House
Study
Bill
81
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
_____
BY
(PROPOSED
COMMITTEE
ON
COMMERCE
BILL
BY
CHAIRPERSON
LUNDGREN)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
solar
energy
by
establishing
a
community
1
solar
facility
program.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
TLSB
1491YC
(4)
91
sb/js
H.F.
_____
Section
1.
Section
476.1,
Code
2025,
is
amended
by
adding
1
the
following
new
subsection:
2
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
5.
A
community
solar
facility
established
3
pursuant
to
section
476.50
shall
not
be
regarded
as
a
public
4
utility
for
purposes
of
this
chapter.
5
Sec.
2.
Section
476.25,
Code
2025,
is
amended
by
adding
the
6
following
new
subsection:
7
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
4.
The
furnishing
of
electricity
pursuant
8
to
a
community
solar
facility
under
section
476.50
shall
not
9
be
considered
an
unnecessary
duplication
of
electric
utility
10
facilities
and
shall
not
constitute
a
violation
of
this
11
section.
12
Sec.
3.
NEW
SECTION
.
476.50
Community
solar
facility
13
program
——
established.
14
1.
As
used
in
this
section,
unless
the
context
otherwise
15
requires:
16
a.
“Bill
credit”
means
the
monetary
value
of
the
electricity
17
in
kilowatt-hours
generated
by
the
community
solar
facility
18
allocated
to
a
subscriber
to
offset
that
subscriber’s
19
electricity
bill.
20
b.
(1)
Except
as
provided
in
subparagraph
(2),
a
“community
21
solar
facility”
means
a
distributed
generation
facility
that
22
generates
electricity
by
means
of
a
solar
photovoltaic
device
23
whereby
subscribers
receive
a
bill
credit
for
the
electricity
24
generated
in
proportion
to
the
size
of
the
customer’s
25
subscription
and
all
of
the
following
conditions
apply:
26
(a)
The
facility
is
located
on
one
or
more
parcels
of
land
27
and
no
other
community
solar
facility
under
the
control
of
the
28
same
entity,
an
affiliate’s
entity,
or
an
entity
under
common
29
control
is
located
on
that
land.
30
(b)
At
the
time
the
facility
initially
meets
the
31
requirements
set
forth
in
the
tariff
to
participate
in
the
32
program,
the
facility
is
not
located
within
one
mile,
measured
33
from
the
point
of
interconnection,
of
a
community
solar
34
facility
under
the
control
of
the
same
entity.
35
-1-
LSB
1491YC
(4)
91
sb/js
1/
6
H.F.
_____
(c)
The
facility
has
at
least
three
subscribers.
1
(d)
The
facility
generates
not
more
than
five
megawatts
of
2
electricity
as
measured
in
alternating
current.
3
(e)
No
subscriber
holds
more
than
a
forty
percent
interest
4
in
the
output
of
the
facility.
5
(f)
Not
less
than
sixty
percent
of
the
capacity
of
the
6
facility
is
subscribed
to
by
subscriptions
of
not
more
than
7
forty
kilowatts.
8
(2)
A
distributed
generation
facility
qualifies
as
a
9
community
solar
facility
if
the
distributed
generation
facility
10
generates
not
more
than
one
megawatt
of
electricity
as
measured
11
in
alternating
current
and
meets
the
conditions
described
in
12
subparagraph
(1),
subparagraph
divisions
(a),
(b),
and
(d),
13
even
if
the
distributed
generation
facility
does
not
meet
any
14
of
the
conditions
described
in
subparagraph
(1),
subparagraph
15
divisions
(c),
(e),
and
(f).
16
c.
“Electric
utility”
means
a
public
utility
that
furnishes
17
electricity
to
the
public
for
compensation
that
is
required
to
18
be
rate-regulated
under
this
chapter.
19
d.
“Subscriber”
means
a
customer
of
an
electric
utility
20
subject
to
this
section
who
owns
one
or
more
subscriptions
to
a
21
community
solar
facility
interconnected
with
that
utility.
22
e.
“Subscriber
organization”
means
a
for-profit
or
nonprofit
23
entity
that
owns
or
operates
one
or
more
community
solar
24
facilities.
25
f.
“Subscription”
means
a
proportional
contractual
interest
26
in
a
community
solar
facility
under
which
the
estimated
bill
27
credits
of
the
subscriber
do
not
exceed
the
average
annual
28
bill
for
the
customer
account
to
which
the
subscription
is
29
attributed.
30
2.
a.
