2024 -- S 2293 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RENEWABLE READY

PROGRAM

     Introduced By: Senators DiMario, Euer, Miller, LaMountain, Tikoian, Sosnowski,

     Date Introduced: February 12, 2024

     Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND

GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 140.5

RENEWABLE READY PROGRAM

     42-140.5-1. Statement of purpose.

     The purpose of this program is to promote the responsible siting and development of

renewable energy generating resources in locations where it would be an ancillary beneficial use

to the redevelopment of previously contaminated property. Greenhouse gas emissions pose threats

to the health and safety of Rhode Islanders through flooding, sea level rise, extreme heat, and

increased storm intensity. In order to reduce this threat, Rhode Island must promote the deployment

of renewable energy generating projects, while preserving the most valuable forests.

     42-140.5-2. Definitions.

     As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings,

unless the context indicates another or different meaning or intent:

     (1) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the office of energy resources.

     (2) "Community remote net-metering system" shall be defined pursuant to § 39-26.4-2.

     (3) "Corporation" means any corporate person, including, but not limited to: corporations,

associations, partnerships, societies, farms, limited liability companies, and sole proprietorships.

     (4) "Department" means the department of environmental management.

     (5) "Eligible entities" means any local governmental unit, person, corporation or

community remote net-metering system.

     (6) "Financial assistance" means any form of financial assistance provided by the

infrastructure bank to a local governmental unit, person, corporation, or community remote net-

metering system in accordance with this chapter for all or any part of the cost of an approved

project, including, without limitation: grants, temporary and permanent loans, with or without

interest, guarantees, insurance, subsidies for the payment of debt service on loans, lines of credit,

and similar forms of financial assistance, principal forgiveness and negative interest loans.

     (7) "Fund" means the renewable ready fund described in § 42-140.5-4.

     (8) "Infrastructure bank" means the Rhode Island infrastructure bank.

     (9) "Interconnection costs" means charges from the electric distribution company to a

renewable energy customer or developer as described in § 39-26.3-4.1.

     (10) "Interconnection study" means either a feasibility study or impact study as described

in § 39-26.3-2.

     (11) "Local governmental unit" means any town, city, district, commission, agency,

authority, board, bodies politic and corporate, public corporation, or other political subdivision or

instrumentality of the state or of any political subdivision thereof, multi-municipal collaboratives,

the State of Rhode Island, and any department or agency of state government.

     (12) "Office" means the office of energy resources.

     (13) "Person" means any natural person.

     42-140.5-3. Identification of eligible sites.

     (a) The office, in coordination with the department, shall prepare a list of locations that

meet the following criteria:

     (1) Is a current or former contaminated site as determined by the department;

     (2) Is property or a facility owned and/or managed by the state;

     (3) Is a rooftop of a public, municipal or state-owned building;

     (4) Is state property adjacent to a highway or major road; or

     (5) Is owned by the electric distribution company and subject to the environmental response

fund.

     (b) The list shall exclude properties where the owner has begun the process of permitting

or developing a renewable energy generation project or any other development.

     (c) The list shall:

     (1) Include a reasonable estimate of the renewable energy production capacity of the

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locations;

     (2) Identify the current owner of the property and provide their contact information, if

available;

     (3) Include a reasonable estimate of any utility interconnection costs that would be required

to connect the project to the existing electricity transmission and distribution system; provided that:

     (i) Any available impact study shall be conclusive evidence of estimated costs;

     (ii) Any variables that the office or department relied upon in the creation of the estimate

shall be included and described;

     (iii) The electric distribution company shall provide estimated interconnection costs to the

office as sites are identified;

     (iv) The cost of an interconnection study shall not be included in the estimation of

interconnection costs; and

     (4) Prioritize locations based upon surrounding infrastructure that can support the

development of distributed generation resources.

     42-140.5-4. Establishment of the renewable ready fund.

     (a) There is hereby established a renewable ready fund within the Rhode Island

infrastructure bank.

     (b) The purpose of the fund is to provide financial assistance to eligible entities to reduce

the site preparation and interconnection costs for renewable energy development projects on current

or formerly contaminated sites to support and encourage the development of these locations.

     (c) The infrastructure bank is hereby authorized and directed to seek all available federal

resources, in consultation with the office and any electric distribution company, to fulfill the

purpose of the fund. In pursuing federal funding sources, efforts shall include, but not be limited

to, funding programs and other financing mechanisms established through the federal Infrastructure

Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and any applicable federal statute.

