Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Technology & Economic Development Committee

HB 2281

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Specifies that no Renewable Energy Cost Recovery Incentive Payment Program customer who recertifies their renewable energy system with the Washington State University Extension Energy Program (WSU Energy Program) may continue to receive incentive payments if the cumulative dollar amount of incentive payments made to the customer exceeds 100 percent of the total price of the renewable energy system.
Establishes that only applicants whose systems were installed and operational after July 1, 2010, must provide system operation data such as global positioning system coordinates, tilt, estimated shading, and azimuth when applying to the WSU Energy Program for recertification.
Repeals the provision voiding any recertification as of June 30, 2018, if an applicant fails to provide certain system operation data.

Background:

Renewable Energy Production Incentive Program.

Under the Renewable Energy Cost Recovery Incentive Payment Program (Cost Recovery Program), an electric utility may claim a credit against its public utility tax obligations for incentive payments made by the utility to a customer for electricity produced by an eligible renewable energy system or community solar project. The Cost Recovery Program closed to new customer participants after September 30, 2017. A customer who entered the program by this date must submit a recertification application to the Washington State University Extension Energy Program (WSU Energy Program) by April 30, 2018, in order to continue to receive an incentive payment. A customer who recertifies with the WSU Energy Program will continue to receive payments for electricity produced through June 30, 2020, at the same rates their utility paid to customers for electricity produced between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016.

The WSU Energy Program must establish an application process and form by which to collect certain system operation data, including global positioning system coordinates, tilt, estimated shading, and azimuth, from each customer applying for recertification. The WSU Energy Program must notify any applicant that providing this data is a condition of recertification and that any recertification issued by the WSU Energy Program is void as of June 30, 2018, if the applicant has failed to provide the data by that date.

Renewable Energy Production Incentive Program.

Beginning July 1, 2017, under the Renewable Energy Production Incentive Program (Production Incentive Program), a person that owns a renewable energy system, an administrator of a community solar project, or a utility or business under contract with a utility that administers a shared commercial solar project, may apply to the WSU Energy Program for certification establishing the applicant's eligibility to receive an annual production incentive payment for each kilowatt-hour of alternating current electricity generated by the system.

A system that was certified under the Cost Recovery Program cannot be certified under the Production Incentive Program. The WSU Energy Program may issue a new certification for an additional system installed at a location with a previously certified system so long as the new system meets eligibility requirements under the Production Incentive Program and its production can be measured separately from the previously certified system. The WSU Energy Program may also issue a recertification for a residential-scale or commercial-scale system if a customer makes investments resulting in an expansion of the system's nameplate capacity.

Summary of Bill:

No Cost Recovery Program customer who recertifies with the WSU Energy Program may continue to receive incentive payments if the cumulative dollar amount of incentive payments made to the customer exceeds 100 percent of the total price of the renewable energy system.

Only applicants whose systems were installed and operational after July 1, 2010, must provide system operation data such as global positioning system coordinates, tilt, estimated shading, and azimuth when applying to the WSU Energy Program for recertification.

The provision voiding any recertification as of June 30, 2018, if the applicant fails to provide certain system operation data is repealed.