HOUSE BILL No. 5980

 

December 2, 2014, Introduced by Rep. Nesbitt and referred to the Committee on Energy and Technology.

 

     A bill to amend 2008 PA 295, entitled

 

"Clean, renewable, and efficient energy act,"

 

by amending sections 5 and 11 (MCL 460.1005 and 460.1011).

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 5. As used in this act:

 

     (a) "Electric provider", subject to sections 21(1), 23(1), and

 

25(1), means any of the following:

 

     (i) Any person or entity that is regulated by the commission

 

for the purpose of selling electricity to retail customers in this

 

state.

 

     (ii) A municipally-owned electric utility in this state.

 

     (iii) A cooperative electric utility in this state.

 

     (iv) Except as used in subpart B of part 2, an alternative

 

electric supplier licensed under section 10a of 1939 PA 3, MCL

 


460.10a.

 

     (b) "Eligible electric generator" means that a methane

 

digester or renewable energy system with a generation capacity

 

limited to the customer's electric need and that does not exceed

 

the following:

 

     (i) For a renewable energy system, 150 kilowatts of aggregate

 

generation at a single site.

 

     (ii) For a methane digester, 550 kilowatts of aggregate

 

generation at a single site.

 

     (c) "Energy conservation" means the reduction of customer

 

energy use through the installation of measures or changes in

 

energy usage behavior. Energy conservation does not include the use

 

of advanced cleaner energy systems.

 

     (d) "Energy efficiency" means a any of the following:

 

     (i) A decrease in customer consumption of electricity or

 

natural gas achieved through measures or programs that target

 

customer behavior, equipment, devices, or materials without

 

reducing the quality of energy services.

 

     (ii) A decrease in the total amount of electricity or

 

nonnatural gas consumed for an end use or end uses achieved through

 

measures such as geothermal, including ground source, reclaimed

 

water, or groundwater.

 

     (e) "Energy optimization", subject to subdivision (f), means

 

all of the following:

 

     (i) Energy efficiency.

 

     (ii) Load management, to the extent that the load management

 

reduces overall energy usage.

 


     (iii) Energy conservation, but only to the extent that the

 

decreases in the consumption of electricity produced by energy

 

conservation are objectively measurable and attributable to an

 

energy optimization plan.

 

     (f) Energy optimization does not include electric provider

 

infrastructure projects that are approved for cost recovery by the

 

commission other than as provided in this act.

 

     (g) "Energy optimization credit" means a credit certified

 

pursuant to section 87 that represents achieved energy

 

optimization.

 

     (h) "Energy optimization plan" or "EO plan" means a plan

 

approved under section 71.73.

 

     (i) "Energy optimization standard" means the minimum energy

 

savings required to be achieved under section 77.

 

     (j) "Energy star" means the voluntary partnership among the

 

United States department of energy, the United States environmental

 

protection agency, product manufacturers, local utilities, and

 

retailers to help promote energy efficient products by labeling

 

with the energy star logo, to educate consumers about the benefits

 

of energy efficiency, and to help promote energy efficiency in

 

buildings by benchmarking and rating energy performance.

 

     (k) "Federal approval" means approval by the applicable

 

regional transmission organization or other federal energy

 

regulatory commission approved transmission planning process of a

 

transmission project that includes the transmission line. Federal

 

approval may be evidenced in any of the following manners:

 

     (i) The proposed transmission line is part of a transmission

 


project included in the applicable regional transmission

 

organization's board-approved transmission expansion plan.

 

     (ii) The applicable regional transmission organization has

 

informed the electric utility, affiliated transmission company, or

 

independent transmission company that a transmission project

 

submitted for an out-of-cycle project review has been approved by

 

the applicable regional transmission organization, and the approved

 

transmission project includes the proposed transmission line.

