Full Text of HB5855 95th General Assembly
HB5855 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 HB5855
Introduced , by Rep. Karen May SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Creates the Illinois Renewable Energy Sources Act. Contains provisions concerning the requirement that an electric utility connect an eligible
electric generator to the utility's distribution systems between 30
and 60 days after a request by the eligible electric generator. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission shall establish standards for the
interconnection of eligible electric generators with the
distribution systems of electric utilities. Provides that electric utilities shall enter into power purchase
agreements for a term of not less than 20 years to purchase all
electricity from eligible electric generators in the State at specified rates set by the Commission for the following methods of generation: (1) hydroelectric power; (2) landfill gas or sewage treatment gas; (3) biomass or biogas; (4) geothermal energy plants; (5) wind-powered plants; and (6) solar-powered plants. Provides that the Commission shall, after notice and hearing, annually
approve a renewable energy factor that shall be a nonbypassable
surcharge payable by every customer of an alternative electric
supplier, cooperative electric utility, electric utility, or
municipal utility. Provides that the Commission shall approve a standard contract to be
used in all power purchase agreements under the Act. Provides that the Commission shall review the specified rates every 2 years and adjust those rates as necessary to account for specified factors. Provides that in each of the first 2 years and every 4 years thereafter,
the Commission shall file a report with the Governor and
General Assembly that shall include specified requirements. Provides that eligible electric generators shall, upon request, provide
to the Commission any information that may be relevant to the
Commission performing its duties under the Act. Effective immediately.
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| FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
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A BILL FOR
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HB5855 |
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LRB095 17917 MJR 43998 b |
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| AN ACT concerning regulation.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Illinois Renewable Energy Sources Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to: | 7 |
| (1) Enable the rapid and sustainable development of | 8 |
| Illinois'
abundant renewable energy resources for the clean | 9 |
| generation of
electricity. | 10 |
| (2) Protect Illinois' atmosphere from air pollution. | 11 |
| (3) Protect Illinois' climate from global warming. | 12 |
| (4) Protect Illinois' natural resources. | 13 |
| (5) Allow all citizens to participate in renewable | 14 |
| electricity
generation. | 15 |
| (6) Reduce the volatility of future electricity prices. | 16 |
| (7) Reduce the long-term costs of electricity. | 17 |
| (8) Place Illinois at the forefront of North America's
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| renewable energy revolution. | 19 |
| (9) Stimulate the development of new jobs, technologies, | 20 |
| and
industry in Illinois. | 21 |
| (10) Create an Illinois marketplace for the development of
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| renewable energy. |
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LRB095 17917 MJR 43998 b |
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| Section 10. Definitions. For purposes of this Act: | 2 |
| "Average specific yield" means the average production in
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| kilowatt hours for the first 5 years of production of a | 4 |
| wind-powered plant, less the maximum and minimum years of | 5 |
| production,
divided by the rotor-swept area in square meters. | 6 |
| "Biofuel" means a fuel that is composed of a gas or liquid
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| that is made entirely from biomass. | 8 |
| "Biomass" means organic waste or dedicated crops grown for
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| energy production. | 10 |
| "Capacity" means the electrical capacity that an eligible
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| electric generator may produce during regular operations, not
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| including standby capacity. | 13 |
| "Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission. | 14 |
| "Electric utility" has the same meaning as that term is | 15 |
| defined in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act. | 16 |
| "Eligible electric generator" means a system for the
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| generation of electricity that is fueled by a renewable fuel in
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| this State. | 19 |
| "Reasonable profit" means a profit of not less than 10%
but | 20 |
