2016 -- H 7815

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LC005241

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES - RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARDS

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Ruggiero, Carson, Abney, Handy, and Reilly

     Date Introduced: March 02, 2016

     Referred To: House Environment and Natural Resources

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Sections 39-26-1, 39-26-2, 39-26-3 and 39-26-7 of the General Laws in

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Chapter 39-26 entitled "Renewable Energy Standard" are hereby amended to read as follows:

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     39-26-1. Legislative findings. -- The General Assembly finds that:

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      (a) The people and energy users of Rhode Island have an interest in having electricity

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supplied in the state come from a diversity of energy sources including renewable resources and

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that electricity supplied to the state be displaced by renewable resources;

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      (b) Increased use of renewable energy may have the potential to lower and stabilize

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future energy costs;

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      (c) Increased use of renewable energy can reduce air pollutants, including carbon dioxide

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emissions, that adversely affect public health and contribute to global warming;

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      (d) Massachusetts, Connecticut, and other states have established renewable energy

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standard programs that include renewable thermal technologies to encourage the development of

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a variety of renewable energy sources;

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      (e) It is in the interest of the people, in order to protect public health and the environment

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and to promote the general welfare economic development and job creation, to establish a

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renewable energy standard program to increase levels of electric energy supplied in the state from

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renewable resources and to displace the consumption of electricity and nonrenewable fuels

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supplied in the state with renewable energy resources.

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     39-26-2. Definitions. -- When used in this chapter:

 

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      (1) "Alternative compliance payment" means a payment to the Renewable Energy

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Development Fund of fifty dollars ($50.00) per megawatt-hour of renewable energy obligation, in

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2003 dollars, adjusted annually up or down by the consumer price index, which may be made in

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lieu of standard means of compliance with this statute;

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      (2) "Commission" means the Rhode Island public utilities commission;

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      (3) "Compliance year" means a calendar year beginning January 1 and ending December

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31, for which an obligated entity must demonstrate that it has met the requirements of this statute;

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      (4) "Customer-sited generation facility" means a generation unit that is interconnected on

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the end-use customer's side of the retail electricity meter in such a manner that it displaces all or

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part of the metered consumption of the end-use customer;

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      (5) "Electrical energy product" means an electrical energy offering, including, but not

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limited to, last resort and standard offer service, that can be distinguished by its generation

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attributes or other characteristics, and that is offered for sale by an obligated entity to end-use

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customers;

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      (6) "Eligible biomass fuel" means fuel sources including brush, stumps, lumber ends and

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trimmings, wood pallets, bark, wood chips, shavings, slash and other clean wood that is not

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mixed with other solid wastes; agricultural waste, food and vegetative material; energy crops;

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landfill methane; biogas; or neat bio-diesel and other neat liquid fuels that are derived from such

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fuel sources;

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      (7) "Eligible renewable energy resource" means resources as defined in § 39-26-5;

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      (8) "End-use customer" means a person or entity in Rhode Island that purchases

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electrical energy at retail from an obligated entity;

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      (9) "Existing renewable energy resources" means generation units using eligible

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renewable energy resources and first going into commercial operation before December 31, 1997;

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      (10) "Generation attributes" means the nonprice characteristics of the electrical energy

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output of a generation unit including, but not limited to, the unit's fuel type, emissions, vintage

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and policy eligibility;

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      (11) "Generation unit" means a facility that converts a fuel or an energy resource into

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electrical energy;

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      (12) "NE-GIS" means the generation information system operated by NEPOOL, its

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designee or successor entity, which includes a generation information database and certificate

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system, and that accounts for the generation attributes of electrical energy consumed within

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NEPOOL;

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      (13) "NE-GIS certificate" means an electronic record produced by the NE-GIS that

 

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identifies the relevant generation attributes of each megawatt-hour accounted for in the NE-GIS;

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      (14) "NEPOOL" means the New England Power Pool or its successor;

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      (15) "New renewable energy resources" means generation units using eligible renewable

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energy resources and first going into commercial operation after December 31, 1997; or the

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incremental output of generation units using eligible renewable energy resources that have

