This bill allows a utility or cooperative to use electricity derived from nuclear
power to comply with a renewable portfolio standard. The bill achieves that result
by allowing a utility or cooperative to create credits based on the amount of electricity
derived from nuclear power that the utility or cooperative sells to its customers or
members in a year, in addition to the amount of electricity derived from renewable
resources. However, only electricity generated at a nuclear facility in this state may
be used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard. In addition, the electricity
may not be used if it is subject to a power purchase agreement that was entered into
before the bill's effective date.
The bill also eliminates a restriction on the use of credits to comply with
renewable portfolio standards. Under current law, a credit may not be used after the
fourth year in which the credit is created, unless the Public Service Commission
promulgates rules specifying a different time period. This bill eliminates that
restriction.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB34,1
3Section
1. 196.378 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,2,4
4196.378 (title)
Renewable resources and advanced energy.
AB34,2
5Section
2. 196.378 (1) (ab) of the statutes is created to read:
AB34,3,4
1196.378
(1) (ab) "Advanced energy" means electricity generated by an
2advanced facility, but does not include electricity that is subject to a power purchase
3agreement entered into before the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts
4date].
AB34,3
5Section
3. 196.378 (1) (ac) of the statutes is created to read:
AB34,3,76
196.378
(1) (ac) "Advanced energy supplier" means a person from whom an
7electric provider purchases advanced energy at wholesale.
AB34,4
8Section
4. 196.378 (1) (ad) of the statutes is created to read:
AB34,3,109
196.378
(1) (ad) "Advanced facility" means an installed and operational facility
10located in this state that generates electricity from nuclear power.
AB34,5
11Section
5. 196.378 (1) (ag) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,3,1412
196.378
(1) (ag) "Baseline renewable percentage" means the average of an
13energy provider's renewable energy percentage
, as defined in s. 196.378 (1) (fm),
142011 stats., for 2001, 2002, and 2003.
AB34,6
15Section
6. 196.378 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,3,1716
196.378
(1) (b) "Conventional resource" means a resource that derives energy
17from coal, oil,
nuclear power or natural gas, except for natural gas used in a fuel cell.
AB34,7
18Section
7. 196.378 (1) (fm) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,3,2319
196.378
(1) (fm) (intro.) "Renewable
and advanced energy percentage" means,
20with respect to an electric provider for a particular year, the percentage that results
21from dividing the sum of the megawatt hours represented by the following by the
22total amount of electricity that the electric provider sold to retail customers or
23members in that year:
AB34,8
24Section
8. 196.378 (1) (fm) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,4,2
1196.378
(1) (fm) 1. The
renewable resource credits created from the electric
2provider's total renewable
and advanced energy in that year.
AB34,9
3Section
9. 196.378 (1) (fm) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,4,64
196.378
(1) (fm) 2. Any
renewable resource credits in addition to the
renewable 5resource credits specified in subd. 1. that the electric provider elects to use in that
6year.
AB34,10
7Section
10. 196.378 (1) (i) of the statutes is renumbered 196.378 (1) (jm) and
8amended to read:
AB34,4,109
196.378
(1) (jm)
"Renewable resource "Resource credit" means a credit
10calculated in accordance with rules promulgated under sub. (3) (a) 1., 1m., and 2.
AB34,11
11Section
11. 196.378 (1) (o) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,4,1712
196.378
(1) (o) (intro.) "Total renewable
and advanced energy" means the total
13amount of renewable
and advanced energy that the electric provider sold to its
14customers or members in a year. "Total renewable
and advanced energy" does not
15include any energy that is used to comply with the renewable
or advanced energy
16requirements of another state. "Total renewable
and advanced energy" includes all
17of the following:
AB34,12
18Section
12. 196.378 (1) (o) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,4,2219
196.378
(1) (o) 1. Renewable
or advanced energy supplied by a renewable
or
20advanced facility owned or operated by an affiliated interest or wholesale supplier
21of an electric provider and allocated to the electric provider under an agreement
22between the electric provider and the affiliated interest or wholesale supplier.
