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Indiana Senate Bill SB0541

Indiana 2025 Regular Session

Indiana Senate Bill SB0541 Compare Versions

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22 Introduced Version
33 SENATE BILL No. 541
44 _____
55 DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
66 Citations Affected: IC 8-1-44.
77 Synopsis: Community solar facilities. Requires the Indiana utility
88 regulatory commission (commission) to adopt rules governing
99 community solar facilities not later than July 1, 2026. Provides that, not
1010 later than 180 days after adoption of the rules, an electricity provider
1111 shall begin: (1) allowing interconnection of the electricity provider's
1212 facilities with community solar facilities in which at least three of the
1313 electricity provider's customers have entered into a subscription; and
1414 (2) crediting the electricity provider's subscribing customers for the
1515 amount of electricity from the community solar facility for which the
1616 customer subscribes. Requires the commission to: (1) establish an
1717 interconnection working group composed of representatives of
1818 electricity suppliers and other stakeholders with respect to electric
1919 utility service; and (2) implement the working group's
2020 recommendations regarding creation, revision, or elimination of
2121 policies, processes, tariffs, rules, or standards relating to the
2222 interconnection of community solar facilities and electricity suppliers
2323 as necessary for transparent, accurate, and efficient implementation of
2424 community solar facilities.
2525 Effective: July 1, 2025.
2626 Spencer
2727 January 16, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Utilities.
2828 2025 IN 541—LS 6512/DI 119 Introduced
2929 First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
3030 PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
3131 Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
3232 additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
3333 Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
3434 provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
3535 word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
3636 a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
3737 Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
3838 between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
3939 SENATE BILL No. 541
4040 A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
4141 utilities.
4242 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
4343 1 SECTION 1. IC 8-1-44 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS
4444 2 A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
4545 3 1, 2025]:
4646 4 Chapter 44. Community Solar Facilities
4747 5 Sec. 1. The definitions in IC 8-1-40 apply throughout this
4848 6 chapter.
4949 7 Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "community solar facility"
5050 8 means a facility:
5151 9 (1) that generates electricity by means of a photovoltaic
5252 10 device;
5353 11 (2) that is located on a single parcel of land;
5454 12 (3) that is interconnected to the electric distribution grid;
5555 13 (4) in which at least three (3) persons located in the electricity
5656 14 provider service area in which the facility is located have
5757 15 entered into a subscription;
5858 16 (5) in which at least sixty percent (60%) of the generating
5959 17 capacity is allocated to subscriptions of twenty-five (25)
6060 2025 IN 541—LS 6512/DI 119 2
6161 1 kilowatts or less; and
6262 2 (6) that is designed to offset the energy use of a specified set of
6363 3 subscribers, with no single subscriber having more than a
6464 4 twenty percent (20%) interest in the facility.
6565 5 Sec. 3. (a) As used in this chapter, "community solar facility
6666 6 organization" means an organization whose purpose is to
6767 7 beneficially own and operate a community solar facility for the
6868 8 subscribers to the community solar facility.
6969 9 (b) A community solar facility organization may be a for-profit,
7070 10 nonprofit, cooperative, or governmental entity authorized by
7171 11 Indiana law.
7272 12 Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "disadvantaged business
7373 13 enterprise" has the meaning set forth in IC 5-16-6.5-1.
7474 14 Sec. 5. (a) As used in this chapter, "electricity provider" means
7575 15 an entity providing retail electricity service to customers under
7676 16 IC 8-1-2.
7777 17 (b) The term does not include an entity providing retail electric
7878 18 service under IC 8-1-2.2 or IC 8-1-13.
7979 19 Sec. 6. As used in this chapter, "low or moderate income" means
8080 20 an individual or household income of not more than eighty percent
8181 21 (80%) of the area median income based on United States
8282 22 Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines.
8383 23 Sec. 7. As used in this chapter, "nameplate capacity" has the
8484 24 meaning set forth in 170 IAC 4-4.2-1.
8585 25 Sec. 8. As used in this chapter, "subscribing customer" means
8686 26 a retail customer of an electricity provider that enters into one (1)
8787 27 or more subscriptions with one (1) or more community solar
8888 28 facilities.