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demonstrably increased generation in excess of ten percent (10%) using eligible renewable

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energy resources through capital investments made after December 31, 1997; but in no case

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involve any new impoundment or diversion of water with an average salinity of twenty (20) parts

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per thousand or less;

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      (16) "Obligated entity" means a person or entity that sells electrical energy to end-use

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customers in Rhode Island, including, but not limited to: nonregulated power producers and

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electric utility distribution companies, as defined in § 39-1-2, supplying standard offer service,

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last resort service, or any successor service to end-use customers; including Narragansett Electric,

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but not to include Block Island Power Company as described in § 39-26-7 or Pascoag Utility

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District;

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      (17) "Off-grid generation facility" means a generation unit that is not connected to a

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utility transmission or distribution system;

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      (18) "Reserved certificate" means a NE-GIS certificate sold independent of a transaction

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involving electrical energy, pursuant to Rule 3.4 or a successor rule of the operating rules of the

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NE-GIS;

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      (19) "Reserved certificate account" means a specially designated account established by

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an obligated entity, pursuant to Rule 3.4 or a successor rule of the operating rules of the NE-GIS,

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for transfer and retirement of reserved certificated from the NE-GIS;

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      (20) "Self-generator" means an end-use customer in Rhode Island that displaces all or

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part of its retail electricity consumption, as metered by the distribution utility to which it

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interconnects, through the use of a customer-sited generation facility, the ownership of any such

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facility shall not be considered an obligated entity as a result of any such ownership arrangement;

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      (21) "Small hydro facility" means a facility employing one or more hydroelectric turbine

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generators and with an aggregate capacity not exceeding thirty (30) megawatts. For purposes of

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this definition, "facility" shall be defined in a manner consistent with Title 18 of the Code of

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Federal Regulations, section 92.201 et seq.; provided, however, that the size of the facility is

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limited to thirty (30) megawatts, rather than eighty (80) megawatts.

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      (22) "Renewable energy resource" means any one or more of the renewable energy

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resources described in subsection 39-26-5(a) of this chapter.

 

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     (23) "Useful thermal energy" means energy in the form of direct heat, steam, hot water or

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other thermal form that is used in production and beneficial measures for heating, cooling,

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humidity control, process use or other valid thermal end use energy requirements and for which

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electricity or a nonrenewable fuel would otherwise be consumed.

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     39-26-3. Purposes. -- The purposes of this chapter are to define renewable energy

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resources and to facilitate the development of new renewable energy resources to supply

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electricity to customers in Rhode Island, the development of alternative energy generating

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sources with goals of stabilizing long-term energy prices, enhancing environmental quality, and

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creating jobs in Rhode Island in the renewable energy sector.

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     39-26-7. Renewable energy development fund. -- (a) There is hereby authorized and

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created within the Rhode Island commerce corporation a renewable energy development fund for

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the purpose of increasing the supply of NE-GIS certificates available for compliance in future

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years by obligated entities with renewable energy standard requirements and alternative energy

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standard requirements, as established in this chapter. The fund shall be located at the Rhode

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Island commerce corporation. The Rhode Island commerce corporation shall:

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      Administer the fund and adopt plans and guidelines for the management and use of the

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fund in coordination with the office of energy resources and the Rhode Island infrastructure bank,

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and

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      (b) The Rhode Island commerce corporation shall enter into agreements with obligated

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entities to accept alternative compliance payments, consistent with rules of the commission and

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the purposes set forth in this section; and alternative compliance payments received pursuant to

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this section shall be trust funds to be held and applied solely for the purposes set forth in this

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section.

