House Study Bill 697 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE BILL BY CHAIRPERSON PAUSTIAN) A BILL FOR An Act relating to solar energy by establishing a shared solar 1 net metering cooperative program. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5308YC (1) 89 es/rn

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 476.1, Code 2022, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 6. A shared solar net metering cooperative 3 established pursuant to section 476.50 shall not be regarded as 4 a public utility for purposes of this chapter. 5 Sec. 2. Section 476.25, Code 2022, is amended by adding the 6 following new unnumbered paragraph: 7 NEW UNNUMBERED PARAGRAPH . The furnishing of electricity 8 pursuant to a shared solar net metering cooperative under 9 section 476.50 shall not be considered an unnecessary 10 duplication of electric utility facilities and shall not 11 constitute a violation of this section. 12 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 476.50 Shared solar net metering 13 cooperatives —— established. 14 1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise 15 requires: 16 a. “Eligible distributed generation facility” means a 17 distributed generation facility that elects a billing method 18 pursuant to section 476.49, and to which all of the following 19 apply: 20 (1) The facility is located behind a customer’s electricity 21 meters. 22 (2) The facility is interconnected to the electric utility 23 distribution system. 24 (3) The facility has an aggregate nameplate capacity less 25 than or equal to one megawatt alternating current. 26 (4) The facility has a capability to produce no more than 27 one hundred ten percent of the net metering cooperative’s 28 annual electricity usage. 29 (5) The facility’s generating capacity and associated 30 energy is intended to serve only the electric requirements of 31 the net metering cooperative. 32 b. “Shared solar net metering cooperative” or “cooperative” 33 means a distributed generation facility that generates 34 electricity by means of a ground-mounted or roof-mounted 35 -1- LSB 5308YC (1) 89 es/rn 1/ 5

H.F. _____ solar photovoltaic device whereby subscribers receive a bill 1 credit for the electricity generated in proportion to the size 2 of the customer’s subscription. Shared solar net metering 3 cooperatives are alternative energy production facilities that 4 produce solar energy. 5 c. “Subscriber” means a customer of an electric utility 6 subject to this section who owns one or more subscriptions to a 7 shared solar net metering cooperative interconnected with that 8 utility. 9 d. “Subscription” means a proportional contractual interest 10 in a shared solar net metering cooperative, together with a 11 proportional interest in any state or federal tax credits for 12 which a shared solar net metering cooperative may be eligible. 13 2. A shared solar net metering cooperative program is 14 established to encourage and enhance the generation of solar 15 energy and to encourage and enhance the ability of electric 16 utility customers to participate in and derive benefit from 17 alternate solar energy projects. 18 a. Customers in the state may enter into a shared solar 19 net metering cooperative with an electric utility whereby 20 subscribers own the solar production at a location other than 21 the location where the customer has an electricity meter. 22 b. Customers become cooperative members by purchasing 23 subscription access to a shared solar net metering cooperative. 24 Subscribers to a shared solar net metering cooperative shall 25 receive a credit for the kilowatt-hours generated in proportion 26 to the size of the customer’s subscription. 27 c. A utility shall be required to purchase from a shared 28 solar net metering cooperative in accordance with section 29 476.49. A subscriber’s portion of the electricity purchased 30 by the utility shall be credited to the subscriber’s account 31 with the utility. The board shall develop interconnection 32 agreements for utilization by a shared solar net metering 33 cooperative interconnecting with a utility. 34 d. A shared solar net metering cooperative shall be subject 35 -2- LSB 5308YC (1) 89 es/rn 2/ 5

H.F. _____ to the following: 1 (1) Utilize facilities generating electricity by means of 2 ground-mounted or roof-mounted solar photovoltaic devices. 3 (2) Provide subscription access to the cooperative 4 exclusively to customers of a single energy utility electric 5 utility. 6 (3) Deny access to state customers located farther than 7 thirty miles from the cooperative or customers located outside 8 of the state. 9 e. A subscriber may include all of their electricity meters 10 in the cooperative. 11 f. A shared solar net metering cooperative shall be limited 12 to ten subscribers per cooperative with some or all of the 13 subscribers having alternative energy production facilities 14 that produce solar energy. Each subscriber shall be a customer 15 of the same utility and shall have at least one electricity 16 meter. 17 g. Shared solar net metering cooperatives may be owned by 18 investors. 19 3. The board shall adopt rules to implement the provisions 20 of this section. 21 EXPLANATION 22 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 23 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 24 This bill establishes a shared solar net metering 25 cooperative program. 26 The bill defines “shared solar net metering cooperative” or 27 “cooperative” to mean a distributed generation facility that 28 generates electricity through ground-mounted or roof-mounted 29 solar panels whereby subscribers may receive bill credits 30 for the electricity generated in proportion to the size of 31 the customer’s subscription. The bill defines “subscriber” 32 to mean a customer of an electric utility who owns at least 33 one share of a subscription to a shared solar net metering 34 cooperative. The bill defines “subscription” to mean a 35 -3- LSB 5308YC (1) 89 es/rn 3/ 5

H.F. _____ proportional contractual interest in a shared solar net 1 metering cooperative, including tax credits for which the 2 cooperative may be eligible. 3 The bill provides that a shared solar net metering 4 cooperative program is established to encourage and enhance 5 solar energy generation and the ability of electric public 6 utility customers to participate in and derive benefit from 7 alternate solar energy projects. 8 The bill provides that electric utility customers may 9 become subscribers of shared solar net metering cooperatives 10 by which subscribers may own the solar energy produced at 11 a location other than the location where the customer has 12 an electricity meter. Customers shall receive a credit in 13 proportion to the customer’s subscription. The bill provides 14 that a utility shall be required to purchase in accordance with 15 billing methods established pursuant to Code section 476.49. 16 A subscriber’s portion of the electricity purchased by the 17 utility shall be credited to the subscriber’s account with 18 the utility. The bill provides that the Iowa utilities board 19 shall develop interconnection agreements for utilization by a 20 shared solar net metering cooperative interconnecting with the 21 utility. 22 The bill provides that a shared solar net metering 23 cooperative may consist of subscribers located within 30 24 miles of the cooperative, shall not consist of out-of-state 25 subscribers, and shall interconnect exclusively with one 26 electric utility. The bill provides that a subscriber may 27 include all of the subscriber’s electricity meters in the 28 cooperative. The bill provides that a shared solar net 29 metering cooperative shall be limited to 10 subscribers 30 per cooperative with some or all of the subscribers having 31 alternative energy production facilities that produce solar 32 energy. Each subscriber shall be a customer of the same 33 utility and shall have at least one electricity meter. The 34 bill provides that shared solar net metering cooperatives may 35 -4- LSB 5308YC (1) 89 es/rn 4/ 5

H.F. _____ be owned by investors. 1 The bill requires the Iowa utilities board to adopt rules 2 regarding implementation of the bill’s provisions. 3 -5- LSB 5308YC (1) 89 es/rn 5/ 5