8989 29 Sec. 9. As used in this chapter, "subscription" means a contract
9090 30 between a subscriber and a community solar facility organization.
9191 31 Sec. 10. Not later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the
9292 32 commission adopts rules under section 15 of this chapter, an
9393 33 electricity provider shall begin:
9494 34 (1) allowing interconnection with the electricity provider's
9595 35 facilities by community solar facilities; and
9696 36 (2) providing bill credits under section 11 of this chapter to
9797 37 subscribing customers of the electricity provider.
9898 38 Sec. 11. (a) A community solar facility organization that
9999 39 operates a community solar facility that is interconnected with the
100100 40 facilities of an electricity provider shall, not later than the fifteenth
101101 41 day of each month, transmit to the electricity provider a report
102102 42 providing the following information:
103103 2025 IN 541—LS 6512/DI 119 3
104104 1 (1) An updated list of subscribers to the community solar
105105 2 facility in the immediately preceding month.
106106 3 (2) The proportional output of the community solar facility
107107 4 attributable to the subscription of each subscriber identified
108108 5 under subdivision (1), calculated as follows:
109109 6 (A) If the subscriber subscribed to receive a specified
110110 7 amount of electricity from the community solar facility
111111 8 during the immediately preceding month, the subscriber's
112112 9 subscription amount is the amount of electricity the
113113 10 subscriber subscribed to receive from the community solar
114114 11 facility during the immediately preceding month.
115115 12 (B) If the subscriber subscribed to receive a specified
116116 13 proportion of the community solar facility's generated
117117 14 electricity in the immediately preceding month, the
118118 15 subscriber's subscription amount equals:
119119 16 (i) the proportion of the community solar facility's
120120 17 generated electricity the subscriber subscribed to receive
121121 18 in the immediately preceding month; multiplied by
122122 19 (ii) the amount of electricity generated by the community
123123 20 solar facility in the immediately preceding month.
124124 21 (b) An electricity provider shall provide to a subscribing
125125 22 customer of the electricity provider a credit on the customer's
126126 23 electricity bill for a billing cycle that is equal to:
127127 24 (1) the total subscription amount reported for the customer by
128128 25 the community solar facility organization under subsection
129129 26 (a)(2) for the billing cycle; multiplied by
130130 27 (2) the applicable community solar credit rate established by
131131 28 the commission in rules adopted by the commission under
132132 29 section 15 of this chapter.
133133 30 If the amount of a bill credit provided to a subscribing customer
134134 31 for a billing cycle exceeds the amount of the subscribing customer's
135135 32 bill for that billing cycle, the electricity supplier shall carry over
136136 33 the amount of the excess in subsequent billing cycles until the full
137137 34 amount of the excess has been credited to the subscribing
138138 35 customer.
139139 36 (c) An electricity provider shall, not later than the fifteenth day
140140 37 of each month, electronically report the following information to
141141 38 a community solar facility organization that operates a community
142142 39 solar facility that is interconnected with the electricity provider's
143143 40 facilities:
144144 41 (1) The proportional output of the community solar facility
145145 42 attributable to the subscription of each subscriber to the
146146 2025 IN 541—LS 6512/DI 119 4
147147 1 community solar facility.
148148 2 (2) The bill credit provided to each subscriber to the
149149 3 community solar facility under subsection (b) for the
150150 4 immediately preceding billing cycle.
151151 5 (3) The applicable community solar credit rate established by
152152 6 the commission in rules adopted by the commission under
153153 7 section 15 of this chapter.
154154 8 (d) An electricity provider shall provide bill credits under this
155155 9 section to a subscribing customer of the electricity provider for the
156156 10 life of the community solar facility to which the customer
157157 11 subscribes.
158158 12 Sec. 12. An electricity provider may not change the terms of
159159 13 service of a subscribing customer of the electricity provider on the
160160 14 basis of the subscribing customer's subscription in a community
161161 15 solar facility.