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      (c) The uses of the fund shall include but not be limited to:

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      (1) Stimulating investment in renewable energy development by entering into

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agreements, including multi-year agreements, for renewable energy certificates;

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      (2) Establishing and maintaining a residential renewable energy program using eligible

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technologies in accordance with § 39-26-5;

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      (3) Providing technical and financial assistance to municipalities for interconnection and

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feasibility studies, and/or the installation of renewable energy projects;

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      (4) Implementing and supporting commercial and residential property assessed clean

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energy projects;

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      (5) Issuing assurances and/or guarantees to support the acquisition of renewable energy

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certificates and/or the development of new renewable energy sources for Rhode Island;

 

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      (6) Establishing escrows, reserves, and/or acquiring insurance for the obligations of the

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fund;

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      (7) Paying administrative costs of the fund incurred by the Rhode Island commerce

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corporation, the Rhode Island infrastructure bank and the office of energy resources, not to

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exceed ten percent (10%) of the income of the fund, including, but not limited to, alternative

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compliance payments. All funds transferred from the Rhode Island commerce corporation to

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support the office of energy resources' administrative costs shall be deposited as restricted

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receipts.

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      (d) All applications received for the use of the fund shall be reviewed by the Rhode

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Island commerce corporation in consultation with the office of energy resources and the Rhode

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Island infrastructure bank.

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      (e) NE-GIS certificates acquired through the fund may be conveyed to obligated entities

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or may be credited against the renewable energy standard for the year of the certificate provided

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that the commission assesses the cost of the certificates to the obligated entity, or entities,

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benefiting from the credit against the renewable energy standard, which assessment shall be

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reduced by previously made alternative compliance payments and shall be paid to the fund.

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     SECTION 2. Chapter 39-26 of the General Laws entitled "Renewable Energy Standard"

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is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

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     39-26-5.1. Thermal energy standard. -- (a) The commission, in consultation with the

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office of energy resources, shall establish a thermal energy standard for all obligated entities.

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Every retail electric supplier providing service under contracts executed or extended on or after

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January 1, 2017, shall provide a minimum percentage of kilowatt-hour sales, as determined by the

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commission, to end-use customers in Rhode Island from thermal energy generating sources. The

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commission, in consultation with the office of energy resources, shall annually thereafter

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determine the minimum percentage of kilowatt-hour sales to end-use customers in Rhode Island

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which shall be derived from thermal energy generating sources.

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     (b) For the purposes of this section, "thermal energy generating source" shall mean a

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source which generates energy using any of the following:

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     (1) Any facility that generates useful thermal energy using sunlight, one hundred percent

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(100%) liquid biofuel, or naturally occurring temperature differences in ground, air or water,

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whereby 1 megawatt-hour of alternative energy credit shall be earned for every three million four

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hundred twelve thousand British thermal units (3,412,000 Btus) of net useful thermal energy

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produced and verified through an on-site utility grade meter or other means satisfactory to the

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commission; or

 

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     (2) Any other thermal energy technology approved by the commission, in consultation

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with the office of energy resources, under an administrative proceeding.

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     (c) The department of environmental management shall set emission performance

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standards that are protective of public health and the environment, including standards for eligible

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liquid biofuel technologies that:

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     (1) Limit eligibility only to best-in-class commercially-feasible technologies, inclusive of

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energy conversion and emissions controls, with regard to reducing emissions of particulate matter

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sized two and one-half (2.5) microns or less and carbon monoxide and other air pollutants;

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     (2) Establish requirements for thermal storage or other means to minimize any significant

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deterioration of efficiency or emissions due to boiler cycling, if feasible; and

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     (3) Include fuel conversion efficiency performance standards achievable by best-in-class

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commercially-feasible technologies.

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     (d) The commission shall adopt regulations allowing for obligated entities to discharge

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their obligations under this section by making an alternative compliance payment in an amount

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established by the commission. Such regulations shall outline procedures by which each obligated

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entity shall annually submit for the commission's review a filing illustrating the obligated entity's

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compliance with the requirements of this section.

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     (e) Notwithstanding the determination that one alternative energy credit is to be earned

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per three million four hundred twelve thousand British thermal units (3,412,000 Btus) in

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subsection (b) of this section, the commission, in consultation with the office of energy resources

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may provide that for certain nonemitting renewable thermal technologies, an alternative energy

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credit shall be earned for less than three million four hundred twelve thousand British thermal

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units (3,412,000 Btus) of net useful thermal energy so as to stimulate the development of new on-

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site renewable thermal energy generating sources.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES - RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARDS

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     This act would authorize the establishment of a thermal energy standard which promotes

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the development of thermal renewable energy technologies.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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