Chapter 422
2008 -- S 2852
SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
Enacted 07/08/08
A N A C T
RELATING
TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - RHODE ISLAND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Introduced
By: Senators J Montalbano, Algiere, Walaska, C Levesque, and Bates
Date
Itroduced: March 12, 2008
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. Section
42-64-13.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-64 entitled "Rhode
Island Economic Development Corporation" is
hereby amended to read as follows:
42-64-13.2. Renewable
energy development fund. -- Renewable energy
investment
coordination. -- The Rhode Island
economic development corporation shall, in the furtherance of
its responsibilities to promote and encourage
economic development, establish and administer a
renewable energy development fund as provided
for in section 39-26-7, and may exercise the
powers set forth in this chapter, as necessary
or convenient to accomplish this purpose, and shall
provide such administrative support as may be
needed for the coordinated administration of the
renewable energy standard as provided for in
chapter 26 of title 39 and the renewable energy
program established by section 39-2-1.2. The
corporation, upon the request of any person
undertaking a renewable energy facility project,
may grant project status to the project, and a
renewable energy facility project which is given
project status by the corporation shall be deemed
an energy project of the corporation.
(a) Intent. To
develop an integrated organizational structure to secure for Rhode Island
and its people the full benefits of
cost-effective renewable energy development from diverse
sources.
(b)
Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following words and terms shall
have the
meanings set forth in RIGL 42-64-3 unless this
section provides a different meaning. Within this
section, the following words and terms shall
have the following meanings:
(1)
"Corporation" means the Rhode Island economic development
corporation.
(2)
"Municipality" means any city or town, or other political subdivision
of the state.
(3)
"Office" means the office of energy resources established by chapter
42-140.
(c) Purpose.
The corporation is authorized to integrate the management of public funds to
promote the expansion and sound development of
renewable energy resources by providing
coordinated and cost-effective use of funds
from:
(1) The renewable
energy program of the demand side management program as set forth
in section 39-2-1.2; and
(2) The
renewable energy development fund of the renewable energy standard, as set
forth in chapter 39-26.
(3) The office
of energy resources from the sale of allowances under the greenhouse gas
initiative act to the extent available for
renewable energy, as set forth in chapter 23-82.
(d) Renewable
energy development fund. – The corporation shall, in the furtherance of its
responsibilities to promote and encourage
economic development, establish and administer a
renewable energy development fund as provided
for in section 39-26-7, may exercise the powers
set forth in this chapter, as necessary or convenient
to accomplish this purpose, and shall provide
such administrative support as may be needed for
the coordinated administration of the renewable
energy standard as provided for in chapter 39-26
and the renewable energy program established
by section 39-2-1.2. The corporation may upon
the request of any person undertaking a renewable
energy facility project, grant project status to
the project, and a renewable energy facility project,
which is given project status by the
corporation, shall be deemed an energy project of the
corporation.
(e) Duties. The
corporation shall, with regards to renewable energy project investment:
(1) Establish
by rule, in consultation with the office, standards for financing renewable
energy projects from diverse sources.
(2) Enter into
agreements, consistent with this chapter and renewable energy investment
plans adopted by the office, to provide support
to renewable energy projects that meet applicable
standards established by the corporation. Said
agreements may include contracts with
municipalities and public corporations.
(f) Conduct of
activities. – (1) To the extent reasonable and practical, the conduct of
activities under the provisions of this chapter
shall be open and inclusive; the director shall seek,
in addressing the purposes of this chapter, to
involve the research and analytic capacities of
institutions of higher education within the
state, industry, advocacy groups, and regional entities,
and shall seek input from stakeholders
including, but not limited to, residential and commercial
energy users.
(2) By January
1, 2009, the director shall adopt:
(A) Goals for
renewable energy facility investment which is beneficial, prudent, and from
diverse sources;
(B) A plan for
a period of five (5) years, annually upgraded as appropriate, to meet the
aforementioned goals; and
(C) Standards
and procedures for evaluating proposals for renewable energy projects in
order to determine the consistency of proposed
projects with the plan.
(g) Reporting.
On March 1, of each year after the effective date of this chapter, the
corporation shall submit to the governor, the
president of the senate, the speaker of the house of
representatives, and the secretary of state, a
financial and performance report. These reports shall
be posted electronically on the general assembly
and the secretary of state's websites as
prescribed in section 42-20-8.2. The reports
shall set forth:
(1) the
corporation's receipts and expenditures in each of the renewable energy program
funds administered in accordance with this
section.
