S3806-2013 Actions

• Mar 25, 2013: referred to energy
• Mar 25, 2013: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Mar 25, 2013: PASSED SENATE
• Mar 6, 2013: AMENDED ON THIRD READING 3806B
• Mar 4, 2013: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Feb 28, 2013: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Feb 28, 2013: AMENDED 3806A
• Feb 27, 2013: 1ST REPORT CAL.102
• Feb 19, 2013: REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

S3806-2013 Meetings

S3806-2013 Calendars

S3806-2013 Votes

S3806-2013 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S3806

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the energy law and the public service
law, in relation to net-metering and on-farm energy generation

PURPOSE: To reduce interconnection fees for farms that install
renewable energy, increase the size of solar arrays allowed for farms
on residential meters, lower farmers utility bills and expand our
state's agricultural economy.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1-cites the name of the act as the "Repower New York Farms
Act"

Section 2-Amends subdivisions 1,2 and 3 of section 3-101 of the energy
law to include specific references to agriculture in the policy
direction given in statute to the State Energy Planning Board

Section 3-Amends subdivision 1 section 66-J of the public service law
to allow a farm operation operating on a residential meter to install
a solar energy system of up to 100 KW

Section 4-Amends subdivision 3 of section 66-J of the public service
law to reduce the maximum interconnection cost that may be charged to
a farm operator installing a farm waste electric generating system to
$2500

Section 5-Amends subdivision 3 of section 66-1 of the public service
law to reduce the maximum interconnection fee that can be charged to a
farm service customer generator to $375.

Section 6-Amends the state energy law by adding a new section 17-104
that requires a study in every even numbered year in relation to the
deployment of on-farm renewable generation.

Section 7- Sets forth the effective date

JUSTIFICATION: New York State is an agricultural leader when it comes
to the production of dairy products, apples and many other important
commodities. We also have seen an explosion in the growth of wineries,
farm breweries and other businesses that are tied directly to our
state's agricultural economy. The yogurt boom upstate has lead to a
need for expanded milk production, and has spurred the growth of a new
food processing manufacturing sector. This agricultural economic
engine in upstate New York has in turn lead to an increased demand for
fresh agricultural products in and around New York City, including an
expansion of green markets and farmers markets.  Investing in these
enterprises would allow farmers to have more access to the millions of
consumers in the New York City Metro area.  In order to provide
farmers with more capital to invest in their farm operations and in
expanding their lines of distribution and retail sales into New York
City, we must provide more relief from the ever increasing cost of
energy.

This bill, by reducing interconnection costs for renewable energy and
increasing the size of solar units that can be deployed to farm


operations with residential meters, will lead to more on-farm
renewable generation and therefore lower utility bills and more
investment capital for farmers.

This bill also seeks to add sections to the energy law to ensure that
agricultural interests are taken into account by the State energy
planning board and that a report is generated every other year to
measure the growth of on-farm renewable generation in our state.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately

S3806-2013 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    3806

                         2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                              February 19, 2013
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sens.  MAZIARZ,  RITCHIE, DeFRANCISCO, GRISANTI, LARKIN,
    LATIMER, LIBOUS, MONTGOMERY, NOZZOLIO, RANZENHOFER,  SAMPSON,  SAVINO,
    SEWARD  --  read  twice  and  ordered  printed, and when printed to be
    committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications

  AN ACT to amend the energy law and the public service law,  in  relation
    to net-metering and on-farm energy generation

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited  as  the  "repower
  New York farms act".
    S  2.  Subdivisions  1,  2  and  3 of section 3-101 of the energy law,
  subdivisions 2 and 3 as amended by chapter 820 of the laws of 1976,  are
  amended to read as follows:

    1.  to  obtain and maintain an adequate and continuous supply of safe,
  dependable and economical energy for the people  of  the  state  and  to
  accelerate  development  and  use  within  the state of renewable energy
  sources, all in order to promote the state's economic growth, to  create
  employment  within  the  state,  to protect its environmental values AND
  AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE, to husband its resources for future  generations,
  and to promote the health and welfare of its people;
    2.  to encourage conservation of energy in the construction and opera-
  tion of new commercial, industrial, AGRICULTURAL and residential  build-
  ings, and in the rehabilitation of existing structures, through heating,
  cooling, ventilation, lighting, insulation and design techniques and the
  use of energy audits and life-cycle costing analysis;
    3.  to  encourage the use of performance standards in all energy-using
  appliances, and in industrial, AGRICULTURAL and commercial  applications
  of energy-using apparatus and processes;
    S  3.  Paragraph  (d)  of  subdivision 1 of section 66-j of the public
  service law, as amended by chapter 7 of the laws of 2010, is amended  to
  read as follows:


   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD08712-01-3

 S. 3806                             2

    (d)  "Solar electric generating equipment" means a photovoltaic system
  (i) (A) in the case of a residential customer (OTHER THAN A FARM UTILIZ-
  ING A RESIDENTIAL METER), with a rated capacity of not more  than  twen-
  ty-five  kilowatts; [and] (B) IN THE CASE OF A FARM UTILIZING A RESIDEN-
  TIAL METER WITH A RATED CAPACITY OF NOT MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED KILOWATTS;
  AND (C) in the case of a non-residential customer, with a rated capacity
  of not more than THE LESSER OF two thousand kilowatts OR SUCH CUSTOMER'S
  PEAK LOAD AS MEASURED OVER THE PRIOR TWELVE MONTH PERIOD, OR IN THE CASE
  THAT  SUCH  TWELVE MONTH PERIOD OF MEASUREMENT IS NOT AVAILABLE, THEN AS
  DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION BASED ON ITS ANALYSIS OF COMPARABLE FACILI-
  TIES; and (ii) that is manufactured, installed, and operated in  accord-
  ance   with  applicable  government  and  industry  standards,  that  is
  connected to the electric system and operated  in  conjunction  with  an
  electric  corporation's  transmission  and  distribution facilities, and
  that is operated in  compliance  with  any  standards  and  requirements
  established under this section.
    S  4.  Subparagraph  (ii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section
  66-j of the public service law, as amended by chapter 546 of the laws of
  2011, is amended to read as follows:

    (ii) In the case of a customer-generator who  owns  or  operates  farm
  waste electric generating equipment located and used at his or her "farm
  operation,"  up  to  a  total amount of [five] TWO thousand FIVE HUNDRED
  dollars per "farm operation"; and
    S 5.  Subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 3  of
  section  66-l  of the public service law, as amended by chapter 7 of the
  laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows:

    (i) in the case of a residential[, farm  service]  or  non-residential
  customer-generator with a combined rated capacity of not more than twen-
  ty-five kilowatts, up to a maximum amount of seven hundred fifty dollars
  AND  IN THE CASE OF A FARM SERVICE CUSTOMER-GENERATOR THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT
  SHALL NOT EXCEED THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS; and
    (ii) in the case of a farm service customer-generator with a  combined
  rated  capacity of not more than five hundred kilowatts, up to a maximum
  of [five] TWO thousand  FIVE HUNDRED dollars; and
    S 6.  The energy law is amended by adding a new section 17-104 to read
  as follows:

    S 17-104. ON-FARM RENEWABLE ENERGY SURVEY. 1. BY JANUARY THIRTIETH  OF
  EACH EVEN NUMBERED YEAR, THE NEW YORK STATE ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOP-
  MENT  AUTHORITY (NYSERDA) IN COOPERATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUL-
  TURE AND MARKETS SHALL  PRODUCE  A  STUDY  MEASURING  THE  EXPANSION  OF
  ON-FARM RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION IN NEW YORK STATE.
    2.  THE  STUDY  WILL  SPECIFICALLY  IDENTIFY AND MEASURE THE NUMBER OF
  ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS, PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS, WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS AND OTHER
  RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES LOCATED ON FARMS AND  AGRICULTURAL  ENTERPRISES
  IN NEW YORK STATE. SUCH STUDY WILL ALSO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE TOTAL
  AMOUNT  OF  ELECTRICITY  PRODUCED,  THE ESTIMATED ENERGY SAVINGS TO FARM
  CUSTOMERS WHO INSTALL ON-SITE RENEWABLE GENERATION AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL
  BENEFITS MEASURED IN AVOIDED  EMISSIONS  OF  CARBON  DIOXIDE  AND  OTHER
  POLLUTANTS.
    3.  SUCH  STUDY  WILL ALSO EXAMINE THE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF
  STATE ENERGY POLICIES AND  ENVIRONMENTAL  REGULATIONS  IN  ASSISTING  OR
  HINDERING   ADDITIONAL   DEPLOYMENT  OF  ON-FARM  RENEWABLE  GENERATION.
  FURTHER, IT WILL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON POSSIBLE CHANGES IN  REGULATORY
  POLICY,  INCLUDING  THE RULES AND REGULATIONS INCLUDED IN STATE RFP'S OR
  PON'S RELATED TO RENEWABLE ENERGY DEPLOYMENT  THAT  COULD  LEAD  TO  THE
  EXPANSION OF SUCH ON-FARM RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT.

 S. 3806                             3

    4.  THE STUDY SHALL PROVIDE A BREAKDOWN OF THE REQUIRED INFORMATION BY
  COUNTY AND ALSO IN THE AGGREGATE STATEWIDE. ELECTRONIC VERSIONS OF  THIS
  REPORT  WHICH  SHALL  BE ENTITLED THE "NEW YORK ON-FARM RENEWABLE ENERGY
  SURVEY" SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON  THE  WEBSITES  OF  NYSERDA  AND  THE
  DEPARTMENT, AND WRITTEN COPIES SHALL BE TRANSMITTED TO THE GOVERNOR, THE
  TEMPORARY  PRESIDENT  OR  PRESIDENTS  OF  THE SENATE, THE SPEAKER OF THE
  ASSEMBLY, THE CHAIR OF THE SENATE ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS  COMMIT-
  TEE, THE CHAIR OF THE ASSEMBLY ENERGY COMMITTEE, THE CHAIR OF THE SENATE
  AGRICULTURE  COMMITTEE AND THE CHAIR OF THE ASSEMBLY AGRICULTURE COMMIT-
  TEE.
    5. FUNDING FOR THE STUDY SHALL BE PROVIDED BY NYSERDA AND  FROM  FUNDS
  COLLECTED THROUGH THE RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARD, THE ENERGY EFFICIEN-
  CY  PORTFOLIO  STANDARD, THE SYSTEMS BENEFIT CHARGE OR ANOTHER DEDICATED
  FUND OF THE AUTHORITY, NOT SUBJECT TO BUDGETARY APPROPRIATION.
    S 7. This act shall take effect immediately.