General Assembly |
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January Session, 2015 |
*_____SB00928ENV___042115____* |
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A SHARED CLEAN ENERGY FACILITY PILOT PROGRAM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2015) (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Shared clean energy facility" means a Class I renewable energy source, as defined in section 16-1 of the general statutes, that (A) is served by an electric distribution company, as defined in section 16-1 of the general statutes, (B) is within the same electric distribution company service territory as the individual billing meters for subscriptions, (C) has a nameplate capacity rating of four megawatts or less, and (D) has at least two subscribers;
(2) "Individual billing meter" means an individual electric meter or a set of electric meters, when such meters are combined for billing purposes, within the service territory of the subscriber's electric distribution company;
(3) "Electric distribution company" has the same meaning as provided in section 16-1 of the general statutes;
(4) "Subscriber" means an in-state retail end user of an electric distribution company who (A) has contracted for a subscription, and (B) has identified an individual billing meter to which the subscription shall be attributed;
(5) "Subscriber organization" means any for-profit or not-for-profit entity permitted by Connecticut law that (A) owns or operates one or more shared clean energy facilities for the benefit of the subscribers, or (B) contracts with a third-party entity to build, own or operate one or more shared clean energy facilities; and
(6) "Subscription" means a beneficial use of a shared clean energy facility, including, but not limited to, a percentage interest in the total amount of electricity produced by such facility or a set amount of electricity produced by such facility.
(b) The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, in consultation with the electric distribution companies, shall establish a three-year pilot program to support the development of shared clean energy facilities. On or before January 1, 2016, the department shall develop and issue a request for proposals from subscriber organizations seeking to develop a shared clean energy facility.
(c) The department shall select, pursuant to the request for proposals process, two recipients for the shared clean energy facility pilot program. To the extent possible, one recipient shall construct a shared clean energy facility with a nameplate capacity rating of not more than two megawatts and the other recipient shall construct a shared clean energy facility with a nameplate capacity rating of not more than four megawatts. The department shall establish (1) a billing credit for any subscriber of a shared clean energy facility, and (2) consumer protections for subscribers and potential subscribers of such a facility, including, but not limited to, disclosures to be made when selling or reselling a subscription.
(d) Not later than one year after being selected for an award under the shared clean energy facility pilot program and annually for two years thereafter, each recipient shall submit a report, in accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy and to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, information concerning the status of the shared clean energy facility.
(e) On or before January 1, 2019, the department shall file a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, with the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to energy, (1) analyzing the success of the shared clean energy pilot program, (2) identifying and analyzing the success of programs in other states that allow facilities similar to a shared clean energy facility, and (3) recommending whether a permanent program should be established in this state and, if so, any necessary legislation.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
October 1, 2015 |
New section |
ET |
Joint Favorable Subst. |
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ENV |
Joint Favorable |