     (d) The fund shall consist of:

     (1) Money appropriated in the state budget to the fund or otherwise made available to the

infrastructure bank;

     (2) Money made available to the fund through federal programs or private contributions;

     (3) Repayments of principal and interest from loans made from the fund;

     (4) Proceeds from the sale, disposition, lease, or rental of collateral related to financial

assistance provided under this chapter;

     (5) Application or other fees paid to the infrastructure bank to process applications for

financial assistance; and

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     (6) Any other money made available to the fund.

     42-140.5-5. Powers of the infrastructure bank and the office.

     (a) The infrastructure bank, in consultation with the office, shall review and approve

applications for financial assistance from the fund, subject to the availability of funds, upon the

submission of a complete application from eligible entities to receive funds for a purpose consistent

with this chapter.

     (b) The office, in consultation with the infrastructure bank, shall create a standard

application and annual application deadlines to be used in the management of fund requests.

     (c) The office, upon a determination that an application is incomplete, may direct applicants

to revise their application or deny the application after a reasonable opportunity for the applicant

to provide additional information.

     (d) The infrastructure bank, in the event that there are insufficient funds to cover the costs

of all projects that meet the criteria to be approved, shall follow the prioritized list prepared by the

office in accordance with this chapter.

     (e) Approval of an application shall only occur if funds are currently available in the fund,

or if the infrastructure bank reasonably expects that funds will be available in the six (6) months

following the approval of an application.

     (f) The infrastructure bank, in consultation with the office, shall set an application fee, due

upon submission, to cover the reasonable costs to the bank for the investigation and review of the

application.

     42-140.5-6. Use of funds.

     (a) Funds shall be used to cover the costs of connecting a renewable energy generation

project to the electric distribution system on sites identified by the office and department and

published on the list of eligible sites, and shall include, but not be limited to, the following activities:

     (1) Installation of transformers and substations;

     (2) Transmission facilitation;

     (3) Grid flexibility; and

     (4) Electrification planning for sites and facilities.

     (b) Funds shall not be used to conduct any interconnection study or other preliminary work

as may be required by the electric distribution company or the public utilities commission.

     (c) Funds shall not be distributed to applicants, or an entity to whom the applicant must

pay to make the interconnection, until the following criteria are met:

     (1) The project site is listed on the list of eligible sites prepared by the office;

     (2) The application is approved by the office;

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     (3) Certification is provided demonstrating that funds are available in the fund; and

     (4) The applicant’s project is approved by the public utilities commission, if such approval

is required.

     (d) Should an application be approved but funds are not disbursed within twelve (12)

months from the application’s approval by the office, then the approval may be considered void

and funds allocated to the project shall be made available for other applications.

     (e) Should a recipient of funds receive reimbursement under § 39-26.3-4.1 or as the result

of a refund from the final accounting of costs, the amount so reimbursed shall be remitted to the

infrastructure bank for deposit into the renewable ready fund.

     42-140.5-7. Property owned by the electric or gas distribution company.

     (a) Real properties owned by the electric or gas distribution company may be eligible to be

included on the eligible site list described in § 42-140.5-3(a) at their sole discretion.

     (b) The electric or gas distribution company is encouraged to lease these properties,

following successful remediation, to developers through a competitive bidding process.

     42-140.5-8. Adoption of rules and regulations.

     The infrastructure bank, in consultation with the office, shall have the authority to adopt,

amend, and implement such rules and regulations as may be necessary and desirable to effectuate

the purposes of this chapter.

     SECTION 2. Section 46-12.2-4.3 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-12.2 entitled "Rhode

Island Infrastructure Bank" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     46-12.2-4.3. Establishment of the clean energy fund.

     (a)(1) There is hereby authorized and created within the Rhode Island infrastructure bank

a clean energy fund for the purpose of providing technical, administrative, and financial assistance

to a local governmental unit, corporation, or person, and for projects which receive technical,

administrative and financial assistance from the renewable ready program established pursuant to

chapter 140.5 of title 42, shall include the state and its agencies, for projects that include, but are

not limited to, those related to greenhouse gas reduction or elimination, zero-emission technology,

clean transportation, clean heating, energy storage, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and

demand-side management. The Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall review and approve all

applications for projects to be financed through the clean energy fund.

