ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 297
(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Caruth,
By Request of the Executive)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported March 27, 2009.]
____________
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §24-2F-1, §24-2F-2,
§24-2F-3, §24-2F-4, §24-2F-5, §24-2F-6, §24-2F-7, §24-2F-8,
§24-2F-9, §24-2F-10, §24-2F-11, §24-2F-12, §24-2F-13 and §24-
2F-14, all relating to an alternative and renewable energy
portfolio standard; setting forth legislative findings;
defining terms; establishing standards for the sale of
electricity generated from alternative and renewable energy
resources; providing for compliance assessments; creating a
system of tradeable alternative and renewable energy resource
credits; providing for the awarding of credits based upon electricity generated from alternative and renewable energy
resource facilities; providing for the awarding of credits for
certain greenhouse emissions reduction and offset projects;
providing for the awarding of credits for certain energy
efficiency and demand-side energy initiative projects;
requiring application to the Public Service Commission for
approval of alternative and renewable energy portfolio
standard compliance plans; setting forth minimum requirements
for compliance plan applications; requiring Public Service
Commission approval of compliance plan applications; requiring
annual progress reports; providing for incentive rate making
for investments in new alternative and renewable energy
resource facilities in West Virginia; requiring the Public
Service Commission to adopt certain net metering and
interconnection rules and standards; authorizing the Public
Service Commission to enter into interagency agreements to
meet its requirements under this article; requiring an ongoing
assessment of alternative and renewable energy resources in
West Virginia; authorizing Public Service Commission to adopt
portfolio standards for certain electric cooperatives and
other electric facilities or utilities; establishing the
Alternative and Renewable Energy Resources Research Fund;
providing for the awarding of matching grants for certain
research projects; declaring severability; authorizing the Public Service Commission to promulgate rules; and providing
sunset date.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §24-2F-1, §24-2F-2,
§24-2F-3, §24-2F-4, §24-2F-5, §24-2F-6, §24-2F-7, §24-2F-8,
§24-2F-9, §24-2F-10, §24-2F-11, §24-2F-12, §24-2F-13 and §24-2F-14,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2F. ALTERNATIVE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO STANDARD.
§24-2F-1. Short title.
This article may be known and cited as the Alternative and
Renewable Energy Portfolio Act.
§24-2F-2. Legislative findings.
The Legislature finds that:
(1) West Virginia has served the nation for many years as a
reliable source of electrical power.
(2) The nation is on a rapid course of action to produce
electrical power with an ever decreasing amount of emissions.
(3) To continue lowering the emissions associated with
electrical production, and to expand the state's economic base,
West Virginia should encourage the development of more efficient,
lower-emitting and reasonably priced alternative and renewable
energy resources.
(4) The development of a robust and diverse portfolio of electric-generating capacity is needed for West Virginia to
continue its success in attracting new businesses and jobs. This
portfolio must include the use of alternative and renewable energy
resources at new and existing facilities.
(5) West Virginia has considerable natural resources that
could support the development of alternative and renewable energy
resource facilities at a reasonable price.
(6) Alternative and renewable energy resources can be utilized
now to meet state and federal environmental standards, including
those reasonably anticipated to be mandated in the future.
(7) It is in the public interest for the state to encourage
the construction of alternative and renewable energy resource
facilities that increase the capacity to provide for current and
anticipated electric energy demand at a reasonable price.
§24-2F-3. Definitions.
Unless the context clearly requires a different meaning, as
used in this article:
(a) "Advanced coal technology" means a technology that is used
in a new or existing energy generating facility to reduce airborne
carbon emissions associated with the combustion or use of coal and
includes, without limitation, carbon dioxide capture and
sequestration technology, ultra-supercritical technology and
pressurized fluidized bed technology.
(b) "Alternative and renewable energy portfolio standard" or "portfolio standard" means a requirement in any given year that
requires an electric utility to own credits in an amount equal to
a certain percentage of electric energy sold in the preceding
calendar year by the electric utility to retail customers in this
state.