(2) a listing
of all private consultants engaged by the corporation on a contract basis and a
statement of the total amount paid to each
private consultant from the two (2) renewable energy
funds administered in accordance with this
chapter; a listing of any staff supported by these
funds, and a summary of any clerical,
administrative or technical support received; and
(3) a summary
of performance during the prior year including accomplishments and
shortcomings; project investments, the
cost-effectiveness of renewable energy investments by the
corporation; and recommendations for
improvement.
SECTION 2.
Sections 42-140-3 and 42-140-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-140
entitled "Rhode Island Energy Resources
Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:
42-140-3.
Purposes. -- The purposes of the office shall be to:
(1) Develop and
put into effect plans and programs to promote, encourage, and assist the
provision of energy resources for Rhode Island
in a manner that enhances economic well-being,
social equity, and environmental quality;
(2) Monitor,
forecast, and report on energy use, energy prices, and energy demand and
supply forecasts, and make findings and
recommendations with regard to energy supply diversity,
reliability, and procurement, including
least-cost procurement;
(3) Develop and
to put into effect plans and programs to promote, encourage and assist
the efficient and productive use of energy
resources in Rhode Island, and to coordinate energy
programs for natural gas, electricity, and
heating oil to maximize the aggregate benefits of
conservation and efficiency of investments;
(4) Monitor and
report technological developments that may result in new and/or
improved sources of energy supply, increased
energy efficiency, and reduced environmental
impacts from energy supply, transmission and distribution;
(5) Administer
the programs, duties, and responsibilities heretofore exercised by the state
energy office, except as these may be assigned by
executive order to other departments and
agencies of state government;
(6) Develop, recommend
and, as appropriate, implement integrated and/or
comprehensive strategies, including at regional
and federal levels, to secure Rhode Island's
interest in energy resources, their supply and
efficient use, and as necessary to interact with
persons, private sector, non-profit, regional,
federal entities and departments and agencies of
other states to effectuate this purpose;
(7) Cooperate
with agencies, departments, corporations, and entities of the state and of
political subdivisions of the state in achieving
its purposes;
(8) Cooperate
with and assist the state planning council and the division of state planning
in developing, maintaining, and implementing
state guide plan elements pertaining to energy and
renewable energy;
(9) Administer,
as appropriate assigned by law or executive order, state and
federally
funded or authorized energy programs, which may
include, but not be limited to:
(i) The federal
low-income home energy assistance program which provides heating
assistance to eligible low-income persons and
any state funded or privately funded heating
assistance program of a similar nature assigned
to it for administration;
(ii) The
weatherization assistance program which offers home weatherization grants and
heating system upgrades to eligible persons of
low-income;
(iii) The
emergency fuel program which provides oil deliveries to families experiencing
a heating emergency;
(iv) The energy
conservation program, which offers service and programs to all sectors;
and
(v) The
renewable energy program established under Rhode Island general laws chapter
39-2;
(10) Advise
the economic development corporation in the development of standards and
rules for the solicitation and award of renewable
energy program investment funds in accordance
with section 42-64-13.2;
(11)(10)
Develop, recommend, and evaluate energy programs for state facilities and
operations in order to achieve and demonstrate the
benefits of energy-efficiency, diversification
of energy supplies, energy conservation, and
demand management; and
(12)(11)
Advise the governor and the general assembly with regard to energy resources
and all matters relevant to achieving the purposes
of the office.
42-140-7.
Conduct of activities. -- (a) To the extent reasonable and practical,
the
conduct of activities under the provisions of
this chapter shall be open and inclusive; the
commissioner and the council shall seek in
addressing the purposes of the office to involve the
research and analytic capacities of institutions
of higher education within the state, industry,
advocacy groups, and regional entities, and
shall seek input from stakeholders including, but not
limited to, residential and commercial energy
users.
(b) The
commissioner shall, not later than February 1, 2008, adopt, in the manner as
set
forth in section 42-140-9:
(1) Goals for
renewable energy facility investment and/or procurement, which is
beneficial and prudent, from diverse sources;
(2) A plan for
a period of five (5) years, annually upgraded as appropriate, to meet the
aforementioned goals; and
(3) Investment
and/or procurement standards and procedures for evaluating proposals for
renewable energy projects in order to determine
the consistency of proposed projects with the
plan.
The
commissioner shall transmit any unencumbered funds from the renewable energy
program under chapter 39-2 to the economic
development corporation to be administered in
accordance with a the provisions of section
39-2-1.2.
SECTION 3. Section
39-2-1.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-2 entitled "Duties of
Utilities and Carriers" is hereby amended
to read as follows:
39-2-1.2.
