196.378(1)(fm)1.
1. The renewable resource credits created from the electric provider's total renewable energy in that year.
196.378(1)(fm)2.
2. Any renewable resource credits in addition to the renewable resource credits specified in
subd. 1. that the electric provider elects to use in that year.
196.378(1)(fr)
(fr) "Renewable energy supplier" means a person from whom an electric provider purchases renewable energy at wholesale.
196.378(1)(g)
(g) "Renewable facility" means an installed and operational electric generating facility, located in or outside this state, that generates renewable energy.
196.378(1)(h)
(h) "Renewable resource" means any of the following:
196.378(1)(h)1.
1. A resource that derives electricity from any of the following:
196.378(1)(h)1.a.
a. A fuel cell that uses, as determined by the commission, a renewable fuel.
196.378(1)(h)1.i.
i. Densified fuel pellets made from waste material that does not include garbage, as defined in
s. 289.01 (9), and that contains no more than 30 percent fixed carbon.
196.378(1)(h)1m.
1m. A resource with a capacity of less than 60 megawatts that derives electricity from hydroelectric power.
Effective date note
NOTE: Subd. 1m. is amended eff. 12-31-15 by
2011 Wis. Act 34 to read:
Effective date text
1m. A resource that derives electricity from hydroelectric power.
196.378(1)(h)2.
2. Any other resource, except a conventional resource, that the commission designates as a renewable resource in rules promulgated under
sub. (4).
196.378(1)(i)
(i) "Renewable resource credit" means a credit calculated in accordance with rules promulgated under
sub. (3) (a) 1.,
1m., and
2.
196.378(1)(j)
(j) "Resource" means a source of energy used to generate electric power.
196.378(1)(k)
(k) "Retail electric cooperative" means a cooperative association organized under
ch. 185 that sells electricity at retail to its members only. For purposes of this paragraph, a cooperative association is not considered to sell electricity at retail solely on the basis of its ownership or operation of a retail electric distribution system.
196.378(1)(m)
(m) "Small hydroelectric facility" means an electric generating facility with a capacity of less than 60 megawatts that derives electricity from hydroelectric power.
Effective date note
NOTE: Par. (m) is created eff. 12-31-15 by
2011 Wis. Act 34.
196.378(1)(o)
(o) "Total renewable energy" means the total amount of renewable energy that the electric provider sold to its customers or members in a year. "Total renewable energy" does not include any energy that is used to comply with the renewable energy requirements of another state. "Total renewable energy" includes all of the following:
196.378(1)(o)1.
1. Renewable energy supplied by a renewable facility owned or operated by an affiliated interest or wholesale supplier of an electric provider and allocated to the electric provider under an agreement between the electric provider and the affiliated interest or wholesale supplier.
196.378(1)(o)2.
2. Renewable energy purchased by an affiliated interest or wholesale supplier of an electric provider from a renewable facility that is not owned or operated by the affiliated interest or wholesale supplier, which renewable energy is allocated to the electric provider under an agreement between the electric provider and the affiliated interest or wholesale supplier.
196.378(2)(a)1.1. No later than June 1, 2016, the commission shall prepare a report stating whether, by December 31, 2015, the state has met a goal of 10 percent of all electric energy consumed in the state being renewable energy. If the goal has not been achieved, the report shall indicate why the goal was not achieved and how it may be achieved, and the commission shall prepare similar reports biennially thereafter until the goal is achieved. The commission shall submit reports under this subdivision to the governor and chief clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the legislature under
s. 13.172 (2).
196.378(2)(a)2.a.
a. For the years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, each electric provider may not decrease its renewable energy percentage below the electric provider's baseline renewable percentage.
196.378(2)(a)2.b.
b. For the year 2010, each electric provider shall increase its renewable energy percentage so that it is at least 2 percentage points above the electric provider's baseline renewable percentage.
196.378(2)(a)2.c.
c. For the years 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, each electric provider may not decrease its renewable energy percentage below the electric provider's renewable energy percentage required under
subd. 2. b.
196.378(2)(a)2.d.
d. For the year 2015, each electric provider shall increase its renewable energy percentage so that it is at least 6 percentage points above the electric provider's baseline renewable percentage.
196.378(2)(a)2.e.
e. For each year after 2015, each electric provider may not decrease its renewable energy percentage below the electric provider's renewable energy percentage required under
subd. 2. d.
196.378(2)(b)1.
1. The total amount of electricity that an electric provider sold to retail customers or members in a year shall be calculated on the basis of an average of the electric provider's retail electric sales in this state during the prior 3 years.
196.378(2)(b)1m.
1m. The amount of electricity derived from hydroelectric renewable resources that an electric provider may count toward satisfying the requirements of
par. (a) 2. shall be all electricity provided by hydroelectric power that the electric provider purchased in the reporting year plus all of the following:
196.378(2)(b)1m.a.
a. The average of the amounts of hydroelectric power generated by facilities owned or operated by the electric provider for 2001, 2002, and 2003, adjusted to reflect the permanent removal from service of any of those facilities and adjusted to reflect any capacity increases from improvements made to those facilities on or after January 1, 2004.
196.378(2)(b)1m.b.
b. The amount of hydroelectric power generated in the reporting year by facilities owned or operated by the electric provider that are initially placed in service on or after January 1, 2004.
Effective date note
NOTE: Subd. 1m. is amended eff. 12-31-15 by
2011 Wis. Act 34 to read:
Effective date text
1m. The amount of electricity derived from small hydroelectric facilities that an electric provider may count toward satisfying the requirements of par. (a) 2. shall be all electricity provided by such facilities that the electric provider purchased in the reporting year plus all of the following:
Effective date text
a. The average of the amounts of hydroelectric power generated by small hydroelectric facilities owned or operated by the electric provider for 2001, 2002, and 2003, adjusted to reflect the permanent removal from service of any of those facilities and adjusted to reflect any capacity increases from improvements made to those facilities on or after January 1, 2004.
Effective date text
b. The amount of hydroelectric power generated in the reporting year by small hydroelectric facilities owned or operated by the electric provider that are initially placed in service on or after January 1, 2004.
196.378(2)(b)1o.
1o. An electric provider may count electricity derived from a large hydroelectric facility toward satisfying the requirements of
par. (a) 2. only if the facility was initially placed in service on or after December 31, 2010, and, if the facility is located in Manitoba, Canada, all of the following are satisfied:
196.378(2)(b)1o.a.
a. The province of Manitoba has informed the commission in writing that the interim licenses under which the Lake Winnipeg Regulation Project and the Churchill River Diversion Project were operating on December 31, 2015 have been replaced by final licenses.
Effective date note
NOTE: Subd. 1o. is created eff. 12-31-15 by
2011 Wis. Act 34.
196.378(2)(b)2.
2. The amount of electricity supplied by a biomass cofired facility that may be counted toward satisfying the requirements of
par. (a) shall be an amount equal to the product of the maximum amount of electricity that the facility is capable of generating and the ratio of the energy content of the biomass fuels to the energy content of both the biomass and conventional resources.
196.378(2)(b)4.
4. A wholesale supplier may sell credits that it creates and may aggregate and allocate the credits that it creates among its members or customers. A member or customer may sell credits or portions of a credit allocated to the member or customer by the wholesale supplier.
196.378(2)(b)5.
5. An electric provider that purchases renewable energy from a renewable energy supplier may use an allocated share of the renewable energy sold by the renewable energy supplier to comply with a requirement under
par. (a) 2. or to create a credit under
sub. (3) (a), provided that the cost of the renewable energy is included in the price the electric provider paid the renewable energy supplier.
196.378(2)(bm)
(bm) Each electric provider shall annually retire renewable resource credits sufficient to satisfy the electric provider's renewable energy percentage required under
par. (a) 2.
196.378(2)(c)
(c) No later than April 15 annually, or another annual date specified by the commission by rule, an electric provider shall submit a report to the commission that identifies the electric provider's renewable energy percentage for the previous year and describes the electric provider's compliance with
par. (a) 2. and the electric provider's implementation plans for future compliance. Reports under this paragraph may include certifications from renewable energy suppliers regarding the sources and amounts of renewable energy supplied to the electric provider. The commission may specify the documentation that is required to be included with reports submitted under this paragraph. The commission may require that electric providers submit the reports in a proceeding, initiated by the commission under this section relating to the implementation of
s. 1.12, or in a proceeding for preparing a strategic energy assessment under
s. 196.491 (2). No later than 90 days after the commission's receipt of an electric provider's report, the commission shall inform the electric provider whether the electric provider is in compliance with
par. (a) 2.