     (2) The Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall promulgate rules and regulations to

effectuate the provisions of this section, which may include, without limitation, forms for financial

assistance applications, loan agreements, and other instruments and establishing the process

through which a local governmental unit, corporation, or person, and for projects which receive

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technical, administrative and financial assistance from the renewable ready program established

pursuant to chapter 140.5 of title 42, shall include the state and its agencies, may submit an

application for financial assistance from the clean energy fund. All rules and regulations

promulgated pursuant to this chapter shall be promulgated in accordance with the provisions of

chapter 35 of title 42.

     (3) The Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall include in its annual report pursuant to § 46-

12.2-24.1 a description of the utilization of funds from the clean energy fund.

     (b) The Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall have all the powers necessary and

convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this section including, without

limiting the generality of the preceding statement, the authority:

     (1) To receive and disburse funds as may be available for the purpose of the fund subject

to the provisions of this section;

     (2) To make and enter into binding commitments to provide financial assistance to eligible

borrowers from amounts on deposit in the fund;

     (3) To levy administrative fees on eligible borrowers as necessary to effectuate the

provisions of this section, provided the fees have been previously authorized by an agreement

between the Rhode Island infrastructure bank and the eligible borrower;

     (4) To engage the services of third-party vendors to provide professional services;

     (5) To establish one or more accounts within the fund; and

     (6) Such other authority as granted to the Rhode Island infrastructure bank under this

chapter.

     (c) Subject to the provisions of this section and to any agreements with the holders of any

bonds of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank or any trustee therefor, amounts held by the Rhode

Island infrastructure bank for the account of the fund shall be applied by the Rhode Island

infrastructure bank, either by direct expenditure, disbursement, or transfer to one or more other

funds and accounts held by the Rhode Island infrastructure bank or maintained under any trust

agreement pertaining to bonds, either alone or with other funds of the Rhode Island infrastructure

bank, to the following purposes:

     (1) To provide financial assistance to local governmental units, corporations, or persons

and for projects which receive technical, administrative and financial assistance from the renewable

ready program established pursuant to chapter 140.5 of title 42, shall include the state and its

agencies, to finance costs of approved projects, as set forth in subsection (a) of this section, and to

refinance the costs of the projects, subject to terms and conditions, if any, as are determined by the

Rhode Island infrastructure bank;

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     (2) To fund reserves for bonds of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank and to purchase

insurance and pay the premiums therefor, and pay fees and expenses of letters or lines of credit and

costs of reimbursement to the issuers thereof for any payments made thereon or on any insurance,

and to otherwise provide security for, and a source of payment for, obligations of the Rhode Island

infrastructure bank, by pledge, lien, assignment, or otherwise as provided in this chapter;

     (3) To pay expenses of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank in administering the clean

energy fund;

     (4) To provide a reserve for, or to otherwise secure, amounts payable by borrowers on loans

and obligations outstanding in the event of default thereof; amounts in any account in the fund may

be applied to defaults on loans outstanding to the borrower for which the account was established

and, on a parity basis with all other accounts, to defaults on any loans or obligations outstanding;

and

     (5) To provide a reserve for, or to otherwise secure, by pledge, lien, assignment, or

otherwise as provided in this chapter, any bonds of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank.

     (d) In addition to other remedies of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank under any loan

agreement or otherwise provided by law, the Rhode Island infrastructure bank may also recover

from a borrower, in an action in superior court, any amount due the Rhode Island infrastructure

bank together with any other actual damages the Rhode Island infrastructure bank shall have

sustained from the failure or refusal of the borrower to make the payments or abide by the terms of

the loan agreement.

     (e) The Rhode Island infrastructure bank may create one or more loan loss reserve funds

to serve as further security for any loans made by the Rhode Island infrastructure bank or any bonds

of the Rhode Island infrastructure bank issued to fund projects in accordance with this section.

     (f) To the extent possible, and in accordance with law, the Rhode Island infrastructure bank

shall encourage the use of project labor agreements for projects by local governmental units over

ten million dollars ($10,000,000) and local hiring on projects funded under this section.

     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 STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RENEWABLE READY

PROGRAM

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     This act would establish the renewable ready program and fund to promote the responsible

siting and development of renewable energy generating resources in locations where it would be

an ancillary beneficial use to the redevelopment of previously contaminated property and other

locations funded through the Rhode Island infrastructure bank.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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