A
community
solar
facility
program
is
established
31
to
encourage
and
enhance
the
generation
of
solar
energy
and
to
32
encourage
and
enhance
the
ability
of
electric
utility
customers
33
to
participate
in
and
derive
benefit
from
alternate
solar
34
energy
projects.
35
-2-
LSB
1491YC
(4)
91
sb/js
2/
6
H.F.
_____
b.
An
electric
utility
shall
provide
a
bill
credit
to
a
1
subscriber’s
subsequent
monthly
electric
bill.
Any
amount
of
2
the
bill
credit
that
exceeds
the
subscriber’s
monthly
bill
3
shall
be
carried
over
in
the
subscriber’s
account
and
applied
4
to
the
next
month’s
bill
in
perpetuity.
5
c.
An
electric
utility
shall
be
required
to
bill
subscribers
6
to
a
community
solar
facility
in
accordance
with
section
7
476.49,
to
the
extent
that
section
does
not
conflict
with
this
8
section.
9
d.
An
electric
utility
shall
review
its
interconnection
10
processes
to
ensure
they
are
adequate
to
facilitate
the
11
efficient
and
cost-effective
interconnection
of
community
solar
12
facilities
and
allow
an
investor-owned
electric
utility
to
13
recover
reasonable
interconnection
costs
for
each
community
14
solar
facility.
15
e.
A
subscriber
may
subscribe
all
of
their
electricity
16
meters
to
a
community
solar
facility.
17
f.
Community
solar
facilities
may
be
owned
by
investors.
18
g.
An
electric
utility
shall
provide
a
bill
credit
to
19
a
subscriber’s
subsequent
monthly
electric
bill
for
the
20
proportional
output
of
a
community
solar
facility
attributable
21
to
that
subscriber
for
not
less
than
twenty-five
years
from
the
22
date
the
solar
facility
is
first
placed
into
operation.
23
h.
A
subscriber
organization
shall
periodically
and
in
24
a
standardized
electronic
format
provide
to
the
electric
25
utility
whose
service
territory
includes
the
location
of
the
26
subscriber
organization’s
community
solar
facility
a
subscriber
27
list
indicating
the
percentage
of
generation
attributable
28
to
each
of
the
electric
utility’s
retail
customers
who
are
29
subscribers
to
a
community
solar
facility
in
accordance
with
30
the
subscriber’s
portion
of
the
output
of
the
community
solar
31
facility.
The
electric
utility
shall
create
a
platform
for
the
32
subscriber
organization
to
periodically
communicate
updates
to
33
the
subscriber
list
to
reflect
canceling
subscribers
and
new
34
subscribers.
35
-3-
LSB
1491YC
(4)
91
sb/js
3/
6
H.F.
_____
i.
An
electric
utility
shall
provide
a
subscriber
1
organization
a
report
each
month
in
a
standardized
electronic
2
format
detailing
the
total
value
of
bill
credits
generated
3
by
the
subscriber
organization’s
community
solar
facility
in
4
the
prior
month
and
the
amount
of
bill
credits
applied
to
each
5
subscriber.
6
j.
A
subscriber
organization
may
accumulate
bill
credits
7
if
all
of
the
electricity
generated
by
a
community
solar
8
facility
is
not
allocated
to
subscribers
in
a
given
month.
On
9
an
annual
basis,
the
subscriber
organization
shall
furnish
10
to
the
electric
utility
whose
service
territory
includes
the
11
location
of
the
subscriber
organization’s
community
solar
12
facility
instructions
for
distributing
accumulated
bill
13
credits
to
subscribers.
The
electric
utility
shall
apply
14
accumulated
credits
to
a
subscriber’s
electric
utility
account
15
in
accordance
with
section
476.49.
16
k.
Any
renewable
energy
credits
created
from
the
production
17
of
electricity
in
a
community
solar
facility
are
the
property
18
of
the
subscriber
organization
that
owns
or
operates
the
19
community
solar
facility.
The
subscriber
organization
may
20
sell,
accumulate,
retire,
or
distribute
to
subscribers
the
21
renewable
energy
credits
of
the
subscriber
organization.
22
3.
The
commission
shall
adopt
rules
to
implement
the
23
provisions
of
this
section
that
accomplish
all
of
the
24
following:
25
a.
Reasonably
allow
for
the
creation
and
financing
of
26
community
solar
facilities.
27
b.
Allow
all
customer
classes
to
participate
as
subscribers
28
to
a
community
solar
facility,
and
ensure
participation
29
opportunities
for
all
customer
classes.
30
c.