(c) "Alternative energy resources" means any of the following
resources, methods or technologies for the production or generation
of electricity:
(1) Advanced coal technology;
(2) Coal bed methane;
(3) Natural gas;
(4) Fuel produced by a coal gasification or liquefaction
facility;
(5) Synthetic gas;
(6) Integrated gasification combined cycle technologies;
(7) Waste coal;
(8) Tire-derived fuel;
(9) Pumped storage hydroelectric projects;
(10) Nuclear energy; or
(11) Any other resource, method, project or technology
certified as an alternative energy resource by the Public Service
Commission.
(d) "Alternative and renewable energy resource credit" or
"credit" means a tradable instrument that is used to establish, verify and monitor the generation of electricity from alternative
and renewable energy resource facilities, energy efficiency or
demand-side energy initiative projects or greenhouse gas emission
reduction or offset projects.
(e) "Alternative energy resource facility" means a facility or
equipment that generates electricity from alternative energy
resources.
(f) "Commission" or "Public Service Commission" means the
Public Service Commission of West Virginia as continued pursuant to
section three, article one of this chapter.
(g) "Customer-generator" means an electric retail customer who
owns and operates a customer-sited generation project utilizing
alternative or renewable energy resource or a net metering system
in this state.
(h) "Electric utility" means any electric distribution company
or electric generation supplier that sells electricity to retail
customers in this state. Unless specifically provided for
otherwise, for the purposes of this article, the term "electric
utility" shall not include rural electric cooperatives,
municipally-owned electric facilities or utilities serving less
than thirty thousand residential electric customers in West
Virginia.
(i) "Energy efficiency or demand-side energy initiative
project" means a project in this state that promotes customer energy efficiency or the management of customer consumption of
electricity through the implementation of:
(1) Energy efficiency technologies, equipment, management
practices or other strategies utilized by residential, commercial,
industrial, institutional or government customers that reduce
electricity consumption by those customers;
(2) Load management or demand response technologies,
equipment, management practices, interruptible or curtailable
tariffs, energy storage devices or other strategies in residential,
commercial, industrial, institutional and government customers that
shift electric load from periods of higher demand to periods of
lower demand;
(3) Industrial by-product technologies consisting of the use
of a by-product from an industrial process, including, but not
limited to, the reuse of energy from exhaust gases or other
manufacturing by-products that can be used in the direct production
of electricity at the customer's facility;
(4) Customer-sited generation, demand-response, energy
efficiency or peak demand reduction capabilities, whether new or
existing, that the customer commits for integration into the
electric utility's demand-response, energy efficiency or peak
demand reduction programs; or
(5) Infrastructure and modernization projects that help
promote energy efficiency, reduce energy losses or shift load from periods of higher demand to periods of lower demand, including the
modernization of metering and communications (i.e., smart grid),
distribution automation, energy storage, distributed energy
resources and investments to promote the electrification of
transportation.
(j) "Greenhouse gas emission reduction or offset project"
means a project to reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions from
sources in this state other than the electric utility's own
generating and energy delivery operations. Greenhouse gas emission
reduction or offset projects include, but are not limited to:
(1) Methane capture and destruction from landfills, coal mines
or farms;
(2) Forestation, afforestation or reforestation; and
(3) Nitrous oxide or carbon dioxide sequestration through
reduced fertilizer use or no-till farming.
(k) "Net metering" means measuring the difference between
electricity supplied by an electric utility and electricity
generated from an alternative or renewable energy resource facility
owned or operated by an electric retail customer when any portion
of the electricity generated from the alternative or renewable
energy resource facility is used to offset part or all of the
electric retail customer's requirements for electricity.
(l) "Reclaimed surface mine" means a surface mine, as that
term is defined in section three, article three, chapter twenty-two of this code, that is reclaimed or is being reclaimed in accordance
with state or federal law.
(m) "Renewable energy resource" means any of the following
resources, methods, projects or technologies for the production or
generation of electricity:
(1) Solar photovoltaic or other solar electric energy;
(2) Solar thermal energy;
(3) Wind power;
(4) Run of river hydropower;
(5) Geothermal energy, which means a technology by which
electricity is produced by extracting hot water or steam from
geothermal reserves in the earth's crust to power steam turbines
that drive generators to produce electricity;
(6) Biomass energy, which means a technology by which
electricity is produced from a nonhazardous organic material that
is available on a renewable or recurring basis;
(7) Biologically derived fuel including methane gas, ethanol
not produced from corn or biodiesel fuel;
(8) Fuel cell technology, which means any electrochemical
device that converts chemical energy in a hydrogen-rich fuel
directly into electricity, heat and water without combustion;
(9) Recycled energy, which means useful thermal, mechanical or
electrical energy produced from: (A) exhaust heat from any
commercial or industrial process; (B) waste gas, waste fuel or other forms of energy that would otherwise be flared, incinerated,
disposed of or vented; and (C) electricity or equivalent mechanical
energy extracted from a pressure drop in any gas (excluding any
pressure drop to a condenser that subsequently vents the resulting
heat).