| not more than 30%. | 21 |
| "Renewable fuel" means solar, hydroelectric, wind,
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| geothermal, landfill gas, sewage treatment gas, biofuel, or
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| biomass. | 24 |
| "Small wind turbine" means any wind turbine with a rotor
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| blade swept area of no more than 2,000 square feet. |
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HB5855 |
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LRB095 17917 MJR 43998 b |
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| Section 15. Renewable energy standards; Commission review. | 2 |
| (a) An electric utility shall connect an eligible
electric | 3 |
| generator to the utility's distribution systems between 30
and | 4 |
| 60 days after a request by the eligible electric generator. An
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| electric utility that refuses to connect an eligible electric
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| generator to the utility's distribution systems is subject to | 7 |
| fines
of not more than $100 per day that the electric utility | 8 |
| is in
violation of this Section. | 9 |
| (b) The Commission shall establish standards for the
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| interconnection of eligible electric generators with the
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| distribution systems of electric utilities. The standards | 12 |
| shall be
consistent with generally accepted industry practices | 13 |
| and
guidelines and shall be established to ensure the | 14 |
| reliability of
electric service and the safety of customers, | 15 |
| utility employees,
and the general public. The costs associated | 16 |
| with the
interconnection of eligible electric generators shall | 17 |
| be included
in the surcharge under subsection (d) of this | 18 |
| Section. | 19 |
| (c) Electric utilities shall enter into power purchase
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| agreements for a term of not less than 20 years to purchase all
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| electricity from eligible electric generators in this State at | 22 |
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following rates set by the Commission: | 23 |
| (1) For electricity generated by hydroelectric power, | 24 |
| the rate
needed for development plus a reasonable profit, | 25 |
| but no less than
the following: | 26 |
| (A) $0.10 per kilowatt hour for projects with a |
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HB5855 |
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LRB095 17917 MJR 43998 b |
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| capacity under
500 kilowatts. | 2 |
| (B) $0.085 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 3 |
| capacity of
500 kilowatts to 10 megawatts. | 4 |
| (C) $0.065 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 5 |
| capacity
greater than 10 megawatts to 20 megawatts. | 6 |
| (2) For electricity generated by landfill gas or sewage
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| treatment gas, the rate needed for development plus a | 8 |
| reasonable
profit, but no less than the following: | 9 |
| (A) $0.10 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 10 |
| capacity under
500 kilowatts. | 11 |
| (B) $0.085 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 12 |
| capacity
equal to or greater than 500 kilowatts. | 13 |
| (3) For electricity generated by biomass and biogas, | 14 |
| the rate
needed for development plus a reasonable profit, | 15 |
| but no less than
the following: | 16 |
| (A) $0.145 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 17 |
| capacity less
than 150 kilowatts. | 18 |
| (B) $0.125 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 19 |
| capacity of
150 kilowatts to 500 kilowatts. | 20 |
| (C) $0.115 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 21 |
| capacity
greater than 500 kilowatts to 5 megawatts. | 22 |
| (D) $0.105 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 23 |
| capacity
greater than 5 megawatts to 20 megawatts. | 24 |
| (4) For electricity generated by geothermal energy | 25 |
| plants, the
rate needed for development plus a reasonable | 26 |
| profit, but no less
than the following: |
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LRB095 17917 MJR 43998 b |
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| (A) $0.19 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 2 |
| capacity less
than 5 megawatts. | 3 |
| (B) $0.18 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 4 |
| capacity of 5
megawatts to 10 megawatts. | 5 |
| (C) $0.115 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 6 |
| capacity
greater than 10 megawatts to 20 megawatts. | 7 |
| (D) $0.09 per kilowatt hour for projects with a | 8 |
| capacity
greater than 20 megawatts. | 9 |
| (5) For electricity generated by wind-powered plants, | 10 |
| the rate
needed for development plus a reasonable profit, | 11 |
| but no less than
