Vermont S 57: An act relating to the Standard Offer Program

Bill Text

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VT LEG #379367 v.3
S.57 1
Introduced by Senators Watson, Bongartz, Lyons and White 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Public service; energy; renewable energy; solar energy; Standard 5
Offer Program 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to reauthorize 7
the Standard Offer Program to award contracts for the construction of new 8
renewable energy generation projects. 9
An act relating to the Standard Offer Program 10
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 11
Sec. 1. 30 V.S.A. § 8005a is amended to read: 12
§ 8005a. STANDARD OFFER PROGRAM 13
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(b) Eligibility. To be eligible for a standard offer under this section, a plant 15
must constitute a qualifying small power production facility under 16 U.S.C. 16
§ 796(17)(C) and 18 C.F.R. part 292, must not be a net metering system under 17
section 219a 8010 of this title, and must be a new standard offer plant. In this 18
section, “new standard offer plant” means a renewable energy plant that is 19

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located in Vermont, that has a plant capacity of 2.2 MW or less, and that is 1
commissioned on or after September 30, 2009. 2
(c) Cumulative capacity. In accordance with this subsection, the 3
Commission shall issue standard offers to new standard offer plants until a 4
cumulative plant capacity amount of 127.5 227.5 MW is reached. 5
(1) Pace. Annually commencing April 1, 2013, the Commission shall 6
increase the cumulative plant capacity of the Standard Offer Program (the 7
annual increase) until the 127.5-MW 227.5-MW cumulative plant capacity of 8
this subsection is reached. 9
(A) Annual amounts. The amount of the annual increase shall be five 10
MW for the three years commencing April 1, 2013, 7.5 MW for the three years 11
commencing April 1, 2016, and 10 MW commencing April 1, 2019, and then 12
20 MW commencing April 1, 2026. 13
(B) Blocks. Each year, a portion of the annual increase shall be 14
reserved for new standard offer plants proposed by Vermont retail electricity 15
providers (the provider block), and the remainder shall be reserved for new 16
standard offer plants proposed by persons who are not providers (the 17
independent developer block). 18
(i) The portion of the annual increase reserved for the provider 19
block shall be 10 percent for the three years commencing April 1, 2013, 15 20

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percent for the three years commencing April 1, 2016, and 20 percent 1
commencing April 1, 2019. 2
(ii) If the provider block for a given year is not fully subscribed, 3
any unsubscribed capacity within that block shall be added to the annual 4
increase for each following year until that capacity is subscribed and shall be 5
made available to new standard offer plants proposed by persons who are not 6
providers. 7
(iii) If the independent developer block for a given year is not fully 8
subscribed, any unsubscribed capacity within that block shall be added to the 9
annual increase for each following year until that capacity is subscribed and: 10
(I) shall be made available to new standard offer plants 11
proposed by persons who are not providers; and 12
(II) may be made available to a provider following a written 13
request and specific proposal submitted to and approved by the Commission. 14
[Repealed.] 15
(C) Adjustment; greenhouse gas reduction credits. The Commission 16
shall adjust the annual increase to account for greenhouse gas reduction credits 17
by multiplying the annual increase by one minus the ratio of the prior year’s 18
greenhouse gas reduction credits to that year’s statewide retail electric sales. 19

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(i) The amount of the prior year’s greenhouse gas reduction 1
credits shall be determined in accordance with subdivision subsection 8006a(a) 2
of this title. 3
(ii) The adjustment in the annual increase shall be applied 4
proportionally to the independent developer block and the provider block. 5
(iii) Greenhouse gas reduction credits used to diminish a 6
provider’s obligation under section 8004 of this title may be used to adjust the 7
annual increase under this subsection (c). 8
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(d) Plants outside cumulative capacity. The following categories of plants 10
shall not count toward the cumulative capacity amount of subsection (c) of this 11
section, and the Commission shall make standard offers available to them 12
provided that they are otherwise eligible for such offers under this section: 13
(1) Plants using methane derived from an agricultural operation. 14
(2) New standard offer plants that the Commission determines will have 15
sufficient benefits to the operation and management of the electric grid or a 16
provider’s portion thereof because of their design, characteristics, location, or 17
any other discernible benefit. To enhance the ability of new s