(10) Any other resource, method, project or technology
certified by the commission as a renewable energy resource.
(n) "Renewable energy resource facility" means a facility or
equipment that generates electricity from renewable energy
resources.
(o) "Waste coal" means a technology by which electricity is
produced by the combustion of the by-product, waste or residue
created from processing coal (e.g., gob).
§24-2F-4. Awarding of alternative and renewable energy resource
credits.
(a)
Credits established. -- The Public Service Commission
shall establish a system of tradeable credits to establish, verify
and monitor the generation and sale of electricity generated from
alternative and renewable energy resource facilities. The credits
may be traded, sold or used to meet the portfolio standards
established in section five of this article.
(b)
Awarding of credits. -- Credits shall be awarded as
follows:
(1) An electric utility shall be awarded one credit for each megawatt hour of electricity generated or purchased from an
alternative energy resource facility located within the
geographical boundaries of this state or located outside of the
geographical boundaries of this state but within the service
territory of a regional transmission organization, as that term is
defined in 18 C. F. R. §35.34, that manages the transmission system
in any part of this state;
(2) An electric utility shall be awarded two credits for each
megawatt hour of electricity generated or purchased from a
renewable energy resource facility located within the geographical
boundaries of this state or located outside of the geographical
boundaries of this state but within the service territory of a
regional transmission organization, as that term is defined in 18
C. F. R. §35.34, that manages the transmission system in any part
of this state;
(3) An electric utility shall be awarded three credits for
each megawatt hour of electricity generated or purchased from a
renewable energy resource facility located within the geographical
boundaries of this state if the renewable energy resource facility
is sited upon a reclaimed surface mine; and
(4) A customer-generator shall be awarded one credit for each
megawatt hour of electricity generated from an alternative energy
resource facility and shall be awarded two credits for each
megawatt hour of electricity generated from a renewable energy resource facility.
(c)
Acquiring of credits permitted. --
(1) An electric utility may meet the alternative and renewable
energy portfolio standards set forth in this article by purchasing
additional credits. Credits may be bought or sold by an electric
utility or customer-generator or banked and used to meet an
alternative and renewable energy portfolio standard requirement in
a subsequent year.
(2) Each credit transaction shall be reported by the selling
entity to the Public Service Commission on a form provided by the
commission.
(3) As soon as reasonably possible after the effective date of
this section, the commission shall establish a registry of data
that shall track credit transactions and shall list the following
information for each transaction: (i) The parties to the
transaction; (ii) the number of credits sold or transferred; and
(iii) the price paid. Information contained in the registry shall
be available to the public.
(4) The commission may impose an administrative transaction
fee on a credit transaction in an amount not to exceed the actual
direct cost of processing the transaction by the commission.
(d)
Credits for certain emission reduction or offset projects.
--
(1) The commission may award credits to an electric utility for greenhouse gas emission reduction or offset projects. For each
ton of carbon dioxide equivalent reduced or offset as a result of
an approved greenhouse gas emission reduction project, the
commission shall award an electric utility one credit:
Provided,
That the emissions reductions and offsets are verifiable and
certified in accordance with rules promulgated by the commission
:
Provided, however, That the commission has previously approved the
greenhouse gas emission reduction and offset project for credit in
accordance with section six of this article.
(2) The commission shall consult and coordinate with the
Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection to verify
and certify greenhouse gas emission reduction projects. The
Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection shall
provide assistance and information to the Public Service Commission
and may enter into interagency agreements with the commission to
effectuate the purposes of this subsection.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, an
electric utility may not be awarded credits for a greenhouse gas
emission reduction or offset project undertaken pursuant to any
obligation under any other state law, policy or regulation.