AB34,13
23Section
13. 196.378 (1) (o) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,5,424
196.378
(1) (o) 2. Renewable
or advanced energy purchased by an affiliated
25interest or wholesale supplier of an electric provider from a renewable
or advanced
1facility that is not owned or operated by the affiliated interest or wholesale supplier,
2which renewable
or advanced energy is allocated to the electric provider under an
3agreement between the electric provider and the affiliated interest or wholesale
4supplier.
AB34,14
5Section
14. 196.378 (2) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,5,66
196.378
(2) (title)
Renewable resource and advanced energy.
AB34,15
7Section
15. 196.378 (2) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,5,158
196.378
(2) (a) 1. No later than June 1, 2016, the commission shall prepare a
9report stating whether, by December 31, 2015, the state has met a goal of 10 percent
10of all electric energy consumed in the state being renewable
and advanced energy.
11If the goal has not been achieved, the report shall indicate why the goal was not
12achieved and how it may be achieved, and the commission shall prepare similar
13reports biennially thereafter until the goal is achieved. The commission shall submit
14reports under this subdivision to the governor and chief clerk of each house of the
15legislature for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2).
AB34,16
16Section
16. 196.378 (2) (a) 2. a. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,5,1917
196.378
(2) (a) 2. a. For the years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, each electric
18provider may not decrease its renewable
and advanced energy percentage below the
19electric provider's baseline renewable percentage.
AB34,17
20Section
17. 196.378 (2) (a) 2. b. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,5,2321
196.378
(2) (a) 2. b. For the year 2010, each electric provider shall increase its
22renewable
and advanced energy percentage so that it is at least 2 percentage points
23above the electric provider's baseline renewable percentage.
AB34,18
24Section
18. 196.378 (2) (a) 2. c. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,6,4
1196.378
(2) (a) 2. c. For the years 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, each electric
2provider may not decrease its renewable
and advanced energy percentage below the
3electric provider's renewable
and advanced energy percentage required under subd.
42. b.
AB34,19
5Section
19. 196.378 (2) (a) 2. d. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,6,86
196.378
(2) (a) 2. d. For the year 2015, each electric provider shall increase its
7renewable
and advanced energy percentage so that it is at least 6 percentage points
8above the electric provider's baseline renewable percentage.
AB34,20
9Section
20. 196.378 (2) (a) 2. e. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,6,1210
196.378
(2) (a) 2. e. For each year after 2015, each electric provider may not
11decrease its renewable
and advanced energy percentage below the electric provider's
12renewable
and advanced energy percentage required under subd. 2. d.
AB34,21
13Section
21. 196.378 (2) (b) 5. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,6,1914
196.378
(2) (b) 5. An electric provider that purchases renewable
or advanced 15energy from a renewable
or advanced energy supplier may use an allocated share of
16the renewable
or advanced energy sold by the renewable
or advanced energy supplier
17to comply with a requirement under par. (a) 2. or to create a credit under sub. (3) (a),
18provided that the cost of the renewable
or advanced energy is included in the price
19the electric provider paid the renewable
or advanced energy supplier.
AB34,22
20Section
22. 196.378 (2) (bm) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,6,2321
196.378
(2) (bm) Each electric provider shall annually retire
renewable 22resource credits sufficient to satisfy the electric provider's renewable
and advanced 23energy percentage required under par. (a) 2.
AB34,23
24Section
23. 196.378 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,7,15
1196.378
(2) (c) No later than April 15 annually, or another annual date specified
2by the commission by rule, an electric provider shall submit a report to the
3commission that identifies the electric provider's renewable
and advanced energy
4percentage for the previous year and describes the electric provider's compliance
5with par. (a) 2. and the electric provider's implementation plans for future
6compliance. Reports under this paragraph may include certifications from
7renewable
and advanced energy suppliers regarding the sources and amounts of
8renewable
and advanced energy supplied to the electric provider. The commission
9may specify the documentation that is required to be included with reports
10submitted under this paragraph. The commission may require that electric
11providers submit the reports in a proceeding, initiated by the commission under this
12section relating to the implementation of s. 1.12, or in a proceeding for preparing a
13strategic energy assessment under s. 196.491 (2). No later than 90 days after the
14commission's receipt of an electric provider's report, the commission shall inform the
15electric provider whether the electric provider is in compliance with par. (a) 2.