the following: | 12 |
| (A) For years 1 through 5, $0.105 per kilowatt | 13 |
| hour. | 14 |
| (B) For years 6 through 20, $0.105 per kilowatt | 15 |
| hour for
projects with an average specific yield less | 16 |
| than 700 kilowatt
hours per square meter per year. | 17 |
| (C) For years 6 through 20, $0.08 per kilowatt hour | 18 |
| for
projects with an average specific yield greater | 19 |
| than 1,100 kilowatt
hours per square meter per year. | 20 |
| (D) For years 6 through 20, for projects with an | 21 |
| average
specific yield greater than 700 kilowatt hours | 22 |
| per square meter per
year but less than 1,100 kilowatt | 23 |
| hours per square meter per year
shall be paid a rate | 24 |
| that is a linear extrapolation between the
rate at 700 | 25 |
| kilowatt hours per square meter per year to 1,100
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| kilowatt hours per square meter per year. |
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LRB095 17917 MJR 43998 b |
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| (E) For small wind turbines, $0.025 per kilowatt | 2 |
| hour. | 3 |
| (6) For electricity generated by solar-powered plants, | 4 |
| the
rate needed for development plus a reasonable profit, | 5 |
| but no less
than the following: | 6 |
| (A) $0.50 per kilowatt hour for free standing or | 7 |
| open field
projects. | 8 |
| (B) $0.65 per kilowatt hour for rooftop projects | 9 |
| with a
capacity less than 30 kilowatts. | 10 |
| (C) $0.62 per kilowatt hour for rooftop projects | 11 |
| with a
capacity of 30 kilowatts to 100 kilowatts. | 12 |
| (D) $0.61 per kilowatt hour for rooftop projects | 13 |
| with a
capacity greater than 100 kilowatts. | 14 |
| (E) $0.71 per kilowatt hour for facade cladding | 15 |
| projects with
a capacity under 30 kilowatts. | 16 |
| (F) $0.68 per kilowatt hour for facade cladding | 17 |
| projects with
a capacity of 30 kilowatts to 100 | 18 |
| kilowatts. | 19 |
| (G) $0.67 per kilowatt hour for facade cladding | 20 |
| projects with
a capacity greater than 100 kilowatts. | 21 |
| (d) The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, | 22 |
| annually
approve a renewable energy factor that shall be a | 23 |
| nonbypassable
surcharge payable by every customer of an | 24 |
| alternative electric
supplier, cooperative electric utility, | 25 |
| electric utility, or
municipal utility. The surcharge shall be | 26 |
| payable by all customer
classes. The Commission shall set the |
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HB5855 |
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LRB095 17917 MJR 43998 b |
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| surcharge at a level
sufficient to pay the costs of electricity | 2 |
| purchased under
subsection (c) of this Section and any | 3 |
| interconnection costs under subsection (b) of this Section. | 4 |
| (e) The Commission shall approve a standard contract to be
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| used in all power purchase agreements under this Act. The | 6 |
| contract
must include the prices paid for each kilowatt hour | 7 |
| generated, the
duration of the contract, and any adjustments of | 8 |
| those prices for
inflation. The Commission shall provide | 9 |
| utilities with standard
contracts within 3 months of the | 10 |
| effective date of this Act. | 11 |
| (f) The Commission shall review the rates in subsection (c)
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| of this Section every 2 years and adjust those rates as | 13 |
| necessary to account for
inflation, assist in the profitable | 14 |
| development of eligible
electric generators, prevent excessive | 15 |
| profits for eligible
electric generators, and prevent | 16 |
| unnecessary costs to ratepayers.
The Commission shall reduce | 17 |
| the rates in subsection (c) of this Section to reflect
any | 18 |
| federal or state subsidies, tax credits, or other incentives
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| that an eligible electric generator is receiving. | 20 |
| (g) In each of the first 2 years and every 4 years | 21 |
| thereafter,
the Commission shall file a report with the | 22 |
| Governor and
General Assembly that shall include all of the | 23 |
| following: | 24 |
| (1) The number of new eligible electric generators in | 25 |
| this
State and the environmental effects of the addition of | 26 |
| those
generators. |
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HB5855 |
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LRB095 17917 MJR 43998 b |
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| (2) Recommendations for legislation and changes to the | 2 |
| rates
in subsection (c) of this Section, if any. | 3 |
| (3) Actions taken by the Commission to implement this | 4 |
| Act. | 5 |
| (h) Eligible electric generators shall, upon request, | 6 |
| provide
to the Commission any information that may be relevant | 7 |
| to the
Commission performing its duties under this Act.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 9 |
| becoming law.
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