REPORT TITLE:
Renewables Portfolio Standards


DESCRIPTION:
Requires qualified electric utility companies to implement
renewables portfolio standards, which requires these utilities to
possess a minimum percentage of renewable energy resources within
their overall resource portfolio.  Provides for the issuance of
renewable energy credits to renewable energy generators.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2345
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  It is the intent of the legislature to recognize
 
 2 the economic, environmental, and fuel diversity benefits of
 
 3 renewable energy resources and to establish a market for
 
 4 renewable energy in Hawaii using the State's significant
 
 5 renewable energy resources and to drive down the cost of
 
 6 renewable energy to consumers.  The legislature finds that the
 
 7 benefit of electricity from renewable energy resources accrue to
 
 8 the public at large, thus consumers and electric utilities share
 
 9 an obligation to develop a minimum level of these resources in
 
10 the State's electric supply portfolio.
 
11      The legislature finds that one way to achieve this objective
 
12 is through the implementation of "renewables portfolio
 
13 standards" -- a flexible, market-driven policy that seeks to
 
14 ensure that the public benefits of wind, solar, biomass,
 
15 geothermal energy, and other renewable energies continue to be
 
16 recognized as electricity markets become more competitive.  The
 
17 policy ensures that a minimum amount of renewable energy is
 
18 included in the portfolio of electricity resources serving the
 
19 State.  By increasing the required amount over time, the standard
 

 
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 1 seeks to increase the sustainability of the electricity industry.
 
 2 Because it is a market standard, renewables portfolio standards
 
 3 rely almost entirely on the private market for its
 
 4 implementation.  Market implementation will result in
 
 5 competition, efficiency, and innovation that seeks to deliver
 
 6 renewable energy at the lowest possible cost.
 
 7      Renewables portfolio standards work through the
 
 8 establishment of renewable energy credits, which are tradable
 
 9 certificates of proof that one kilowatt-hour of electricity has
 
10 been generated by a renewable-fueled source.  Credits are
 
11 denominated in kilowatt-hours (kWh) and are a separate commodity
 
12 from the power itself.  Renewables portfolio standards require
 
13 all qualified electric utility companies to demonstrate, through
 
14 ownership of credits, that they have supported an amount of
 
15 renewable energy generation equivalent to some percentage of
 
16 their total annual kilowatt-hour sales.  For example, if
 
17 renewables portfolio standards are set at five per cent, and a
 
18 generator sells one hundred thousand kilowatt-hours in a given
 
19 year, the generator would need to possess five thousand credits
 
20 at the end of that year.
 
21      Investors and generators make all decisions about how to
 
22 comply with this requirement, including the type of renewable
 
23 energy to acquire, which technologies to use, what renewable
 

 
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 1 developers to do business with, what price to pay, and which
 
 2 contract terms to agree to.  Generators decide for themselves
 
 3 whether to invest in renewable energy projects and generate their
 
 4 own credits, enter into long-term contracts to purchase credits
 
 5 or renewable power along with credits, or simply to purchase
 
 6 credits on the spot market.  The credit system provides
 
 7 compliance flexibility and avoids the need to "track electrons".
 
 8 Because renewables portfolio standards apply equally to all
 
 9 generators, it is competitively neutral.
 
10      The legislature finds that the renewables portfolio
 
11 standards approach has several efficiency advantages, including
 
12 the following:
 
13      (1)  Renewables portfolio standards avoid the administrative
 
14           dissemination of funds by government agencies, which
 
15           can be bureaucratic and inefficient.  In addition,
 
16           government-administered programs almost always impose
 
17           artificial constraints of various types, which
 
18           increases costs;
 
19      (2)  Under renewables portfolio standards, no renewable
 
20           energy project is guaranteed a place in the market.
 
21           Unlike a one-time competition for funds, each project
 
22           must continually compete to keep its place in the
 
23           market created by the standard;
 

 
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 1      (3)  The certainty and stability of the renewables market
 
 2           created by properly-designed renewables portfolio
 
 3           standards will enable long-term contracts and financing
 
 4           for the renewable power industry, which will, in turn,
 
 5           lower renewable power costs;
 
 6      (4)  Least-cost compliance is encouraged through the
 
 7           flexibility provided to generators who are subject to
 
 8           the standard; they can compare the cost of owning a
 
 9           renewables facility to the cost of a credit and
 
10           renewable power purchase package and to secondary-
 
11           market credits.  Those who are most efficient at
 
12           generating renewable power will end up producing it,
 
13           and those who cannot efficiently produce it will
 
14           purchase credits on the competitive market; and
 
15      (5)  Since large generation companies will be looking to
 
16           improve their competitive position in the market, they
 
17           will have an interest in driving down the cost of
 
18           renewables to reduce their renewables portfolio
 
19           standards compliance costs.  They may do this by
 
20           lending their own financial resources to a renewables
 
21           project, by seeking out least-cost renewables
 
22           applications, or by entering into long-term purchasing
 
23           commitments.  This fosters a "competitive dynamic" that
 

 
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 1           is not achieved with policies that involve direct
 
 2           subsidies to renewable generators without involving the
 
 3           rest of the electric industry.
 
 4      The purpose of this Act is therefore to require qualified
 
 5 electric utility companies to implement renewables portfolio
 
 6 standards, thereby requiring these utilities to possess a minimum
 
 7 percentage of minimum energy resources within their overall
 
 8 resource portfolios, and require the public utilities commission
 
 9 to establish a program to issue renewable credits to renewable
 
10 energy generators.
 