 

     (iii) If, after the effective date of this act, October 6, 2008,

 

the applicable regional transmission organization utilizes another

 

approval process for transmission projects proposed by an electric

 

utility, affiliated transmission company, or independent

 

transmission company, the proposed transmission line is included in

 

a transmission project approved by the applicable regional

 

transmission organization through the approval process developed

 

after the effective date of this act.October 6, 2008.

 

     (iv) Any other federal energy regulatory commission approved

 

transmission planning process for a transmission project.

 

     Sec. 11. As used in this act:

 

     (a) "Renewable energy" means electricity generated using a

 

renewable energy system.

 

     (b) "Renewable energy capacity portfolio" means the number of

 

megawatts calculated under section 27(2) for a particular year.

 

     (c) "Renewable energy contract" means a contract to acquire

 

renewable energy and the associated renewable energy credits from 1

 

or more renewable energy systems.

 

     (d) "Renewable energy credit" means a credit granted pursuant

 


to section 41 that represents generated renewable energy.

 

     (e) "Renewable energy credit portfolio" means the sum of the

 

renewable energy credits achieved by a provider for a particular

 

year.

 

     (f) "Renewable energy credit standard" means a minimum

 

renewable energy portfolio required under section 27.27(3).

 

     (g) "Renewable energy generator" means a person that, together

 

with its affiliates, has constructed or has owned and operated 1 or

 

more renewable energy systems with combined gross generating

 

capacity of at least 10 megawatts.

 

     (h) "Renewable energy plan" or "plan", means a plan approved

 

under section 21 or 23 or found to comply with this act under

 

section 25, with any amendments adopted under this act.

 

     (i) "Renewable energy resource" means a resource that

 

naturally replenishes over a human, not a geological, time frame

 

and that is ultimately derived from solar power, water power, or

 

wind power. Renewable energy resource does not include petroleum,

 

nuclear, natural gas, or coal. A renewable energy resource comes

 

from the sun or from thermal inertia of the earth and minimizes the

 

output of toxic material in the conversion of the energy and

 

includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:

 

     (i) Biomass.

 

     (ii) Solar and solar thermal energy.

 

     (iii) Wind energy.

 

     (iv) Kinetic energy of moving water, including all of the

 

following:

 

     (A) Waves, tides, or currents.

 


     (B) Water released through a dam.

 

     (v) Geothermal energy.

 

     (vi) Thermal energy produced by a geothermal heat pump.

 

     (vii) (vi) Municipal solid waste.

 

     (viii) (vii) Landfill gas produced by municipal solid waste.

 

     (j) "Renewable energy standard" means the minimum renewable

 

energy capacity portfolio, if applicable, and the renewable energy

 

credit portfolio required to be achieved under section 27.

 

     (k) "Renewable energy system" means a facility, electricity

 

generation system, or set of electricity generation systems that

 

use 1 or more renewable energy resources to generate electricity.

 

Renewable energy system does not include any of the following:

 

     (i) A hydroelectric pumped storage facility.

 

     (ii) A hydroelectric facility that uses a dam constructed after

 

the effective date of this act October 6, 2008 unless the dam is a

 

repair or replacement of a dam in existence on the effective date

 

of this act October 6, 2008 or an upgrade of a dam in existence on

 

the effective date of this act October 6, 2008 that increases its

 

energy efficiency.

 

     (iii) An incinerator unless the incinerator is a municipal solid

 

waste incinerator as defined in section 11504 of the natural

 

resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL

 

324.11504, that was brought into service before the effective date

 

of this act, October 6, 2008, including any of the following:

 

     (A) Any upgrade of such an incinerator that increases energy

 

efficiency.

 

     (B) Any expansion of such an incinerator before the effective

 


date of this act.October 6, 2008.

 

     (C) Any expansion of such an incinerator on or after the

 

effective date of this act October 6, 2008 to an approximate design

 

rated capacity of not more than 950 tons per day pursuant to the

 

terms of a final request for proposals issued on or before October

 

1, 1986.

 

     (l) "Revenue recovery mechanism" means the mechanism for

 

recovery of incremental costs of compliance established under

 

section 21.