(e)
Credits for certain energy efficiency and demand-side
energy initiative projects. --
(1) The commission may award credits to an electric utility
for investments in energy efficiency and demand-side energy initiative projects. For each megawatt hour of electricity
conserved as a result of an approved energy efficiency or
demand-side energy initiative project, the commission shall award
one credit:
Provided, That the amount of electricity claimed to be
conserved is verifiable and certified in accordance with rules
promulgated by the commission:
Provided, however, That the
commission has approved the energy efficiency or demand-side energy
initiative project for credit in accordance with section six of
this article.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, an
electric utility may not be awarded credit for an energy efficiency
or demand-side energy initiative project undertaken pursuant to any
obligation under any other state or federal law, policy or
regulation.
§24-2F-5. Alternative and renewable energy portfolio standard;
compliance assessments.
(a)
General rule. -- Each electric utility doing business in
this state shall be required to meet the alternative and renewable
energy portfolio standards set forth in this section. In order to
meet these standards, an electric utility shall each year own an
amount of credits equal to a certain percentage of electricity, as
set forth in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, sold by the
electric utility in the preceding year to retail customers in West
Virginia.
(b)
Counting of credits towards compliance. -- For the purpose
of determining an electric utility's compliance with the
alternative and renewable energy portfolio standards set forth in
subsections (c) and (d) of this section, each credit shall equal
one megawatt hour of electricity sold by an electric utility in the
preceding year to retail customers in West Virginia. Furthermore,
a credit may not be used more than once to meet the requirements of
this section.
(c)
Twenty-five percent by 2025. -- On and after January 1,
2025, an electric utility shall each year own credits in an amount
equal to at least twenty-five percent of the electric energy sold
by the electric utility to retail customers in this state in the
preceding calendar year.
(d)
Interim portfolio standards. --
(1) For the period beginning January 1, 2015, and ending
December 31, 2019, an electric utility shall each year own credits
in an amount equal to at least ten percent of the electric energy
sold by the electric utility to retail customers in this state in
the preceding calendar year; and
(2) For the period beginning January 1, 2020, and ending
December 31, 2024, an electric utility shall each year own credits
in an amount equal to at least fifteen percent of the electric
energy sold by the electric utility to retail customers in this
state in the preceding calendar year.
(e)
Double-counting of credits prohibited. -- Any portion of
electricity generated from an alternative or renewable energy
resource facility that is used to meet another state's alternative
energy, advanced energy, renewable energy or similar energy
portfolio standard may not be used to meet the requirements of this
section. An electric utility that is subject to an alternative
energy, advanced energy, renewable energy or similar energy
portfolio standard in any other state shall list, in the
alternative and renewable energy portfolio standard compliance plan
required under section six of this article, any such requirements
and shall indicate how it satisfied those requirements. The
electric utility shall provide in the annual progress report
required under section six of this article any additional
information required by the commission to prevent double-counting
of credits.
(f)
Carryover. -- An electric utility may apply any credits
that are in excess of the alternative and renewable energy
portfolio standard in any given year to the requirements for any
future year portfolio standard:
Provided, That the electric
utility determines to the satisfaction of the Commission that such
credits were in excess of the portfolio standard in a given year
and that such credits have not previously been used for compliance
with a portfolio standard.
(g)
Compliance assessments. --
(1) On or after January 1, 2015, and each year thereafter, the
commission shall determine whether each electric utility doing
business in this state is in compliance with this section. If,
after notice and a hearing, the commission determines that an
electric utility has failed to comply with an alternative and
renewable energy portfolio standard, the commission shall impose a
compliance assessment on the electric utility which shall equal at
least the lesser of the following:
(A) $50 multiplied by the number of additional credits that
would be needed to meet an alternative and renewable energy
portfolio standard in a given year; or
(B) Two hundred percent of the average market value of credits
sold in a given year multiplied by the number of additional credits
needed to meet the alternative and renewable energy portfolio
standard for that year.
(2) The commission may provide in rules for the imposition of
compliance assessments that exceed the minimum amounts for
compliance assessments in subdivision (1) of this subsection if the
commission determines that the minimum amounts of the compliance
assessments is insufficient to accomplish the purposes of this
article.
(3) Compliance assessments collected by the commission
pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the Alternative
and Renewable Energy Resources Research Fund established in section eleven of this article.
(h)
Force majeure. --
(1) Upon its own initiative or upon the request of an electric
utility, the commission may modify the portfolio standard
requirements of an electric utility in a given year or years or
recommend to the Legislature that the portfolio standard
requirements be eliminated if the commission determines that
alternative or renewable energy resources are not reasonably
available in the marketplace in sufficient quantities for the
electric utility to meet the requirements of this article.
(2) In making its determination, the commission shall consider
whether the electric utility made good faith efforts to acquire
sufficient credits to comply with the requirements of this article.
Such good faith efforts shall include, but are not limited to,
banking excess credits, seeking credits through competitive
solicitations and seeking to acquire credits through long-term
contracts. The commission shall assess the availability of credits
on the open market. The commission may also require that the
electric utility solicit credits before a request for modification
may be granted.
(3) If an electric utility requests a modification of its
portfolio standard requirements, the commission shall make a
determination as to the request within sixty days.
(4) Commission modification of an electric utility's portfolio standard requirements shall apply only to the portfolio standard in
the year or years modified by the commission. Commission
modification shall not automatically reduce an electric utility's
alternative and renewable energy portfolio standard requirements in
future years.
(5) If the commission modifies an electric utility's portfolio
standard requirements, the commission may also require the electric
utility to acquire additional credits in subsequent years
equivalent to the requirements reduced by the commission in
accordance with this subsection.
§24-2F-6. Alternative and renewable energy portfolio standard
compliance plan; application; approval; and progress
report.
(a) On or before January 1, 2011, each electric utility
subject to the provisions of this article shall prepare an
alternative and renewable energy portfolio standard compliance plan
and shall file an application with the commission seeking approval
of such plan.
(b) A portfolio standard compliance plan shall include:
(1) Statistics and information concerning the electric
utility's sales to retail customers in West Virginia during the
preceding ten calendar years;
(2) A calculation of the electric utility's projected yearly
sales to retail customers for the years 2011-2025;
(3) A calculation of the expected number of credits required
to meet the portfolio standards set forth in this article;
(4) An anticipated time line for the development, purchase or
procurement of credits sufficient to meet the portfolio standards
set forth in this article;
(5) A nonbinding estimate of the costs to comply with the
portfolio standards set forth in this article;
(6) A description of any greenhouse gas emission reduction or
offset projects or energy efficiency and demand-side energy
initiative projects the electric utility proposes to undertake for
credit in accordance with this article;
(7) If an electric utility is subject to an alternative
energy, advanced energy, renewable energy or similar energy
portfolio standard in any other state, a list of any such
requirements and a description of how the electric utility
satisfied those requirements; and
(8) Such further information as required by the commission.
(c) Upon the filing of an application for approval of a
portfolio standard compliance plan, and after hearing and proper
notice, the commission may, in its discretion, approve or
disapprove, or approve in part or disapprove in part, such
application:
Provided, That the commission, after it gives proper
notice and if no protest is received within thirty days after the
notice is given, may waive formal hearing on the application. Notice shall be published as a Class I legal advertisement in
compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine
of this code, and shall be given in a manner and in such form as
may be prescribed by the commission.
(d) The commission shall, following proper notice and hearing,
if any, render a final decision on any application filed pursuant
to this section within two hundred seventy days of the filing of
the application.
(e) If, and to the extent, the commission determines that a
portfolio standard compliance plan has a reasonable expectation of
achieving the portfolio standard requirements at a reasonable cost
to electric customers in this state, the commission shall approve
the plan. In establishing that the requisite standard for approval
of a portfolio standard compliance plan is met, the burden of proof
shall be upon the applicant.
(f) In the event the commission disapproves of an application
filed pursuant to this section, in whole or in part, the commission
shall specify its reason or reasons for disapproval. Any portion
of the application not approved by the commission shall be modified
and resubmitted by the applicant.
(g) Either upon an application of the electric utility, a
petition by a party or the commission's own motion, a compliance
plan proceeding may be reopened for the purpose of considering and
making, if appropriate, alterations to the plan.
(h) Approval of the compliance plan does not eliminate the
need for an electric utility to otherwise obtain required
approvals, including, but not limited to, certificates to
construct, consent to enter into affiliated contracts and recovery
of compliance costs. Furthermore, nothing in this article shall be
interpreted to alter or amend the existing power and authority of
the commission.
(i) Approval of the compliance plan does not relieve an
electric utility from its obligation to pay a compliance assessment
pursuant to the provisions of section five of this article if it
fails to comply with the portfolio standards set forth therein.
(j) Within a year of the commission's approval of an electric
utility's compliance plan, and every year thereafter, the electric
utility shall submit to the commission an annual progress report.
The progress report shall include the electric utility's sales to
retail customers in West Virginia during the previous calendar
year; the amount of energy the electric utility has generated,
purchased or procured from alternative or renewable energy
resources; a comparison of the budgeted and actual costs as
compared to the estimated cost of the portfolio standard compliance
plan; any information required by the commission to prevent the
double-counting of credits; and any further information required by
the commission.
(k) The commission shall impose a special assessment on all electric utilities required to file a compliance plan. The special
assessment shall not exceed $200,000 in the first year following
the effective date of this article and shall not exceed $100,000 in
successive years. The assessments shall be prorated among the
covered electric utilities on the basis of kilowatt hours of retail
sales in West Virginia and shall be due and payable on September 1
of each year. The funds generated from the special assessment
shall be used to offset all reasonable direct and indirect costs
incurred by the commission in administering the provisions of this
article.
§24-2F-7. Cost recovery and rate incentives for electric utility
investment in alternative and renewable energy
resources.
(a) An electric utility shall have the right to recover the
costs of complying with the alternative and renewable energy
portfolio standards set forth in this article in a manner
prescribed by the commission. Although the commission may approve
costs that exceed the costs of current utility generation or
purchased power, the electric utility has the burden to demonstrate
that the costs are reasonable and represent the least cost of
compliance. Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, an electric utility may not recover in rates the costs of
compliance assessments imposed under this article.
(b) Upon a finding that it is in the public interest of this state, as provided in section one, article one of this chapter, the
commission may authorize incentive rate-making allowances for
electric utility investment in the construction of new alternative
or renewable energy resource facilities in West Virginia to
encourage investments in the use and development of alternative or
renewable energy resource facilities.
(c) The commission shall determine, at such time and in such
proceeding, form and manner as is considered appropriate by the
commission, the extent to which any electric utility investment
qualifies for the incentive rate making pursuant to this section.
§24-2F-8. Net metering and interconnection standards.
(a) The commission shall adopt a rule requiring all electric
utilities to provide a rebate or discount at fair value, to be
determined by the commission, to customer-generators for any
electricity generation that is delivered to the utility under a net
metering arrangement.
(b) The commission shall also consider adopting, by rule, a
requirement that all sellers of electricity to retail customers in
the state, including rural electric cooperatives, municipally owned
electric facilities or utilities serving less than thirty thousand
residential electric customers in this state, offer net metering
rebates or discounts to customer-generators.
(c) The commission shall institute a general investigation for
the purpose of adopting rules pertaining to net metering and the interconnection of eligible electric generating facilities intended
to operate in parallel with an electric utility's system. As part
of its investigation, the commission shall take into consideration
rules of other states within the applicable region of the regional
transmission organization, as that term is defined in 18 C. F. R.
§35.34, that manages a utility's transmission system in any part of
this state. Furthermore, the commission shall consider increasing
the allowed kilowatt capacity for commercial customer-generators to
an amount not to exceed five hundred kilowatts and for industrial
customer-generators to an amount not to exceed two megawatts. The
commission shall further consider interconnection standards for
combined heat and power.
(d) The commission shall develop these rules within twelve
months of the effective date of this article.
§24-2F-9. Interagency agreements; alternative and renewable
energy resource planning assessment.
(a)
Interagency agreements. -- The commission may enter into
interagency agreements with the Department of Environmental
Protection and the Division of Energy to carry out the
responsibilities set forth in this article.