162162 16 Sec. 13. All environmental attributes of a community solar
163163 17 facility, including renewable energy certificates, are property of
164164 18 the owner of the community solar facility.
165165 19 Sec. 14. A community solar facility is eligible for any incentive
166166 20 programs offered to such facilities under applicable state or federal
167167 21 law.
168168 22 Sec. 15. (a) Not later than July 1, 2026, the commission shall
169169 23 adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 necessary for the administration of
170170 24 this chapter.
171171 25 (b) The rules adopted by the commission under this section
172172 26 must:
173173 27 (1) be consistent with the state policy expressed in
174174 28 IC 8-1-2-0.6;
175175 29 (2) establish the solar credit rate or rates to be used for
176176 30 purposes of section 11 of this chapter, which must be
177177 31 calculated to:
178178 32 (A) allow for all classes of retail electric customers to
179179 33 realize tangible economic benefits from subscribing to
180180 34 community solar facilities; and
181181 35 (B) create a viable financial market for community solar
182182 36 development;
183183 37 (3) establish uniform fees, standards, and processes for
184184 38 interconnection that:
185185 39 (A) are nondiscriminatory and not unreasonably
186186 40 burdensome for operators of community solar facilities;
187187 41 and
188188 42 (B) allow an electricity provider to recover reasonable
189189 2025 IN 541—LS 6512/DI 119 5
190190 1 costs of interconnecting the electricity provider's facilities
191191 2 with a community solar facility;
192192 3 (4) provide for recovery by an electricity provider of
193193 4 reasonable administrative costs associated with the electricity
194194 5 provider's provision of bill credits to the electricity provider's
195195 6 subscribing customers under section 11 of this chapter;
196196 7 (5) include mechanisms to ensure that low or moderate
197197 8 income households are able to realize tangible economic
198198 9 benefits from subscribing to community solar facilities;
199199 10 (6) provide for:
200200 11 (A) transferability of a subscription; and
201201 12 (B) portability of a subscription such that the bill credit of
202202 13 a subscribing customer of an electricity provider under
203203 14 section 11 of this chapter is not affected by the subscribing
204204 15 customer's relocation within the service area of the
205205 16 electricity provider;
206206 17 (7) address whether, and conditions under which, multiple
207207 18 community solar facilities may be co-located on a single
208208 19 parcel;
209209 20 (8) provide that a community solar facility may not have a
210210 21 nameplate capacity greater than five (5) megawatts AC;
211211 22 (9) require a community solar facility organization to submit
212212 23 an annual report to the commission, in a form determined by
213213 24 the commission, that:
214214 25 (A) identifies the ownership, management, and operator
215215 26 of;
216216 27 (B) provides statistical results regarding; and
217217 28 (C) describes the community solar facility organization's
218218 29 future plans for;
219219 30 each community solar facility operated by the community
220220 31 solar facility organization;
221221 32 (10) require implementation by community solar facility
222222 33 organizations of local hiring preferences for disadvantaged
223223 34 business enterprises in a manner that meets or exceeds
224224 35 standards for disadvantaged business enterprise engagement
225225 36 in United States Department of Transportation Special
226226 37 Experimental Project No. 14 (SEP-14) for Federal Highway
227227 38 Administration and Federal Transit Administration
228228 39 contracts; and
229229 40 (11) establish consumer protection standards with regard to
230230 41 subscriptions to community solar facilities.
231231 42 (c) In addition to rules adopted under subsection (b), the
232232 2025 IN 541—LS 6512/DI 119 6
233233 1 commission may adopt any other rules the commission considers
234234 2 appropriate or necessary for the administration of this chapter,
235235 3 including rules regarding the following:
236236 4 (1) The maximum proportion that the total nameplate
237237 5 capacity of all community solar facilities statewide may bear
238238 6 to statewide peak electricity demand, expressed as a
239239 7 percentage of the statewide peak electricity demand.
240240 8 (2) A minimum or maximum proportion of the nameplate
241241 9 capacity of a community solar facility that may be allocated
242242 10 to a specified customer class of electricity providers.