AB34,24
16Section
24. 196.378 (2) (d) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,7,2117
196.378
(2) (d) (intro.) The commission shall allow an electric utility to recover
18from ratepayers the cost of providing total renewable
and advanced energy to its
19retail customers in amounts that equal or exceed the percentages specified in par. (a).
20Subject to any approval of the commission that is necessary, an electric utility may
21recover costs under this paragraph by any of the following methods:
AB34,25
22Section
25. 196.378 (2) (d) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,7,2423
196.378
(2) (d) 2. Establishing alternative price structures, including price
24structures under which customers pay a premium for renewable
or advanced energy.
AB34,26
25Section
26. 196.378 (2) (e) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,8,6
1196.378
(2) (e) 2. Notwithstanding reasonable efforts to protect against
2unreasonable increases in rates of the applicant's ratepayers or members,
3compliance with the deadline will result in unreasonable increases in rates of the
4applicant's ratepayers or members, including increases that are due to the
5discontinuation of federal renewable
or advanced energy tax credits or other federal
6policies intended to reduce the acquisition costs of renewable
or advanced energy.
AB34,27
7Section
27. 196.378 (2) (e) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,8,118
196.378
(2) (e) 3. Notwithstanding reasonable efforts to obtain required
9approvals, the applicant cannot comply with the deadline because the applicant or
10a supplier has experienced or will experience delays in receiving required siting or
11permitting approvals for renewable
or advanced energy projects.
AB34,28
12Section
28. 196.378 (2) (e) 4. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,8,1613
196.378
(2) (e) 4. Notwithstanding reasonable efforts to secure transmission
14service, the applicant cannot comply with the deadline because the applicant faces
15transmission constraints that interfere with the economic and reliable delivery of
16renewable
or advanced energy to the applicant's system.
AB34,29
17Section
29. 196.378 (3) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,8,1818
196.378
(3) (title)
Renewable resource Resource credits.
AB34,30
19Section
30. 196.378 (3) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,9,920
196.378
(3) (a) 1. Each megawatt hour of an electric provider's total renewable
21and advanced energy creates one
renewable resource credit for the electric provider.
22Subject to subd. 2., an electric provider that exceeds its renewable
and advanced 23energy percentage required under sub. (2) (a) 2. may, in the applicable year, bank any
24excess
renewable resource credits or any portion of any excess
renewable resource
25credit for use in a subsequent year or sell any excess
renewable resource credits or
1any portion of any excess
renewable resource credit to any other electric provider at
2any negotiated price. An electric provider that creates or purchases a
renewable 3resource credit or portion may use the credit or portion, as provided under par. (c),
4to establish compliance with sub. (2) (a) 2. The commission shall promulgate rules
5that establish requirements for the creation and use of a
renewable resource credit
6created on or after January 1, 2004, including calculating the amount of a
renewable 7resource credit, and for the tracking of
renewable resource credits by a regional
8renewable resource credit tracking system. The rules shall specify the manner for
9aggregating or allocating credits under this subdivision or sub. (2) (b) 4. or 5.