196.378(2)(d)
(d) The commission shall allow an electric utility to recover from ratepayers the cost of providing total renewable energy to its retail customers in amounts that equal or exceed the percentages specified in
par. (a). Subject to any approval of the commission that is necessary, an electric utility may recover costs under this paragraph by any of the following methods:
196.378(2)(d)1.
1. Allocating the costs equally to all customers on a kilowatt-hour basis.
196.378(2)(d)2.
2. Establishing alternative price structures, including price structures under which customers pay a premium for renewable energy.
196.378(2)(e)
(e) An electric provider, or a wholesale supplier for its members, may request that the commission grant a delay for complying with a deadline specified in
par. (a) 2. The commission shall hold a hearing on the request and, if requested by the electric provider or wholesale supplier, treat the matter as a contested case. The commission shall grant a delay if the commission determines that the applicant has demonstrated good faith efforts to comply with the deadline and that any of the following applies:
196.378(2)(e)1.
1. Notwithstanding reasonable efforts to protect against undesirable impacts on the reliability of an electric provider's system, compliance with the deadline will have an undesirable impact on the reliability of the applicant's system.
196.378(2)(e)2.
2. Notwithstanding reasonable efforts to protect against unreasonable increases in rates of the applicant's ratepayers or members, compliance with the deadline will result in unreasonable increases in rates of the applicant's ratepayers or members, including increases that are due to the discontinuation of federal renewable energy tax credits or other federal policies intended to reduce the acquisition costs of renewable energy.
196.378(2)(e)3.
3. Notwithstanding reasonable efforts to obtain required approvals, the applicant cannot comply with the deadline because the applicant or a supplier has experienced or will experience delays in receiving required siting or permitting approvals for renewable energy projects.
196.378(2)(e)4.
4. Notwithstanding reasonable efforts to secure transmission service, the applicant cannot comply with the deadline because the applicant faces transmission constraints that interfere with the economic and reliable delivery of renewable energy to the applicant's system.
196.378(2)(f)
(f) A wholesale electric cooperative for its members or a municipal electric company for its members may delay compliance with a deadline specified in
par. (a) 2. for any reason specified in
par. (e) 1. to
4. A wholesale electric cooperative or a municipal electric company that delays compliance with a deadline specified in
par. (a) 2. shall inform the commission of the delay and the reason for the delay, and shall submit information to the commission demonstrating that, notwithstanding good faith efforts by the wholesale electric cooperative or municipal electric company and its members, the members cannot meet the deadline for the stated reason.
196.378(2)(g)1.1. In this paragraph, "energy consumer advocacy group" means a group or organization that advocates on behalf of its members' interests regarding the cost, availability, and reliability of energy or regarding utility regulation.
196.378(2)(g)2.
2. An energy consumer advocacy group may request that the commission grant to an electric provider that serves one or more members of the group a delay for complying with a deadline specified in
par. (a) 2. The commission shall hold a hearing on the request and, if requested by the energy consumer advocacy group, treat the matter as a contested case. The commission shall grant a delay if the commission determines that the utility has demonstrated good faith efforts to comply with the deadline and that any of the conditions in
par. (e) 1. to
4. apply.
196.378(3)(a)1.1. Each megawatt hour of an electric provider's total renewable energy creates one renewable resource credit for the electric provider. Subject to
subd. 2., an electric provider that exceeds its renewable energy percentage required under
sub. (2) (a) 2. may, in the applicable year, bank any excess renewable resource credits or any portion of any excess renewable resource credit for use in a subsequent year or sell any excess renewable resource credits or any portion of any excess renewable resource credit to any other electric provider at any negotiated price. An electric provider that creates or purchases a renewable resource credit or portion may use the credit or portion, as provided under
par. (c), to establish compliance with
sub. (2) (a) 2. The commission shall promulgate rules that establish requirements for the creation and use of a renewable resource credit created on or after January 1, 2004, including calculating the amount of a renewable resource credit, and for the tracking of renewable resource credits by a regional renewable resource credit tracking system. The rules shall specify the manner for aggregating or allocating credits under this subdivision or
sub. (2) (b) 4. or
5.