(b)
Alternative and renewable energy resource planning
assessment. -- The commission, in cooperation with the Department
of Environmental Protection and the Division of Energy, shall
conduct an ongoing alternative and renewable energy resource planning assessment for this state that shall, at a minimum: (i)
Identify current and operating alternative and renewable energy
resource facilities in this state; (ii) assess the potential to add
future generating capacity in this state from alternative and
renewable energy resource facilities; (iii) assess the conditions
of the alternative and renewable energy resource marketplace,
including costs associated with alternative and renewable energy;
(iv) recommend methods to maintain or increase the relative
competitiveness of the alternative and renewable energy resource
market in this state; and (v) recommend to the Legislature
additional compliance goals for alternative and renewable energy
portfolio standards beyond 2025. The commission shall report the
initial results of its assessment to the Governor, the President of
the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates within three
years of the effective date of this article and shall report the
ongoing results of the assessment on a yearly basis thereafter,
except that on or before January 1, 2012, the commission, in
collaboration with the Public Energy Authority, shall report the
initial results of its assessment to the Joint Committee on
Government and Finance.
§24-2F-10. Portfolio requirements for rural electric cooperatives,
municipally owned electric facilities or utilities
serving less than thirty thousand residential
electric customers in West Virginia.
(a) The commission shall consider adopting, by rule,
alternative and renewable energy portfolio requirements for rural
electric cooperatives, municipally owned electric facilities or
utilities serving less than thirty thousand residential electric
customers in this state. The commission shall institute a general
investigation for the purpose of adopting such requirements.
(b) As part of its investigation, the commission may consider,
without limitation, adopting voluntary alternative and renewable
portfolio standards and energy efficiency and demand-side energy
initiative standards for rural electric cooperatives, municipally
owned electric facilities or utilities serving less than thirty
thousand residential electric customers in this state.
§24-2F-11. Alternative and renewable energy resources grant
program.
(a) There is hereby established in the State Treasury a
special revolving fund to be jointly administered by the Public
Service Commission and the Division of Energy which shall be
designated the Alternative and Renewable Energy Resources Research
Fund. Moneys in the fund shall be used to award matching grants
for demonstration, commercialization, research and development
projects relating to alternative and renewable energy resources and
energy efficiency technologies.
(b) The fund shall consist of any moneys appropriated by the
Legislature, any compliance assessments collected by the Commission, any gifts, bequests or other contributions to the fund
from private entities or electric customers and any interest or
other return on the moneys in the fund. Any moneys remaining in
the account at the end of a fiscal year, including accrued
interest, do not revert to the General Revenue Fund and remain in
the account.
(c) Within a year of the effective date of this article, the
Public Service Commission shall cooperate with electric
distribution companies and electric generation suppliers to
establish a program to solicit voluntary contributions to the fund
from private entities and electric customers. The program may
provide for the collecting and accounting of contributions from
electric customers including, but not limited to, the collection of
donations in conjunction with the standard monthly billing of an
electric distribution company or electric generation supplier.
(d) Any donations to the fund collected by an electric
generation supplier or electric distribution company shall be
forwarded to the Public Service Commission and the commission shall
deposit such moneys in the fund.
(e) The Division of Energy shall provide for the distribution
of moneys from the fund in the form of matching grants to state
institutions of higher education for demonstration,
commercialization, research and development projects relating to
alternative and renewable energy resources and energy efficiency technologies. The Division of Energy shall consult with and
receive recommendations from the Public Energy Authority, the
Economic Development Authority and the Department of Environmental
Protection to establish eligibility criteria for the awarding of
grant moneys under this section. The Division of Energy may update
said criteria as necessary to comply with the requirements of this
section.
(f) Within two years of the effective date of this section,
and each year thereafter, the Division of Energy shall file a
report with the Governor, the President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Delegates containing, at a minimum: (i) A
description of all actions taken by the Division of Energy pursuant
to this section; (ii) an accounting of total deposits into and
expenditures from the fund during the previous twelve months; and
(iii) a description of any projects that received a distribution
from the fund during the preceding twelve months, including the
projects' objectives, current status and results, if any.
§24-2F-12. Severability.
If any provision of this article, or the application thereof
to any person or circumstance, is found by a court of law to be
unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such unconstitutionality or
invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of
this article and, to this end, the provisions of this article are
declared to be severable.
§24-2F-13. Rule-making authority.
The commission shall promulgate rules in accordance with
section seven, article one, chapter twenty-four of this code to
effectuate the purposes of this article.
§24-2F-14. Termination date.
The commission shall terminate on June 30, 2012, pursuant to
the provisions of article ten, chapter four of this code.
Email
Webmaster | © 2025 West Virginia Legislature **
