Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-3203 — NE Code / Chapter 13 / Section 13-3203
View Statute 13-3203
Status: in_force

For purposes of the Property Assessed Clean Energy Act:

(1) Assessment contract means a contract entered into between a municipality, a property owner, and, if applicable, a third-party lender under which the municipality agrees to provide financing for an energy project in exchange for a property owner's agreement to pay an annual assessment for a period not to exceed the weighted average useful life of the energy project;

(2) Clean energy assessment district means a district created by a municipality to provide financing for energy projects;

(3) Energy efficiency improvement means any acquisition, installation, or modification benefiting publicly or privately owned property that is designed to reduce the electric, gas, water, or other utility demand or consumption of the buildings on, or to be constructed on, such property or to promote the efficient and effective management of natural resources or storm water, including, but not limited to:

(a) Insulation in walls, roofs, floors, foundations, or heating and cooling distribution systems;

(b) Storm windows and doors; multiglazed windows and doors; heat-absorbing or heat-reflective glazed and coated window and door systems; and additional glazing, reductions in glass area, and other window and door system modifications that reduce energy consumption;

(c) Automated energy control systems;

(d) Heating, ventilating, or air conditioning and distribution system modifications or replacements;

(e) Caulking, weatherstripping, and air sealing;

(f) Replacement or modification of lighting fixtures to reduce the energy use of the lighting system;

(g) Energy recovery systems, including, but not limited to, cogeneration and trigeneration systems;

(h) Daylighting systems;

(i) Installation or upgrade of electrical wiring or outlets to charge a motor vehicle that is fully or partially powered by electricity;

(j) Facilities providing for water conservation or pollutant control;

(k) Roofs designed to reduce energy consumption or support additional loads necessitated by other energy efficiency improvements;

(l) Installation of energy-efficient fixtures, including, but not limited to, water heating systems, escalators, and elevators;

(m) Energy efficiency related items if the cost of the energy efficiency related items financed by the municipality does not exceed twenty-five percent of the total cost of the energy project; and

(n) Any other installation or modification of equipment, devices, or materials approved as a utility cost-saving measure by the municipality;

(4) Energy efficiency related item means any repair, replacement, improvement, or modification to real property that is necessary or desirable in conjunction with an energy efficiency improvement, including, but not limited to, structural support improvements and the repair or replacement of any building components, paved surfaces, or fixtures disrupted or altered by the installation of an energy efficiency improvement;

(5) Energy project means the installation or modification of an energy efficiency improvement or grid resiliency improvement or the acquisition, installation, or improvement of a renewable energy system;

(6) Grid resiliency improvement means any acquisition, installation, or modification benefiting publicly or privately owned property that is designed to anticipate, prepare for, withstand, respond to, and rapidly recover from major power disruptions, including, but not limited to:

(a) Backup power generators;

(b) Backup power generators powered by renewable energy resources;

(c) Solar panels with battery storage; and

(d) Smart grid technology;

(7) Municipality means any county, city, or village in this state;

(8) Qualifying property means any of the following types of property located within a municipality:

(a) Agricultural property;

(b) Commercial property, including multifamily residential property comprised of more than four dwelling units;

(c) Industrial property; or

(d) Single-family residential property, which may include up to four dwelling units;

(9)(a) Renewable energy resource means a resource that naturally replenishes over time and that minimizes the output of toxic material in the conversion to energy. Renewable energy resource includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(i) Nonhazardous biomass;

(ii) Solar and solar thermal energy;

(iii) Wind energy;

(iv) Geothermal energy;

(v) Methane gas captured from a landfill or elsewhere; and

(vi) Photovoltaic systems; and

(b) Renewable energy resource does not include petroleum, nuclear power, natural gas, coal, or hazardous biomass; and

(10) Renewable energy system means a fixture, product, device, or interacting group of fixtures, products, or devices on the customer's side of the meter that uses one or more renewable energy resources to generate electricity. Renewable energy system includes a biomass stove but does not include an incinerator.

Laws 2016, LB1012, § 3;

R.S.Supp.,2016, § 18-3203;

Laws 2017, LB625, § 3;

Laws 2019, LB23, § 2;

Laws 2025, LB288, § 2.