AB34,31
10Section
31. 196.378 (3) (a) 1m. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,9,2511
196.378
(3) (a) 1m. The commission shall promulgate rules that allow an
12electric provider or customer or member of an electric provider to create a
renewable 13resource credit based on use in a year by the electric provider, customer, or member
14of solar energy, including solar water heating and direct solar applications such as
15solar light pipe technology; wind energy; hydroelectric energy; geothermal energy;
16biomass; biogas; synthetic gas created by the plasma gasification of waste; densified
17fuel pellets described in sub. (1) (h) 1. i.; or fuel described in sub. (1) (h) 1. j.; but only
18if the use displaces the electric provider's, customer's, or member's use of electricity
19that is derived from conventional resources, and only if the displacement is verifiable
20and measurable, as determined by the commission. The rules shall allow an electric
21provider, customer, or member to create a
renewable resource credit based on 100
22percent of the amount of the displacement. The rules may not allow an electric
23provider to create
renewable resource credits under this subdivision based on
24renewable
or advanced energy upon which
renewable resource credits are created
25under subd. 1. The rules may also not allow an electric provider to create
renewable
1resource credits under this subdivision based on hydroelectric energy that is not
2eligible for creating
renewable resource credits under subd. 1.
AB34,32
3Section
32. 196.378 (3) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,10,114
196.378
(3) (a) 2. The commission shall promulgate rules for calculating the
5amount of a
renewable resource credit that is bankable from a renewable
or
6advanced facility placed into service before January 1, 2004. The amount of a
7bankable
renewable resource credit created on or after January 1, 2004, from such
8a renewable
or advanced facility, except a renewable
or advanced facility owned by
9a retail customer of an electric provider, is limited to the incremental increase in
10output from the renewable
or advanced facility that is due to capacity improvements
11made on or after January 1, 2004.
AB34,33
12Section
33. 196.378 (3) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,10,1913
196.378
(3) (c) A
renewable resource credit created under s. 196.378 (3) (a),
142003 stats., may not be used after December 31, 2011.
A renewable resource credit
15created under par. (a) 1., 1m., or 2. may not be used after the 4th year after the year
16in which the credit is created, except the commission may promulgate rules
17specifying a different period of time if the commission determines that such period
18is necessary for consistency with any regional renewable resource credit trading
19program that applies in this state.
AB34,34
20Section
34. 196.378 (4m) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,10,2121
196.378
(4m) (title)
Additional renewable resources requirements.
AB34,35
22Section
35. 196.378 (4m) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,11,423
196.378
(4m) (a) The commission may not impose on an electric provider any
24requirement that increases the electric provider's renewable
and advanced energy
25percentage beyond that required under sub. (2) (a) 2. If an electric provider is in
1compliance with the requirements of sub. (2) (a) 2., the commission may not require
2the electric provider to undertake, administer, or fund any other renewable
or
3advanced energy program. This paragraph does not limit the authority of the
4commission to enforce an electric provider's obligations under s. 196.374.
AB34,36
5Section
36. 196.378 (4m) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,11,96
196.378
(4m) (b) An electric utility may, with commission approval, administer
7or fund a program that increases the electric utility's renewable
and advanced 8energy percentage beyond that required under sub. (2) (a) 2. The commission may
9not order an electric utility to administer or fund a program under this paragraph.
AB34,37
10Section
37. 196.378 (4r) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,11,1711
196.378
(4r) Reports. No later than July 1 of each even-numbered year, the
12commission shall submit a report to the governor and chief clerk of each house of the
13legislature for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2) that evaluates the
14impact of the requirements of this section on the rates and revenue requirements of
15electric providers and compares that impact with the impact that would have
16occurred if renewable
and advanced energy practices of electric providers were
17subject to market forces in the absence of the requirements of this section.
AB34,38
18Section
38. 196.378 (5) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB34,12,219
196.378
(5) Penalty. (intro.) Any person who violates sub. (2) or any renewable
20or advanced energy supplier who provides an electric provider with a false or
21misleading certification regarding the sources or amounts of renewable
or advanced 22energy supplied at wholesale to the electric provider shall forfeit not less than $5,000
23nor more than $500,000. Forfeitures under this subsection shall be enforced by
24action on behalf of the state by the attorney general. A court imposing a forfeiture
1under this subsection shall consider all of the following in determining the amount
2of the forfeiture: