Vermont 2025-2026 Regular Session

Vermont Senate Bill S0057 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	BILL AS INTRODUCED S.57
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6	6	S.57 1
7	7	Introduced by Senators Watson, Bongartz, Lyons and White 2
8	8	Referred to Committee on 3
9	9	Date: 4
10	10	Subject: Public service; energy; renewable energy; solar energy; Standard 5
11	11	Offer Program 6
12	12	Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to reauthorize 7
13	13	the Standard Offer Program to award contracts for the construction of new 8
14	14	renewable energy generation projects. 9
15	15	An act relating to the Standard Offer Program 10
16	16	It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 11
17	17	Sec. 1. 30 V.S.A. § 8005a is amended to read: 12
18	18	§ 8005a. STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM 13
19	19	* * * 14
20	20	(b) Eligibility. To be eligible for a standard offer under this section, a plant 15
21	21	must constitute a qualifying small power production facility under 16 U.S.C. 16
22	22	§ 796(17)(C) and 18 C.F.R. part 292, must not be a net metering system under 17
23	23	section 219a 8010 of this title, and must be a new standard offer plant. In this 18
24	24	section, “new standard offer plant” means a renewable energy plant that is 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.57
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29	29	located in Vermont, that has a plant capacity of 2.2 MW or less, and that is 1
30	30	commissioned on or after September 30, 2009. 2
31	31	(c) Cumulative capacity. In accordance with this subsection, the 3
32	32	Commission shall issue standard offers to new standard offer plants until a 4
33	33	cumulative plant capacity amount of 127.5 227.5 MW is reached. 5
34	34	(1) Pace. Annually commencing April 1, 2013, the Commission shall 6
35	35	increase the cumulative plant capacity of the Standard Offer Program (the 7
36	36	annual increase) until the 127.5-MW 227.5-MW cumulative plant capacity of 8
37	37	this subsection is reached. 9
38	38	(A) Annual amounts. The amount of the annual increase shall be five 10
39	39	MW for the three years commencing April 1, 2013, 7.5 MW for the three years 11
40	40	commencing April 1, 2016, and 10 MW commencing April 1, 2019, and then 12
41	41	20 MW commencing April 1, 2026. 13
42	42	(B) Blocks. Each year, a portion of the annual increase shall be 14
43	43	reserved for new standard offer plants proposed by Vermont retail electricity 15
44	44	providers (the provider block), and the remainder shall be reserved for new 16
45	45	standard offer plants proposed by persons who are not providers (the 17
46	46	independent developer block). 18
47	47	(i) The portion of the annual increase reserved for the provider 19
48	48	block shall be 10 percent for the three years commencing April 1, 2013, 15 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.57
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53	53	percent for the three years commencing April 1, 2016, and 20 percent 1
54	54	commencing April 1, 2019. 2
55	55	(ii) If the provider block for a given year is not fully subscribed, 3
56	56	any unsubscribed capacity within that block shall be added to the annual 4
57	57	increase for each following year until that capacity is subscribed and shall be 5
58	58	made available to new standard offer plants proposed by persons who are not 6
59	59	providers. 7
60	60	(iii) If the independent developer block for a given year is not fully 8
61	61	subscribed, any unsubscribed capacity within that block shall be added to the 9
62	62	annual increase for each following year until that capacity is subscribed and: 10
63	63	(I) shall be made available to new standard offer plants 11
64	64	proposed by persons who are not providers; and 12
65	65	(II) may be made available to a provider following a written 13
66	66	request and specific proposal submitted to and approved by the Commission. 14
67	67	[Repealed.] 15
68	68	(C) Adjustment; greenhouse gas reduction credits. The Commission 16
69	69	shall adjust the annual increase to account for greenhouse gas reduction credits 17
70	70	by multiplying the annual increase by one minus the ratio of the prior year’s 18
71	71	greenhouse gas reduction credits to that year’s statewide retail electric sales. 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.57
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76	76	(i) The amount of the prior year’s greenhouse gas reduction 1
77	77	credits shall be determined in accordance with subdivision subsection 8006a(a) 2
78	78	of this title. 3
79	79	(ii) The adjustment in the annual increase shall be applied 4
80	80	proportionally to the independent developer block and the provider block. 5
81	81	(iii) Greenhouse gas reduction credits used to diminish a 6
82	82	provider’s obligation under section 8004 of this title may be used to adjust the 7
83	83	annual increase under this subsection (c). 8
84	84	* * * 9
85	85	(d) Plants outside cumulative capacity. The following categories of plants 10
86	86	shall not count toward the cumulative capacity amount of subsection (c) of this 11
87	87	section, and the Commission shall make standard offers available to them 12
88	88	provided that they are otherwise eligible for such offers under this section: 13
89	89	(1) Plants using methane derived from an agricultural operation. 14
90	90	(2) New standard offer plants that the Commission determines will have 15
91	91	sufficient benefits to the operation and management of the electric grid or a 16
92	92	provider’s portion thereof because of their design, characteristics, location, or 17
93	93	any other discernible benefit. To enhance the ability of new standard offer 18
94	94	plants to mitigate transmission and distribution constraints, the Commission 19
95	95	shall require Vermont retail electricity providers and companies that own or 20
96	96	operate electric transmission facilities within the State to make sufficient 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.57
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101	101	information concerning these constraints available to developers who propose 1
102	102	new standard offer plants. 2
103	103	(A) By March 1, 2013, the Commission shall develop a screening 3
104	104	framework or guidelines that will provide developers with adequate 4
105	105	information regarding constrained areas in which generation having particular 5
106	106	characteristics is reasonably likely to provide sufficient benefit to allow the 6
107	107	generation to qualify for eligibility under this subdivision (2). 7
108	108	(B) Once the Commission develops the screening framework or 8
109	109	guidelines under subdivision (2)(A) of this subsection (d), the Commission 9
110	110	shall require Vermont transmission and retail electricity providers to make the 10
111	111	necessary information publicly available in a timely manner, with updates at 11
112	112	least annually. 12
113	113	(C) Nothing in this subdivision (2) shall require the disclosure of 13
114	114	information in contravention of federal law. 14
115	115	(e) Term. The term of a standard offer required by this section shall be 10 15
116	116	to 20 years, except that the term of a standard offer for a plant using solar 16
117	117	power shall be 10 to 25 years. 17
118	118	(f) Price. The categories of renewable energy for which the Commission 18
119	119	shall set standard offer prices shall include at least each of the categories 19
120	120	established pursuant to subdivision (c)(2) of this section. The Commission by 20
121	121	order shall determine and set the price paid to a plant owner for each kWh 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.57
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126	126	generated under a standard offer required by this section, with a goal of 1
127	127	ensuring timely development at the lowest feasible cost. The Commission 2
128	128	shall not be required to make this determination as a contested case under 3
129	129	3 V.S.A. chapter 25. 4
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131	131	(3) Price determinations. The Commission shall take all actions 6
132	132	necessary to determine the pricing mechanism and implement the pricing 7
133	133	requirements of this subsection (f) no later than on or before March 1, 2013 for 8
134	134	effect on April 1, 2013. Annually thereafter, the Commission shall review the 9
135	135	determinations previously made under this subsection to decide whether they 10
136	136	should be modified in any respect in order to achieve the goal and 11
137	137	requirements of this subsection. Any such modification shall be effective on a 12
138	138	prospective basis commencing one month after it has been made. Once a 13
139	139	pricing determination made or modified under this subsection goes into effect, 14
140	140	subsequently executed standard offer contracts shall comply with the most 15
141	141	recently effective determination. 16
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143	143	(g) Qualifying existing agricultural plants. Notwithstanding any other 18
144	144	provision of this section, on and after June 8, 2010, a standard offer shall be 19
145	145	available for a qualifying existing plant as defined in Sec. 3 of No. 159 of the 20
146	146	Acts of the 2009 Adj. Sess. (2010) (Act 159) 2010 Acts and Resolves No. 159, 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.57
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151	151	Sec. 3. The provisions of subdivision 8005(b)(2) of this title, as they existed 1
152	152	on June 4, 2010, the effective date of Act 159 2010 Acts and Resolves 2
153	153	No. 159, shall govern a standard offer under this subsection. Standard offers 3
154	154	for these plants shall not be subject to subsection (c) of this section (cumulative 4
155	155	capacity; new standard offer plants). 5
156	156	* * * 6
157	157	(s) Solar only allocations. 7
158	158	(1) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section to the contrary, 8
159	159	beginning on April 1, 2026, the Commission shall allocate the new standard 9
160	160	offer awards to new solar, wind, and hydroelectric power plants only. Of the 10
161	161	annual capacity awards under this subsection (s), two MW shall be allocated to 11
162	162	community solar projects. 12
163	163	(2) As used in this section, “community solar project” means a solar 13
164	164	plant owned by its members or an entity controlled by its members. 14
165	165	(3) The Commission shall establish a price cap on projects equal to the 15
166	166	price of the highest-cost, similarly sized solar project from the Standard Offer 16
167	167	Program from the preceding 12 months. 17
168	168	(4) If the annual allocation for community solar is not fully subscribed, 18
169	169	the Commission shall allocate the unsubscribed capacity to new standard offer 19
170	170	plants other than community solar. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.57
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175	175	Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE 1
176	176	This act shall take effect on passage. 2