PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
An Act To Lower Energy Costs and Increase Access to Solar Energy for Agricultural Businesses
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3209-A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 262, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§ 3209-A. Net energy billing
 
1.  Definitions.     As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
 
A.  "Agricultural business" means a person or business located in this State and engaged in the commercial growing or harvesting of plants; raising of animals; growing or obtaining plant or animal by-products; aquaculture, as defined in Title 12, section 6001, subsection 1; or further processing, storing, packaging or marketing a raw product derived from plants, animals, plant or animal by-products or aquaculture, as defined in Title 12, section 6001, subsection 1, with the intent that the product be sold or otherwise disposed of to generate income. "Agricultural business" includes a business or activity that attracts visitors to a farm for the purpose of supplementing income from the primary crop or livestock operation. "Agricultural business" does not include a business engaged primarily in the growing, harvesting or further processing of forest species of trees for the purpose of producing pulp or other materials used in the paper manufacturing or wood manufacturing process.
 
B.  "Net energy billing" means a billing and metering practice under which a customer is billed on the basis of net energy over the billing period taking into account accumulated unused kilowatt-hour credits from the previous billing period.
 
2.  Election of net energy billing.     A customer of a transmission and distribution utility may elect to be billed using net energy billing.
 
3.  Agricultural businesses.     A customer of an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility who is an agricultural business must be compensated for any accumulated unused kilowatt-hour credits at the end of a 12-month period at a rate that represents the value of wholesale electricity as determined by the commission by rule, except that the commission may adjust the amount disbursed to a customer under this section in order to offset the costs to the transmission and distribution utility to meet the requirements of this section. A consumer-owned transmission and distribution utility may elect to compensate a customer for any accumulated unused kilowatt-hour credits at the end of a 12-month period in accordance with this section.
 
4.  Rules.     The commission may adopt or amend rules governing net energy billing. Rules adopted or amended under this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §10102, sub-§2-A  is enacted to read:
 
2-A.  Agricultural business.     "Agricultural business" means a person or business located in this State and engaged in the commercial growing or harvesting of plants; raising of animals; growing or obtaining plant or animal by-products; aquaculture, as defined in Title 12, section 6001, subsection 1; or further processing, storing, packaging or marketing a raw product derived from plants, animals, plant or animal by-products or aquaculture, as defined in Title 12, section 6001, subsection 1, with the intent that the product be sold or otherwise disposed of to generate income. "Agricultural business" includes a business or activity that attracts visitors to a farm for the purpose of supplementing income from the primary crop or livestock operation. "Agricultural business" does not include a business engaged primarily in the growing, harvesting or further processing of forest species of trees for the purpose of producing pulp or other materials used in the paper manufacturing or wood manufacturing process.
Sec. 3.  35-A MRSA §10121-A  is enacted to read:
§ 10121-A. Solar Energy Agricultural Rebate Fund
 
1.  Fund established.     There is established the Solar Energy Agricultural Rebate Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," to be used by the trust solely for the purpose of providing rebates for cost-effective solar photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies to agricultural businesses. The funding, use and administration of the fund is governed by this section. Any interest on the funds in the fund must be credited to the fund. Funds not spent in any fiscal year do not lapse but must remain in the fund to be used for the purposes of this section.
 
2.  Funding.     The commission shall assess transmission and distribution utilities to collect funds to be credited to the fund. The amount of all assessments by the commission under this subsection must result in total program expenditures by each transmission and distribution utility of 0.005¢ per kilowatt-hour. The commission shall transfer all assessments received under this subsection to the fund.
 
3.  Administration; eligibility.     The trust shall administer rebates under this section in accordance with the following.
 
A.  The trust shall establish by rule criteria for determining solar photovoltaic and solar thermal technology that is eligible for a rebate under this section.
 
B.  The trust shall establish by rule criteria for determining eligibility of agricultural businesses for rebates under this section. Rebates must be limited to persons who meet the definition of "agricultural business" in section 10102, subsection 2-A and are residents of the State and to businesses that meet the definition of "agricultural business" in section 10102, subsection 2-A and are domiciled in this State. The trust shall establish proof of residency and domicile requirements by rule.
 
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as provided in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
This section is repealed December 31, 2017.
 
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Solar Energy Agricultural Rebate Fund to be used by the Efficiency Maine Trust to provide rebates until December 31, 2017 for solar photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies to agricultural businesses. It provides that an agricultural business that is a customer of an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility must be compensated for accumulated unused kilowatt-hour credits every 12 months. It also authorizes customers of transmission and distribution utilities to elect to be billed using net energy billing.