196.378(3)(a)1m.
1m. The commission shall promulgate rules that allow an electric provider or customer or member of an electric provider to create a renewable resource credit based on use in a year by the electric provider, customer, or member of solar energy, including solar water heating and direct solar applications such as solar light pipe technology; wind energy; hydroelectric energy; geothermal energy; biomass; biogas; synthetic gas created by the plasma gasification of waste; densified fuel pellets described in
sub. (1) (h) 1. i.; or fuel described in
sub. (1) (h) 1. j.; but only if the use displaces the electric provider's, customer's, or member's use of electricity that is derived from conventional resources, and only if the displacement is verifiable and measurable, as determined by the commission. The rules shall allow an electric provider, customer, or member to create a renewable resource credit based on 100 percent of the amount of the displacement. The rules may not allow an electric provider to create renewable resource credits under this subdivision based on renewable energy upon which renewable resource credits are created under
subd. 1. The rules may also not allow an electric provider to create renewable resource credits under this subdivision based on hydroelectric energy that is not eligible for creating renewable resource credits under
subd. 1.
196.378(3)(a)2.
2. The commission shall promulgate rules for calculating the amount of a renewable resource credit that is bankable from a renewable facility placed into service before January 1, 2004. The amount of a bankable renewable resource credit created on or after January 1, 2004, from such a renewable facility, except a renewable facility owned by a retail customer of an electric provider, is limited to the incremental increase in output from the renewable facility that is due to capacity improvements made on or after January 1, 2004.
196.378(3)(b)
(b) The commission may promulgate rules that establish requirements and procedures for a sale under
par. (a) 1.
196.378(3)(c)
(c) A renewable resource credit created under s.
196.378 (3) (a), 2003 stats., may not be used after December 31, 2011. A renewable resource credit created under
par. (a) 1.,
1m., or
2. may not be used after the 4th year after the year in which the credit is created, except the commission may promulgate rules specifying a different period of time if the commission determines that such period is necessary for consistency with any regional renewable resource credit trading program that applies in this state.
196.378(4)
(4) Renewable resource rules. The commission may promulgate rules that designate a resource, except for a conventional resource, as a renewable resource in addition to the resources specified in
sub. (1) (h) 1. and
1m.
196.378(4g)(a)2.
2. "Decommissioning" means removing wind turbines, buildings, cables, electrical components, roads, and any other facilities associated with a wind energy system that are located at the site of the wind energy system and restoring the site of the wind energy system.
196.378(4g)(a)3.
3. "Political subdivision" means a city, village, town, or county.
196.378(4g)(b)
(b) The commission shall, with the advice of the wind siting council, promulgate rules that specify the restrictions a political subdivision may impose on the installation or use of a wind energy system consistent with the conditions specified in
s. 66.0401 (1m) (a) to
(c). The subject matter of these rules shall include setback requirements that provide reasonable protection from any health effects, including health effects from noise and shadow flicker, associated with wind energy systems. The subject matter of these rules shall also include decommissioning and may include visual appearance, lighting, electrical connections to the power grid, setback distances, maximum audible sound levels, shadow flicker, proper means of measuring noise, interference with radio, telephone, or television signals, or other matters. A political subdivision may not place a restriction on the installation or use of a wind energy system that is more restrictive than these rules.
196.378(4g)(c)
(c) In addition to the rules under
par. (b), the commission shall, with the advice of the wind siting council, promulgate rules that do all of the following:
196.378(4g)(c)1.
1. Specify the information and documentation to be provided in an application for approval to demonstrate that a proposed wind energy system complies with rules promulgated under
par. (b).
196.378(4g)(c)3.
3. Specify the procedure a political subdivision shall follow in reviewing an application for approval under
s. 66.0401 (4).
196.378(4g)(c)4.
4. Specify the requirements and procedures for a political subdivision to enforce the restrictions allowed under
par. (b).
196.378(4g)(d)
(d) The commission shall promulgate rules requiring the owner of a wind energy system with a nominal operating capacity of at least one megawatt to maintain proof of financial responsibility ensuring the availability of funds for decommissioning the wind energy system upon discontinuance of use of the wind energy system. The rules may require that the proof can be established by a bond, deposit, escrow account, irrevocable letter of credit, or other financial commitment specified by the commission.
