AS PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE H.4462009 Page 1VT LEG 247613.1H.446An act relating to renewable energy and energy efficiencyIt is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:Sec. 1. DESIGNATION OF ACTThis act shall be referred to as the Vermont Energy Act of 2009.* * * SPEED Standard Offer * * *Sec. 2. 30 V.S.A.§8002 is amended to read:§8002. DEFINITIONSFor purposes of this chapter:* * *(10) “Board”means the public service board.(11) “Commissioned”or“commissioning”means the first time a plant is putinto operation following initial construction or modernization if the costs ofmodernization are at least 50 percent of the costs that would be required tobuild a new plant including all buildings and structures technically required forthe new plant’s operation. However, these terms shall not include activitiesnecessary to establish operational readiness of a plant.(12) “Plant”means any independent technical facility that generateselectricity from renewable energy. A group of newly constructed facilities,such as wind turbines, shall be considered one plant if the group is part of theAS PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE H.4462009 Page 2VT LEG 247613.1same project and uses common equipment and infrastructure such as roads,control facilities, and connections to the electric grid.(13) “Plant capacity”means the rated electrical nameplate for a plant.(14) “Plant owner”means a person who has the right to sell electricitygenerated by a plant.(15) “SPEED facilitator”means an entity appointed by the board pursuantto section 8005(b)(1) of this title.Sec. 3. 30 V.S.A.§8004 is amended to read:§8004. RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARDS FOR SALES OFELECTRIC ENERGY(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 8005 of this title, in order forVermont retail electricity providers to achieve the goals established in section8001 of this title, no retail electricity provider shall sell or otherwise provide oroffer to sell or provide electricity in the state of Vermont without ownership ofsufficient energy produced by renewable resources as described in this chapter,or sufficient tradeable renewable energy credits that reflect the requiredrenewable energy as provided for in subsection (b) of this section. In the caseof members of the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, the requirementsof subsection (b) of this section chapter may be met in the aggregate throughall requirements contracts pursuant to section 4002a of this title, or in theaggregate otherwise as approved by the board.AS PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE H.4462009 Page 3VT LEG 247613.1* * *Sec. 4. 30 V.S.A.§8005 is amended to read:§8005. SUSTAINABLY PRICED ENERGY ENTERPRISEDEVELOPMENT (SPEED) PROGRAM* * *(b) The SPEED program shall be established, by rule, order, or contract, bythe public service board by January 1, 2007. As part of the SPEED program,the public service board may, and in the case of subdivisions (1), (2), and(3)(5) of this subsection shall:(1) name Name one or more entities to become engaged in the purchaseand resale of electricity generated within the state by means of qualifyingSPEED resources or nonqualifying SPEED resources;, and shall implement thestandard offer required by subdivision (2) of this subsection through this entityor entities. An entity appointed under this subdivision shall be known as aSPEED facilitator.(2) allow the developer of a facility that is one megawatt or less, and is aqualifying SPEED resource or a nonqualifying SPEED resource, to sell thatpower under a long term contract that is established at a specified pricedetermined by the board to be adequate to promote SPEED resourcedevelopment while remaining consistent with the principles of least-costenergy services under section 218c of this title. For purposes of this section, aAS PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE H.4462009 Page 4VT LEG 247613.1long-term contract should be 15 years or greater unless the board finds goodcause for a shorter term;(3) encourage Vermont’s retail electricity providers to secure long-termcontracts, at stable prices, for qualifying SPEED resources. The board shallcreate a standard contract price, or a set of maximum and minimum provisions,or both, for qualifying SPEED resources over 1 MW of capacity. In setting astandard contract price for a qualifying SPEED resource, the board shallconsider the goal of developing qualified SPEED resources, least costprovision of energy service under section 218c of this title, and the impact onelectric rates. The board may create a competitive bid process through whichto select a portion of those contracts; No later than September 30, 2009, putinto effect, on behalf of all Vermont retail electricity providers, standard offersfor qualifying SPEED resources with a plant capacity of 2.2 MW or less.These standard offers shall be available until the cumulative plant capacity ofall such resources commissioned in the state that have accepted a standardoffer under this subdivision (b)(2) equals or exceeds 50 MW; provided,however, that a plant owned and operated by a Vermont retail electricityprovider shall count toward this 50-MW ceiling if the plant has a plant capacityof 2.2 MW or less and is commissioned on or after September 30, 2009. Theterm of a standard offer required by this subdivision (b)(2) shall be 10 to 20years, except that the term of a standard offer for a plant using solar powerAS PASSED BY HOUSE AND SENATE H.4462009 Page 5VT LEG 247613.1shall be 10 to 25 years. The price paid to a plant owner under a standard offerrequired by this subdivision shall include an amount for each kilowatt-hour(kWh) generated that shall be set as follows:(A) Until the board determines the price to be paid to a plant ownerin accordance with subdivision (2)(B) of this subsection, the price shall be:(i) For a plant using methane derived from a landfill or anagricultural operation, $0.12 per kWh.(ii) For a plant using wind power that has a plant capacity of 15kW or less, $0.20 per kWh.(iii) For a plant using solar power, $0.30 per kWh.(iv) For a plant using hydropower, wind power with a plantcapacity greater than 15 kW, or biomass power that is not subject tosubdivision (2)(A)(i) of this subsection, a price equal, at the time of the plant’scommissioning, to the average residential rate per kWh charged by all of thestate’s retail electricity providers weighted in accordance with each suchprovider’s share of the state’s electric load.(B) In accordance with the provisions of
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