Prohibit
removing
a
customer
from
the
customer’s
31
applicable
customer
class
due
to
the
customer
subscribing
to
a
32
community
solar
facility.
33
d.
Reasonably
allow
for
the
transferability
and
portability
34
of
subscriptions,
including
allowing
a
subscriber
to
retain
a
35
-4-
LSB
1491YC
(4)
91
sb/js
4/
6
H.F.
_____
subscription
to
a
community
solar
facility
if
the
subscriber
1
moves
within
the
same
investor-owned
electric
utility’s
service
2
territory.
3
e.
Modify
existing
interconnection
standards,
fees,
4
and
processes
as
needed
to
facilitate
the
efficient
and
5
cost-effective
interconnection
of
community
solar
facilities
6
and
that
allow
an
electric
utility
to
recover
reasonable
7
interconnection
costs
for
each
community
solar
facility.
8
f.
Provide
for
consumer
protection
in
accordance
with
9
existing
laws.
10
g.
Allow
an
electric
utility
to
recover
costs
of
applying
11
bill
credits
under
this
section.
12
h.
Require
electric
utilities
to
efficiently
connect
13
community
solar
facilities
to
the
electrical
distribution
grid
14
and
not
discriminate
against
community
solar
facilities.
15
i.
Require
a
subscriber
organization
to
satisfy
16
interconnection
process
benchmarks,
demonstrate
site
control,
17
and
obtain
all
applicable
nonministerial
permits
for
a
18
community
solar
facility
before
the
subscriber
organization
19
owns
or
operates
the
facility.
20
Sec.
4.
IMPLEMENTATION
OF
TARIFFS.
By
January
1,
2026,
an
21
electric
utility,
as
defined
in
section
476.50,
as
enacted
by
22
this
Act,
shall
file
new
or
updated
tariffs,
if
applicable,
to
23
implement
any
necessary
changes
resulting
from
this
Act.
24
EXPLANATION
25
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
26
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
27
This
bill
establishes
a
community
solar
facility
program.
28
The
bill
specifies
that
an
“electric
utility”
for
29
purposes
of
the
bill
is
a
public
utility
that
provides
30
electricity
to
the
public
for
compensation
and
is
required
31
to
be
rate-regulated
under
Code
chapter
476.
The
bill
32
defines
“community
solar
facility”
to
mean
a
distributed
33
generation
facility
that
generates
electricity
through
solar
34
panels
whereby
subscribers
may
receive
bill
credits
for
35
-5-
LSB
1491YC
(4)
91
sb/js
5/
6
H.F.
_____
the
electricity
generated
in
proportion
to
the
size
of
the
1
customer’s
subscription.
The
bill
defines
“subscriber”
to
mean
2
a
customer
of
an
electric
utility
who
owns
at
least
one
share
3
of
a
subscription
to
a
community
solar
facility.
A
“subscriber
4
organization”
is
a
for-profit
or
nonprofit
entity
that
owns
5
or
operates
one
or
more
community
solar
facilities.
The
bill
6
defines
“subscription”
to
mean
a
proportional
contractual
7
interest
in
a
community
solar
facility.
8
The
bill
establishes
a
community
solar
facility
program
to
9
encourage
and
enhance
solar
energy
generation
and
the
ability
10
of
electric
public
utility
customers
to
participate
in
and
11
derive
benefit
from
alternate
solar
energy
projects.
12
The
bill
requires
an
electric
utility
to
bill
subscribers
in
13
accordance
with
billing
methods
established
pursuant
to
Code
14
section
476.49.
15
The
bill
requires
an
electric
utility
to
review
its
16
interconnection
processes
with
community
solar
facilities
to
17
ensure
adequacy,
efficiency,
and
cost-effectiveness
and
to
18
allow
an
investor-owned
electric
utility
to
recover
reasonable
19
interconnection
costs.
The
bill
allows
a
subscriber
to
include
20
all
of
the
subscriber’s
electricity
meters
in
the
community
21
solar
facility.
The
bill
provides
that
a
community
solar
22
facility
may
be
owned
by
investors.
The
bill
provides
specific
23
procedures
and
requirements
for
the
administration
of
bill
24
credits
and
subscriber
information.
25
The
bill
requires
the
Iowa
utilities
commission
to
adopt
26
rules
regarding
implementation
of
the
bill’s
provisions.
27
The
bill
requires
an
electric
utility
to
file
new
or
updated
28
tariffs,
if
applicable,
by
January
1,
2026,
to
implement
any
29
necessary
changes
resulting
from
the
bill.
30
-6-
LSB
1491YC
(4)
91
sb/js
6/
6