1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to energy; providing for capital assistance 
  1.3             program using proceeds from renewable development 
  1.4             account and making administrative changes to that 
  1.5             account; amending Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, 
  1.6             section 116C.779.  
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  1.9   116C.779, is amended to read: 
  1.10     116C.779 [FUNDING FOR RENEWABLE DEVELOPMENT.] 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [RENEWABLE DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT.] (a) The 
  1.12  public utility that owns the Prairie Island nuclear generating 
  1.13  plant must transfer to a renewable development account 
  1.14  $16,000,000 annually each year the plant is in operation, and 
  1.15  $7,500,000 each year the plant is not in operation if ordered by 
  1.16  the commission pursuant to paragraph (c).  The fund transfer 
  1.17  must be made if nuclear waste is stored in a dry cask at the 
  1.18  independent spent-fuel storage facility at Prairie Island for 
  1.19  any part of a year.  Funds in the account may be expended only 
  1.20  for development of renewable energy sources.  Preference must be 
  1.21  given to development of renewable energy source projects located 
  1.22  within the state but need not be located within the utility's 
  1.23  service territory or be intended to benefit the utility's 
  1.24  customers directly. 
  1.25     (b) Except as provided in subdivision 3, expenditures from 
  1.26  the account may only be made after approval by order of the 
  2.1   Public Utilities Commission upon a petition by the public 
  2.2   utility.  The public utility shall petition the commission to 
  2.3   make expenditures from the account at least once each calendar 
  2.4   year.  The petition may only include expenditures proposed by 
  2.5   the Renewable Energy Development Board established under 
  2.6   subdivision 4, but the commission may approve, deny, or modify 
  2.7   the list of proposed expenditures in the petition. 
  2.8      (c) After discontinuation of operation of the Prairie 
  2.9   Island nuclear plant and each year spent nuclear fuel is stored 
  2.10  in dry cask at the Prairie Island facility, the commission shall 
  2.11  require the public utility to pay $7,500,000 for any year in 
  2.12  which the commission finds, by the preponderance of the 
  2.13  evidence, that the public utility did not make a good faith 
  2.14  effort to remove the spent nuclear fuel stored at Prairie Island 
  2.15  to a permanent or interim storage site out of the state.  This 
  2.16  determination ~~shall~~ must be made at least every two years. 
  2.17     Subd. 2.  [RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION INCENTIVE.] (a) 
  2.18  Until January 1, 2018, up to $6,000,000 annually must be 
  2.19  allocated from available funds in the account to fund renewable 
  2.20  energy production incentives.  $4,500,000 of this annual amount 
  2.21  is for incentives for up to 100 megawatts of electricity 
  2.22  generated by wind energy conversion systems that are eligible 
  2.23  for the incentives under section 216C.41.  The balance of this 
  2.24  amount, up to $1,500,000 annually, may be used for production 
  2.25  incentives for on-farm biogas recovery facilities that are 
  2.26  eligible for the incentive under section 216C.41 or for 
  2.27  production incentives for other renewables, to be provided in 
  2.28  the same manner as under section 216C.41.  Any portion of the 
  2.29  $6,000,000 not expended in any calendar year for the incentive 
  2.30  is available for other spending purposes under ~~this~~ 
  2.31  ~~section~~ subdivision 3.  This subdivision does not create an 
  2.32  obligation to contribute funds to the account.  
  2.33     (b) The Department of Commerce shall determine eligibility 
  2.34  of projects under section 216C.41 for the purposes of this 
  2.35  subdivision.  At least quarterly, the Department of Commerce 
  2.36  shall notify the public utility of the name and address of each 
  3.1   eligible project owner and the amount due to each project under 
  3.2   section 216C.41.  The public utility shall make payments within 
  3.3   15 working days after receipt of notification of payments due. 
  3.4      Subd. 3.  [RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT CAPITAL ASSISTANCE 
  3.5   PROGRAM.] Amounts in the renewable development account that are 
  3.6   unencumbered at the end of a calendar year must be transferred 
  3.7   to a renewable energy development capital assistance program 
  3.8   under this subdivision.  The commissioner of commerce shall 
  3.9   develop standards and criteria for grant awards under this 
  3.10  subdivision, issue requests for proposals, and announce award 
  3.11  winners by August 1 of each year.  The public utility subject to 
  3.12  this section shall make the grants awarded by the commissioner 
  3.13  of commerce by September 1 of each year. 
  3.14     Subd. 4.  [RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT BOARD.] The public 
  3.15  utility subject to this section shall establish a Renewable 
  3.16  Energy Development Board consisting of seven members, as follows:
  3.17  one representative from the public utility, one representative 
  3.18  from the renewable energy development community, one 
  3.19  representative of local government, one representative of the 
  3.20  Mdewakanton Dakota community, one representative of the 
  3.21  customers served by the public utility, and the chairs of the 
  3.22  house of representatives and senate committees with primary 
  3.23  jurisdiction over energy policy.  The board shall establish 
  3.24  broad policies for the renewable development account, and shall 
  3.25  select an administrator to oversee the day-to-day operations of 
  3.26  the account.  Administrative costs approved by the board may be 
  3.27  paid for from the account, subject to oversight by the 
  3.28  commission.