Senate File 2325 - Introduced
SENATE FILE
BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL
RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
(SUCCESSOR TO SF 2133)
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the renewable energy tax credit.
2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 476C.1, subsection 6, unnumbered
1 2 paragraph 1, Code Supplement 2005, is amended to read as
1 3 follows:
1 4 "Eligible renewable energy facility" means a wind energy
1 5 conversion facility, a biogas recovery facility, a biomass
1 6 conversion facility, a methane gas recovery facility, or a
1 7 solar energy conversion facility, or a refuse conversion
1 8 facility that meets all of the following requirements:
1 9 Sec. 2. Section 476C.1, subsection 6, paragraph d, Code
1 10 Supplement 2005, is amended to read as follows:
1 11 d. Was initially placed into service on or after July 1,
1 12 2005, and before January 1, 2011 2012.
1 13 Sec. 3. Section 476C.1, subsection 8, Code Supplement
1 14 2005, is amended to read as follows:
1 15 8. "Heat for a commercial purpose" means the heat in
1 16 British thermal unit equivalents from refuse fuel pellets,
1 17 methane, or other biogas produced in this state sold to a
1 18 purchaser of renewable energy for use for a commercial purpose
1 19 in this state or for use by an institution in this state.
1 20 Sec. 4. Section 476C.1, Code Supplement 2005, is amended
1 21 by adding the following new subsection:
1 22 NEW SUBSECTION. 12A. "Refuse conversion facility" means a
1 23 facility in this state used in connection with a sanitary
1 24 landfill that converts solid waste into fuel in the form of a
1 25 pellet that can be burned to generate heat for a commercial
1 26 purpose in this state.
1 27 Sec. 5. Section 476C.3, subsections 2, 3, 4, and 5, Code
1 28 Supplement 2005, are amended to read as follows:
1 29 2. The board shall review the application and supporting
1 30 information and shall make a preliminary determination
1 31 regarding whether the facility is an eligible renewable energy
1 32 facility. The board shall notify the applicant of the
1 33 approval or denial of the application within thirty days of
1 34 receipt of the application and information required. If the
1 35 board fails to notify the applicant of the approval or denial
2 1 within thirty days, the application shall be deemed denied
2 2 unless the application is placed on a waiting list as
2 3 described in subsection 5. An applicant who receives a
2 4 determination denying an application may file an appeal with
2 5 the board within thirty days from the date of the denial
2 6 pursuant to the provisions of chapter 17A. In the absence of
2 7 a timely appeal, the preliminary determination shall be final.
2 8 If the application is incomplete, the board may grant an
2 9 extension of time for the provision of additional information.
2 10 3. A facility that is not operational within eighteen
2 11 thirty months after issuance of an approval for the facility
2 12 by the board shall cease to be an eligible renewable energy
2 13 facility. A facility that is granted and thereafter loses
2 14 approval may reapply to the board for a new determination.
2 15 4. The maximum amount of nameplate generating capacity of
2 16 all wind energy conversion facilities the board may find
2 17 eligible under this chapter shall not exceed ninety one
2 18 hundred eighty megawatts of nameplate generating capacity.
2 19 The maximum amount of energy production capacity equivalent of
2 20 all other facilities the board may find eligible under this
2 21 chapter shall not exceed a combined output of ten twenty
2 22 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity and one hundred
2 23 sixty=seven billion British thermal units of heat for a
2 24 commercial purpose. Of the maximum amount of energy
2 25 production capacity equivalent of all other facilities found
2 26 eligible under this chapter, at least one eligible facility
2 27 shall be a refuse conversion facility for processed,
2 28 engineered fuel from a multi=county solid waste management
2 29 planning area.
2 30 5. The board shall maintain a waiting list of facilities
2 31 that may have been found eligible under this section but for
2 32 the maximum capacity restrictions of subsection 4. The
2 33 priority of the waiting list shall be maintained in the order
2 34 the applications were received by the board. The board shall
2 35 remove from the waiting list any facility that has
3 1 subsequently been found ineligible under this chapter. If
3 2 additional capacity becomes available within the capacity
3 3 restrictions of subsection 4, the board shall grant approval
3 4 to facilities according to the priority of the waiting list
3 5 before granting approval to new applications. An owner of a
3 6 facility on the waiting list shall provide the board each year
3 7 by August 31 with a sworn statement of verification stating
3 8 that the information contained in the application for
3 9 eligibility remains true and correct or stating that the
3 10 information has changed and providing the new information.