Utility base rate -- Advertising, demand side management and renewables.
-- (a) In addition to costs prohibited in section
39-1-27.4(b), no public utility distributing or
providing heat, electricity, or water to or for the
public shall include as part of its base rate any
expenses for advertising, either direct or
indirect, which promotes the use of its product or
service, or is designed to promote the public
image of the industry. No public utility may furnish
support of any kind, direct, or indirect, to any
subsidiary, group, association, or individual for
advertising and include the expense as part of
its base rate. Nothing contained in this section shall
be deemed as prohibiting the inclusion in the
base rate of expenses incurred for advertising,
informational or educational in nature, which is
designed to promote public safety conservation of
the public utility's product or service. The
public utilities commission shall promulgate such rules
and regulations as are necessary to require
public disclosure of all advertising expenses of any
kind, direct or indirect, and to otherwise
effectuate the provisions of this section.
(b) Effective as
of January 1, 2003, and for a period of ten (10) years thereafter, each
electric distribution company shall include
charges of 2.0 mills per kilowatt-hour delivered to
fund demand side management programs and 0.3
mills per kilowatt-hour delivered to fund
renewable energy programs. Existing charges for
these purposes and their method of
administration shall continue through December
31, 2002. Thereafter, the electric distribution
company shall establish and after July 1, 2007,
maintain two (2) separate accounts, one for
demand side management programs, which shall be administered
and implemented by the
distribution company, subject to the regulatory
reviewing authority of the commission,; and one
for renewable energy programs, which shall be
administered by the office of energy resources
through June 30, 2007 and effective July 1,
2007, economic
development corporation pursuant to
section 42-64-13.2 and, shall be held and
disbursed by the distribution company as directed by
the economic development corporation commissioner
of the office of energy resources, with the
approval, if appropriate, of the trustees of the
renewable energy development fund, for the
purposes of developing, promoting and supporting
renewable energy programs.
During the ten
(10) year period the commission may, in its discretion, after notice and
public hearing, increase the sums for demand
side management and renewable resources;
thereafter, the commission shall, after notice
and public hearing, determine the appropriate charge
for these programs. The office of energy
resources and/or the administrator of the renewable
energy programs shall may seek to
secure for the state an equitable and reasonable portion of
renewable energy credits or certificates created
by private projects funded through those
programs, and shall develop and execute by
July 1, 2007, a plan to make the program self-
sustaining as of January 1, 2013. As used in this
section, "renewable energy resources" shall
mean: (1) power generation technologies as
defined in section 39-26-5, "eligible renewable
energy resources", including off-grid and
on-grid generating technologies located in Rhode Island
as a priority; (2) research and development
activities in Rhode Island pertaining to eligible
renewable energy resources and to other
renewable energy technologies for electrical generation;
or (3) projects and activities directly related
to implementing eligible renewable energy resources
projects in Rhode Island. Technologies for
converting solar energy for space heating or
generating domestic hot water may also be funded
through the renewable energy programs, so
long as these technologies are installed on
housing projects that have been certified by the
executive director of the Rhode Island housing
and mortgage finance corporation as serving low-
income Rhode Island residents. Fuel cells may be
considered an energy efficiency technology to
be included in demand sided management programs.
Special rates for low-income customers in
effect as of August 7, 1996 shall be continued,
and the costs of all of these discounts shall be
included in the distribution rates charged to
all other customers. Nothing in this section shall be
construed as prohibiting an electric
distribution company from offering any special rates or
programs for low-income customers which are not
in effect as of August 7, 1996, subject to the
approval by the commission.
(c) On or
before November 15, 2008, the economic development corporation shall create
the municipal renewable energy investment
program utilizing the lesser of fifty percent (50%) or
one million dollars ($1,000,000) collected
annually from the .3 mils per kilo-watt hour charge for
renewable energy programs, to fund qualified
municipal renewable energy projects in accordance
with this chapter and the following provisions:
(1) The
municipal renewable energy investment programs shall be administered pursuant
to rules established by the economic development
corporation. Said rules shall provide
transparent criteria to rank qualified municipal
renewable energy projects, giving consideration
to:
(i) the
feasibility of project completion;
(ii) the
anticipated amount of renewable energy the project will produce;
(iii) the potential
of the project to mitigate energy costs over the life of the project; and
(iv) the
estimated cost per kilo-watt hour (kwh) of the energy produced from the
project.
Municipalities that have not previously received
financing from this program shall be given
priority over those municipalities that have
received funding under this program.