243243 11 (3) A minimum proportion of the nameplate capacity of a
244244 12 community solar facility that may be allocated to low or
245245 13 moderate income households.
246246 14 Sec. 16. Notwithstanding any other law:
247247 15 (1) a community solar facility organization is not a public
248248 16 utility subject to IC 8-1-2 solely as a result of the community
249249 17 solar facility organization's ownership or operation of a
250250 18 community solar facility; and
251251 19 (2) a subscriber is not a public utility subject to IC 8-1-2 solely
252252 20 as a result of the subscriber's subscription in a community
253253 21 solar facility.
254254 22 Sec. 17. (a) As used in this section, "working group" refers to
255255 23 the interconnection working group established under subsection
256256 24 (b).
257257 25 (b) Not later than October 1, 2025, the commission shall
258258 26 establish an interconnection working group composed of:
259259 27 (1) representatives of electricity suppliers; and
260260 28 (2) other stakeholders with respect to electric utility service.
261261 29 (c) The chairman of the commission, or the chairman's designee,
262262 30 serves:
263263 31 (1) as the chair; and
264264 32 (2) as a nonvoting member;
265265 33 of the working group.
266266 34 (d) The working group shall meet at the call of the working
267267 35 group's chair.
268268 36 (e) A majority of the members of the working group constitutes
269269 37 a quorum.
270270 38 (f) A member of the working group who is a member of the
271271 39 general assembly is a nonvoting member of the working group.
272272 40 (g) The affirmative vote of a majority of the voting members of
273273 41 the working group is required for the working group to take action
274274 42 on any measure, including adoption of the report under subsection
275275 2025 IN 541—LS 6512/DI 119 7
276276 1 (m).
277277 2 (h) The commission shall staff and provide oversight for the
278278 3 working group.
279279 4 (i) Except as provided under subsection (l), the expenses of the
280280 5 working group shall be paid from funds appropriated to the
281281 6 commission.
282282 7 (j) A member of the working group who is not a state employee
283283 8 is not entitled to the minimum salary per diem provided by
284284 9 IC 4-10-11-2.1(b). The member is, however, entitled to
285285 10 reimbursement for mileage and traveling expenses as provided
286286 11 under IC 4-13-1-4 and other expenses actually incurred in
287287 12 connection with the member's duties as provided in the state
288288 13 policies and procedures established by the Indiana department of
289289 14 administration and approved by the budget agency.
290290 15 (k) Each member of the working group who is a state employee,
291291 16 but who is not a member of the general assembly, is entitled to
292292 17 reimbursement for mileage and traveling expenses as provided
293293 18 under IC 4-13-1-4 and other expenses actually incurred in
294294 19 connection with the member's duties as provided in the state
295295 20 policies and procedures established by the Indiana department of
296296 21 administration and approved by the budget agency.
297297 22 (l) Each member of the working group who is a member of the
298298 23 general assembly is entitled to receive the same per diem, mileage,
299299 24 and travel allowances paid to legislative members of interim study
300300 25 committees established by the legislative council. Per diem,
301301 26 mileage, and travel allowances paid under this section shall be paid
302302 27 from appropriations made to the legislative council or the
303303 28 legislative services agency.
304304 29 (m) The working group shall:
305305 30 (1) review policies, processes, tariffs, rules, and standards
306306 31 relating to the interconnection of community solar facilities
307307 32 and electricity suppliers; and
308308 33 (2) not later than March 31, 2026, submit to the commission
309309 34 a report containing the working group's recommendations
310310 35 regarding creation, revision, or elimination of policies,
311311 36 processes, tariffs, rules, or standards relating to the
312312 37 interconnection of community solar facilities and electricity
313313 38 suppliers as necessary for transparent, accurate, and efficient
314314 39 implementation of this chapter.
315315 40 (n) Not later than October 1, 2026, the commission shall adopt
316316 41 regulations necessary to implement the recommendations
317317 42 contained in the working group's report under subsection (m).
318318 2025 IN 541—LS 6512/DI 119 8
319319 1 (o) This section expires January 1, 2027.
320320 2025 IN 541—LS 6512/DI 119