11      SECTION 2.  For the purposes of this Act:
 
12      "Biomass" means crops that are grown for energy production
 
13 and co-fired in coal-fired power plants if an annual average of
 
14 five per cent or more of the power plant's fuel consists of
 
15 biomass.  The same percentage of the electricity produced as the
 
16 biomass used for fuel shall be considered renewable energy.
 
17      "Qualified electric utility company" means a distributor of
 
18 electricity to customers in the State that has sales of more than
 
19 one billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.
 
20      "Renewable energy" means wind, solar energy, dedicated
 
21 energy crops, landfill gas, geothermal resources, or organic
 
22 waste biomass, except incineration of municipal solid waste and
 
23 hydropower that does not involve construction or significant
 

 
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 1 expansion of hydropower dams.
 
 2      "Renewable energy credit" means a tradable certification of
 
 3 proof that one kilowatt-hour of electricity from renewable energy
 
 4 was either:
 
 5      (1)  Generated by a qualified electric utility company and
 
 6           sold to Hawaii consumers;
 
 7      (2)  Purchased by a qualified electric utility company from
 
 8           a renewable energy generator and sold to Hawaii
 
 9           consumers; or
 
10      (3)  Purchased by a qualified electric utility company from
 
11           one or more Hawaii renewable energy generators.
 
12      "Renewable energy generator" means a person owning a
 
13 facility that produces electricity from renewable energy.
 
14      "Renewables portfolio standard" means the percentage of
 
15 electric power consumed in Hawaii that must be derived from
 
16 renewable energy.
 
17      SECTION 3.  Each qualified electric utility company which
 
18 sells electricity for consumption in the State shall implement a
 
19        per cent renewables portfolio standard effective
 
20 January 1, 2002, and shall increase this percentage by
 
21      percentage points each succeeding year up to a maximum of
 
22      per cent on January 1, 2010.  Beginning on January 1, 2010,
 
23 the renewables portfolio shall be increased to a minimum of
 

 
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 1      per cent by January 1, 2020.  Any utility company which is
 
 2 not included in the term "qualified electric utility company" may
 
 3 participate voluntarily.
 
 4      SECTION 4.  The public utilities commission shall establish
 
 5 a program to issue renewable energy credits to renewable energy
 
 6 generators by January 1, 2001.  The commission, or its duly
 
 7 authorized agent, shall:
 
 8      (1)  Inspect, certify, and audit renewable energy credits;
 
 9      (2)  Impose and collect a fee on renewable energy credit
 
10           applicants to cover the administrative cost of issuing,
 
11           recording, certifying, auditing, and monitoring the
 
12           sale or exchange and tracking of renewable energy
 
13           credits;
 
14      (3)  Enforce this Act, including the imposition of
 
15           administrative penalties; and
 
16      (4)  Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to carry out the
 
17           purposes of this Act.
 
18      SECTION 5.  On or before March 30, beginning in 2002 and
 
19 each year thereafter, each qualified electric utility company
 
20 shall submit an application to the public utilities commission
 
21 which contains evidence of ownership of sufficient renewable
 
22 energy credits to satisfy the renewables portfolio standard for
 
23 the previous year.  An application fee shall be submitted at the
 

 
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 1 time of filing the application in an amount established by rule
 
 2 to be sufficient to cover the cost to process, monitor, and
 
 3 review the application and subsequent filings.  Evidence of
 
 4 sufficient renewable energy credits shall be equal to the product
 
 5 of its total electricity sales to Hawaii electricity customers in
 
 6 the previous calendar year, denominated in kilowatt-hours, and
 
 7 the renewables portfolio standard for the same year.  Renewable
 
 8 energy credits may only be granted for renewable energy
 
 9 generators located within the State.
 
10      SECTION 6.  Renewable energy credits may be sold or
 
11 exchanged by the person to whom the credits are issued or by any
 
12 other person who acquires the credits.  A sale or exchange of
 
13 credit shall not be valid unless recorded with the public
 
14 utilities commission within ninety days after the conclusion of
 
15 the transaction.
 
16      SECTION 7.  The public utilities commission may impose an
 
17 administrative penalty against a qualified electric utility
 
18 company for violating sections 3 to 6 of this Act.  Failure to
 
19 produce and receive approval of the required number of renewable
 
20 energy credits shall result in a penalty which shall be equal to
 
21 three times the market value of a renewable energy credit for
 
22 each credit that is not produced.
 
23      SECTION 8.  Any person may commence a civil action on the
 

 
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 1 person's own behalf against any of the following:
 
 2      (1)  Any person in violation of sections 3 to 7 of this Act;
 
 3      (2)  The public utilities commission or its duly authorized
 
 4           agent for failure to perform any act or duty pursuant
 
 5           to sections 4 to 7 of this Act that is not
 
 6           discretionary; and
 
 7      (3)  Any person applying for renewable energy credits who
 
 8           provides false information.
 
 9      SECTION 9.  The public utilities commission shall annually
 
10 provide a report to the legislature that includes the activities
 
11 of the commission under sections 4 to 7 of this Act, program
 
12 results, data, and any recommendations to achieve increased use
 
13 and availability of renewable energy in the State.
 
14      SECTION 10.  If any provision of this Act, or the
 
15 application thereof to any person or circumstance is held
 
16 invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or
 
17 applications of the Act which can be given effect without the
 
18 invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions
 
19 of this Act are severable.
 
20      SECTION 11.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
21 
 
22                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________