(2) Beginning
on January 1, 2009, the economic development corporation shall solicit
proposals from municipalities for eligible
projects and shall award grants, in accordance with the
rules and ranking criteria, of no more than five
hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) to each
eligible project.
(3) Any funds
not expended from the municipal renewable energy investment programs
in a given year shall remain in the fund and be
added to the balance to be distributed in the next
award cycle. For the purposes of this section,
qualified municipal renewable energy projects
means any project that produces renewable energy
resources and whose output of power and
other attributes is controlled in its entirety
by at least one Rhode Island city or town.
(d) On or
before November 15, 2008, the economic development corporation shall create
the nonprofit affordable housing renewable
energy investment program utilizing the lesser of ten
percent (10%) or two hundred thousand dollars
($200,000) collected annually from the .3 mils per
kilo-watt hour charge for renewable energy
programs to fund qualified nonprofit affordable
housing renewable energy projects in accordance
with this chapter and the following provisions:
(1) The
nonprofit affordable housing renewable energy investment programs shall be
administered pursuant to rules established by
the economic development corporation in
consultation with the Rhode Island housing
mortgage finance corporation. Said rules shall
provide transparent criteria to rank qualified
nonprofit affordable housing renewable energy
projects, giving consideration to:
(i) the
feasibility of project completion;
(ii) the
anticipated amount of renewable energy the project will produce;
(iii) the
potential of the project to mitigate energy costs over the life of the project;
and
(iv) the
estimated cost per kilo-watt hour (kwh) of the energy produced from the
project.
Nonprofit affordable housing agencies that have
not previously received financing from this
program shall be given priority over those
agencies that have received funding under this
program.
(2) Beginning on
January 1, 2009, the economic development corporation, in consultation
with the Rhode Island housing and mortgage
finance corporation, shall solicit proposals from
eligible nonprofit housing agencies for
renewable energy projects and shall award grants, in
accordance with the rules and ranking criteria.
The economic development corporation shall
consult with the Rhode Island housing and
mortgage finance corporation in the grant-making
process and shall notify the corporation of the
awardees.
(3) Any funds
not expended from the affordable housing renewable energy investment
program in a given year shall remain in the fund
and be added to the balance to be distributed in
the next award cycle. For the purposes of this section,
“qualified nonprofit affordable housing
renewable energy projects” means any project
that produces renewable energy resources and
whose output of power and other attributes is
controlled in its entirety by at least one nonprofit
affordable housing development as defined in
section 42-55-3 and is restricted to producing
energy for the nonprofit affordable housing
development.
(c) (e)
The commissioner of the office of energy resources executive director
of the
economic development corporation is authorized and may
enter into a contract with a contractor
for the cost effective administration of the
renewable energy programs funded by this section.
The director shall initiate the competitive bid
process by the issuance and advertisement of
specifications and request for proposals, on or
before September 1, 2002. The contract resulting
from the competitive bid process shall be
awarded to become effective for a three (3) year period
commencing no later than January 1, 2003. A competitive bid and
contract award for
administration of the renewable energy programs
may occur every three (3) years thereafter, and
shall include as a condition that after July 1, 2007
2008 the account for the renewable energy
programs shall be maintained and administered
by the distribution company economic
development corporation as provided for in
subdivision (b) above. and, with the approval of the
commissioner of the office of energy resources
and the trustees of the renewable energy fund,
may be administered by the economic development
corporation.
(d) (f)
Effective January 1, 2007, and for a period of seven (7) years thereafter, each
gas
distribution company shall include, with the
approval of the commission, a charge of up to fifteen
cents ($0.15) per deca therm delivered to demand
side management programs, including, but not
limited to, programs for cost-effective energy
efficiency, energy conservation, combined heat and
power systems, and weatherization services for
low income households.
(e) (g)
The gas company shall establish a separate account for demand side management
programs, which shall be administered and
implemented by the distribution company, subject to
the regulatory reviewing authority of the
commission. The commission may establish
administrative mechanisms and procedures that
are similar to those for electric demand side
management programs administered under the
jurisdiction of the commissions and that are
designed to achieve cost-effectiveness and high
life-time savings of efficiency measures
supported by the program.
(f) (h)
The commission may, if reasonable and feasible, except from this demand side
management change:
(i) gas used for
distribution generation; and
(ii) gas used for
the manufacturing processes, where the customer has established a self-
directed program to invest in and achieve best
effective energy efficiency in accordance with a
plan approved by the commission and subject to
periodic review and approval by the
commission, which plan shall require annual
reporting of the amount invested and the return on
investments in terms of gas savings.
