SF 2326 (LSB 5686SV (2) 84)

SENATE FILE 2326

BY  COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

(SUCCESSOR TO SF 2050)

A BILL FOR

An Act increasing the amount of generating capacity eligible for the renewable energy tax credit.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 476C.1, subsection 6, paragraph d, Code Supplement 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   d.  Was initially placed into service on or after July 1, 2005, and before January 1, 2015
 
2020.
    Sec. 2.  Section 476C.3, subsection 4, Code Supplement 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   4.
  a.  The maximum amount of nameplate generating capacity of all wind energy conversion facilities the board may find eligible under this chapter shall not exceed three hundred sixty-three megawatts of nameplate generating capacity.
 
Beginning January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2019, this maximum shall be increased each year by fifteen megawatts over the maximum in the previous year. Beginning January 1, 2020, the maximum amount of nameplate generating capacity of all wind energy conversion facilities the board may find eligible under this chapter shall not exceed four hundred thirty-eight megawatts of nameplate generating capacity.
   b.  The maximum amount of energy production capacity equivalent of all other facilities the board may find eligible under this chapter shall not exceed a combined output of fifty-three megawatts of nameplate generating capacity and one hundred sixty-seven billion British thermal units of heat for a commercial purpose.

Beginning January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2019, this maximum shall be increased each year by the energy production capacity equivalent of a combined output of five megawatts, and the British thermal unit equivalent, over the maximum in the previous year. Beginning January 1, 2020, the maximum amount of energy production capacity equivalent of all other facilities the board may find eligible under this chapter shall not exceed seventy-eight megawatts of nameplate generating capacity, and the British thermal unit equivalent. Of the maximum amount of energy production capacity equivalent of all other facilities found eligible under this chapter, no more than ten megawatts of nameplate generating capacity or energy production capacity equivalent shall be allocated to any one facility. Of the maximum amount of energy production capacity equivalent of all other facilities found eligible under this chapter, fifty-five billion British thermal units of heat for a commercial purpose shall be reserved for an eligible facility that is a refuse conversion facility for processed, engineered fuel from a multicounty solid waste management planning area. The maximum amount of energy production capacity the board may find eligible for a single refuse conversion facility is fifty-five billion British thermal units of heat for a commercial purpose. Of the maximum amount of energy production capacity equivalent of all other facilities found eligible under this chapter, an amount equivalent to ten megawatts of nameplate generating capacity shall be reserved for eligible renewable energy facilities incorporated within or associated with an ethanol cogeneration plant engaged in the sale of ethanol to states to meet a low carbon fuel standard.
    Sec. 3.  Section 476C.5, Code Supplement 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   476C.5  Certificate issuance period.
   A producer or purchaser of renewable energy may receive renewable energy tax credit certificates for a ten-year period for each eligible renewable energy facility under this chapter. The ten-year period for issuance of the tax credit certificates begins with the date the purchaser of renewable energy first purchases electricity, hydrogen fuel, methane gas or other biogas used to generate electricity, or heat for commercial purposes from the eligible renewable energy facility for which a tax credit is issued under this chapter, or the date the producer of the renewable energy first uses the energy produced by the eligible renewable energy facility for on-site consumption. Renewable energy tax credit certificates shall not be issued for renewable energy purchased or produced for on-site consumption after December 31, 2024
 
2029.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to the maximum amount of generating capacity of renewable energy facilities eligible for the renewable energy tax credit provided in Code chapter 476C.
   Currently, the maximum amount of nameplate generating capacity of all wind energy conversion facilities the Iowa utilities board may find eligible for the tax credit shall not exceed 363 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity. The bill provides that beginning January 1, 2015, this maximum shall be increased by 15 megawatts annually, with the last increase occurring January 1, 2019. Also, currently, the maximum amount of energy production capacity equivalent of nonwind renewable energy facilities the board may find eligible for the tax credit shall not exceed a combined output of 53 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity and 167 billion British thermal units of heat for a commercial purpose. The bill similarly provides that beginning January 1, 2015, this maximum shall be increased by the energy production capacity equivalent of a combined output of five megawatts and the British thermal unit equivalent annually, with the last increase occurring January 1, 2019. The bill specifies the resulting maximum amounts of capacity applicable each year beginning January 1, 2020.
   Consistent with these annual increases, the bill extends the time period during which a facility must be placed into service to be considered an eligible renewable energy facility from the current limitation of prior to January 1, 2015, to prior to January 1, 2020. A conforming change is also made extending the date after which a renewable energy tax credit certificate shall not be issued from December 31, 2024, to December 31, 2029.