Vermont H 352: An act relating to the Renewable Energy for Communities Program

Bill Text

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H.352 1
Introduced by Representative Logan of Burlington 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Public service; energy; renewable energy; solar; net metering 5
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to create the 6
Renewable Energy for Communities Program to be administered by the Public 7
Utility Commission. 8
An act relating to the Renewable Energy for Communities Program 9
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 10
Sec. 1. 30 V.S.A. § 8005b is added to read: 11
§ 8005b. RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR COMMUNITIES PROGRAM 12
(a) Establishment. The Renewable Energy for Communities Program is 13
established. To achieve the goals of subdivision 8005(a)(2) of this title, the 14
Commission shall develop the Renewable Energy for Communities Program 15
that meets the eligibility requirements of this section, which may be 16
implemented by rule, order, or contract. Retail electricity providers shall issue 17
periodic solicitations subject to the requirements of the Renewable Energy for 18
Communities Program. 19

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(b) Eligible resources. Distributed renewable generation as defined in 1
subdivision 8005(a)(2)(B) of this chapter shall be eligible to participate in this 2
Program. 3
(c) Objectives. It shall be the objective of the Program to develop 4
distributed renewable generation at least-cost to ratepayers that is directed by, 5
developed in consultation with, and directly benefits communities by one or 6
more of the following: 7
(1) delivering benefits from renewable energy systems to customers who 8
have historically been marginalized or faced inequitable access to the benefits 9
of renewable energy, including environmental justice focus populations as 10
defined in 3 V.S.A. § 6002; 11
(2) supporting community participation in the development and 12
governance of distributed renewable generation; 13
(3) supporting the delivery of benefits to tenants of buildings that are 14
designated as affordable housing; 15
(4) supporting the delivery of benefits to school and municipally owned 16
buildings; and 17
(5) advancing other priority issues as identified during program 18
development as detailed under subsection (f) of this section. 19
(d) Capacity requirement. Retail electricity providers shall issue 20
solicitations for distributed renewable generation equivalent to a percentage of 21

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their requirement under subdivision 8005(a)(2) of this title, as determined by 1
the Commission. 2
(e) Solicitation requirement. 3
(1) On a schedule to be developed by the Commission, each retail 4
electricity provider with an obligation under subdivision 8005(a)(2) of this title 5
shall issue solicitations for eligible distributed generation until it has met its 6
capacity requirement. Coordinated solicitations shall be encouraged. Each 7
retail electric provider shall review proposed projects in its service territory 8
according to a set of consistent core criteria as approved by the Commission 9
and consistent with the objectives set forth in this section. 10
(2) Requirements for retail electricity providers that are 100 percent 11
renewable pursuant to subdivision 8005(b)(1) of this title may be limited by 12
the Commission to an amount equal to the provider’s requirement to meet 13
distributed generation with load growth above the baseline year of 2024 and 14
allowed on a less frequent solicitation schedule. 15
(f) Program development. On or before January 1, 2027, the Commission 16
shall implement the Renewable Energy for Communities Program. In 17
developing the program, the Commission shall: 18
(1) determine principles to guide the development of eligible distributed 19
generation and consider whether additional objectives for the program as 20
defined under subsection (c) of this section are necessary; 21

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(2) determine whether a percentage of each retail electricity provider’s 1
capacity requirement should be reserved to serve specific customers who have 2
previously experienced inequitable access to the benefits of renewable energy 3
and determine any minimum requirement for those projects procured under 4
this program for serving those specific customers; 5
(3) establish a set of consistent review criteria to be used by all retail 6
electricity providers in solicitations for eligible distributed generation, 7
considering issues in addition to cost, including community support or 8
engagement while developing the proposal; potential for local workforce 9
development and other community benefits to be delivered to the host 10
community; location of the project, including whether it is in a constrained 11
area of the distribution or transmission system or in an area identified as a 12
preferred location in a regional or municipal