(g) (i)
The commission may provide for the coordinated and/or integrated administration
of electric and gas demand side management
programs in order to enhance the effectiveness of
the programs. Such coordinated and/or integrated
administration may after March 1, 2009, upon
the recommendation of the office of energy
resources, be through one or more third-party entities
designated by the commission pursuant to a
competitive selection process.
(h) (j)
Effective January 1, 2007, the commission shall allocate from demand-side
management gas and electric funds authorized
pursuant to this section 39-2-1.2, an amount not to
exceed two percent (2%) of such funds on an
annual basis for the retention of expert consultants,
and reasonable administrations costs of the
energy efficiency and resources management council
associated with planning, management, and
evaluation of energy efficiency programs, renewable
energy programs and least-cost procurement, and
with regulatory proceedings, contested cases,
and other actions pertaining to the purposes,
powers and duties of the council, which allocation
may by mutual agreement, be used in coordination
with the office of energy resources to support
such activities.
SECTION 4. Section
39-26-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-26 entitled "Renewable
Energy Standard" is hereby amended to read
as follows:
39-26-7.
Renewable energy development fund. -- (a) There is hereby authorized
and
created within the economic development
corporation a renewable energy development fund for
the purpose of increasing the supply of NE-GIS
certificates available for compliance in future
years by obligated entities with renewable
energy standard requirements, as established in this
chapter. The fund shall be located at and
administered by the Rhode Island economic
development corporation in accordance with
section 42-64-13.2. and shall have a board of
trustees of five (5) members as follows: the
executive director of the economic development
corporation, who shall be chairperson; the
director of the department of administration or a
designee of the director; the administrator of
the division of public utilities; and two (2) public
members appointed by the governor with advice
and consent of the senate, who shall serve terms
of three (3) years; provided, however, that no
public members may serve more than two (2)
consecutive (3) three year terms. One of the
public members shall be a representative of an
organization that advocates for renewable energy
development. Each member shall hold office
for the term appointed and until the member's
successor shall have been duly appointed and
qualified, or until the member's earlier death,
resignation or removal. Members of the board of
trustees of the fund shall receive no
compensation for the performance of their duties, but may be
reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in
carrying out those duties. The board of trustees
shall recommend to the economic development
corporation: shall:
(1) Plans Adopt
plans and guidelines for the management and use of the fund in
accordance with section 42-64-13.2, and
(2) Its
evaluation of proposals and/or actions to obligate, use and/or sell, dispose,
trade or
exchange assets held by the fund. The board of
trustees shall have the power to adopt, with the
approval of the economic development
corporation, such by-laws as may be necessary or
convenient for the conduct of its affairs.
(b) The economic
development corporation shall enter into agreements with obligated
entities to accept alternative compliance
payments, consistent with rules of the commission and
the purposes set forth in this section; and
alternative compliance payments received pursuant to
this section shall be trust funds to be held and
applied solely for the purposes set forth in this
section.
(c) The uses of
the fund shall include but not be limited to:
(1) Stimulating
investment in renewable energy development by entering into
agreements, including multi-year agreements, for
renewable energy certificates;
(2) Issuing
assurances and/or guarantees to support the acquisition of renewable energy
certificates and/or the development of new
renewable energy sources for Rhode Island;
(3) Establishing
escrows, reserves, and/or acquiring insurance for the obligations of the
fund;
(4) Paying
administrative costs of the fund incurred by the economic development
corporation or the board of trustees, not to
exceed ten percent (10%) of the income of the fund,
including, but not limited to, alternative
compliance payments.
(d) NE-GIS
certificates acquired through the fund may be conveyed to obligated entities
or may be credited against the renewable energy
standard for the year of the certificate provided
that the commission assesses the cost of the
certificates to the obligated entity, or entities,
benefiting from the credit against the renewable
energy standard, which assessment shall be
reduced by previously made alternative
compliance payments and shall be paid to the fund.
(e) The
trustees, in cooperation and concurrence with the commissioner of the office of
energy resources, consistent with rules as may
be adopted by the commission, develop an
integrated plan and strategy, by July 1, 2007,
for stimulating the development of and financing
eligible renewable energy resources.
SECTION 5. Chapter
42-55 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island Housing and
Mortgage Finance Corporation" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following section:
42-55-5.4. Renewable
energy in housing developments. -- On or before July 1, 2009,
the corporation shall establish, in appropriate
housing development programs it administers,
criteria for priority consideration of housing
development proposals which include renewable
energy features which are demonstrated to be
cost-effective and can be implemented in a
reasonable period of time.
SECTION 6. This
act shall take effect upon passage.
=======
LC02466/SUB A
=======