with this form, subject to modification and board approval, and
  4 16 shall make these contracts available to any approved program
  4 17 participant.  The bill provides that standard offer contracts
  4 18 shall continue in effect for 20 years, subject to termination
  4 19 provisions for failure to perform, to be established by the
  4 20 board by rule.
  4 21    The bill specifies that standard offer contracts shall be
  4 22 calculated on a kilowatt=hour basis, and shall be based on
  4 23 each utility's cost, inclusive of its required rate of return,
  4 24 for the new development of each form of technology and project
  4 25 size, varying by the type of alternate and renewable energy
  4 26 production facility involved.  For wind turbine facilities,
  4 27 the bill provides that separate standard offer contracts shall
  4 28 be calculated for facilities of between zero and one=half
  4 29 megawatt, and for facilities larger than one=half megawatt but
  4 30 less than 20 megawatts, and shall incorporate rates based on a
  4 31 single reference tower wind speed to be determined by the board
  4 32 by rule and adjusted to the wind speed of the project location.
  4 33 For photovoltaic facilities, the bill provides that separate
  4 34 standard offer contracts shall be calculated for facilities of
  4 35 between zero and 20 kilowatts, and for facilities larger than
  5  1 20 kilowatts.  For waste management facilities, agricultural
  5  2 crop and residue facilities, and hydroelectric facilities, the
  5  3 bill provides that separate standard offer contracts shall
  5  4 be calculated for facilities of between zero and one=half
  5  5 megawatt, and for facilities larger than one=half megawatt and
  5  6 less than 20 megawatts.
  5  7    The bill states that standard offer contracts shall be
  5  8 in lieu of alternate and renewable energy rates otherwise
  5  9 determined by the board pursuant to Code section 476.43,
  5 10 and that an unsuccessful applicant, or an alternate energy
  5 11 production facility with larger than 20 megawatts of nameplate
  5 12 generating capacity, shall be governed by the Code section
  5 13 476.43 rates.
  5 14    The bill requires the board to submit a report to the general
  5 15 assembly by January 1 annually regarding program participation
  5 16 levels and results.
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