3 11 5. 6. An owner meeting the requirements of section
3 12 476C.1, subsection 6, paragraph "b", shall not be an owner of
3 13 more than two eligible renewable energy facilities. A person
3 14 that has an equity interest equal to or greater than fifty=one
3 15 percent in an eligible renewable energy facility shall not
3 16 have an equity interest greater than ten percent in any other
3 17 eligible renewable energy facility.
3 18 Sec. 6. Section 476C.5, Code Supplement 2005, is amended
3 19 to read as follows:
3 20 476C.5 CERTIFICATE ISSUANCE PERIOD.
3 21 A producer or purchaser of renewable energy may receive
3 22 renewable energy tax credit certificates for a ten=year period
3 23 for each eligible renewable energy facility under this
3 24 chapter. The ten=year period for issuance of the tax credit
3 25 certificates begins with the date the purchaser of renewable
3 26 energy first purchases electricity, hydrogen fuel, methane gas
3 27 or other biogas used to generate electricity, or heat for
3 28 commercial purposes from the eligible renewable energy
3 29 facility for which a tax credit is issued under this chapter.
3 30 Renewable energy tax credit certificates shall not be issued
3 31 for renewable energy purchased after December 31, 2020 2021.
3 32 Sec. 7. TRANSITION PROVISIONS == APPLICABILITY.
3 33 1. The waiting list described in this Act is the waiting
3 34 list maintained by the Iowa utilities board for applications
3 35 for eligibility received prior to the effective date of this
4 1 Act.
4 2 2. As of the effective date of this Act, the section of
4 3 this Act amending section 476C.3, subsection 6, applies to all
4 4 facilities on the waiting list described by this Act
4 5 regardless of the date a facility applied for eligibility.
4 6 Sec. 8. PROPOSAL FOR TRANSMISSION STUDY. The utilities
4 7 board shall submit to the government oversight committee by
4 8 January 1, 2007, a proposal to conduct a study on the
4 9 transmission of electricity in Iowa. The proposal shall
4 10 include a description of the content to be studied which shall
4 11 include examining the reliability and limitations of the
4 12 primary grid system and the development of additional small
4 13 wind projects in all regions of the state. The content to be
4 14 studied shall also include issues related to the security of
4 15 Iowa's energy supply in the event of a national or local
4 16 emergency affecting the primary grid system. The proposal
4 17 shall include a description of the estimated time needed to
4 18 complete the study, an estimate of the cost to complete the
4 19 study, and any other information the board deems necessary.
4 20 EXPLANATION
4 21 This bill relates to the renewable energy tax credit. The
4 22 bill extends the eligibility of renewable energy facilities
4 23 for the renewable energy tax credit by one year to include
4 24 those facilities that are initially placed into service before
4 25 January 1, 2012. The bill extends the time by which an
4 26 eligible renewable energy facility must be operational after
4 27 approval of eligibility is granted from 18 months to 30
4 28 months.
4 29 The bill provides that an eligible renewable energy
4 30 facility includes a refuse conversion facility as defined by
4 31 the bill. The bill provides that "heat for a commercial
4 32 purpose" includes heat from refuse fuel pellets and may be for
4 33 use by an institution.
4 34 The bill provides that the board may place an application
4 35 for a determination of whether a facility is an eligible
5 1 renewable energy facility on a waiting list if the facility
5 2 may have been found eligible but for the maximum capacity
5 3 requirements. The bill requires owners of facilities on the
5 4 waiting list to provide the board an annual verification of
5 5 the content of the application for eligibility. The bill
5 6 prohibits a person with an equity interest of 51 percent or
5 7 more in an eligible facility from owning more than 10 percent
5 8 in another eligible facility.
5 9 The bill allows additional tax credits for the production
5 10 of wind energy by increasing the maximum amount of nameplate
5 11 generating capacity that the board may find eligible for a
5 12 renewable energy tax credit from 90 megawatts to 180
5 13 megawatts. The bill similarly increases the maximum
5 14 eligibility for other nonwind renewable energy facilities from
5 15 10 megawatts to 20 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity.
5 16 The bill extends the tax credit certificate issuance period
5 17 by one year to allow tax credits issued for facilities placed
5 18 into service before January 1, 2012, to have the same 10=year
5 19 period of eligibility to produce and sell renewable energy for
5 20 a renewable energy tax credit certificate as facilities are
5 21 allowed under current law.
5 22 The bill provides that the waiting list described in the
5 23 bill is the same waiting list maintained by the board for
5 24 applications received prior to the effective date of the bill.
5 25 The bill requires the board to conduct a study on the
5 26 transmission of electricity in this state.
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