An Act To Reform the Renewable Electricity Portfolio Standard
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1434
Committee: Utilities and Energy
Sponsors: BLISS, BARTLETT, FLETCHER
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3210, 35-A MRSA §3212

Legislative Document 
No. 1434 
H.P.998 
House of Representatives, March 22, 2005 
An Act To Reform the Renewable Electricity Portfolio Standard 
Reference to the Committee on Utilities and Energy suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative BLISS of South Portland. 
Cosponsored by Senator BARTLETT of Cumberland and 
Representative: FLETCHER of Winslow. 
Printed on recycled paper 
1J1~ 
/J1.7J?d£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§I, as amended by PL 1999, c. 
398, Pt. I, §l, is further amended to read: 
1. 
Po1icy. 
In order to ensure an adequate and reliable 
supply of electricity for 
Maine 
residents 
and 
to 
encourage 
economic 
development 
opportunities 
in this 
State, 
to 
reduce 
greenhouse gas 
emissions 
from 
the State's electricity supply 
portfolio and to maintain and increase the use of 
renewable, 
efficient and indigenous resources, it is the policy of this 
State to encourage the generation of electricity from renewable 
and efficient sources and to diversify electricity production on 
which residents of this State rely in a manner consistent with 
this section. 
Sec. 2. 35-A MRS A §3210, sub-§2, "B and C. as repealed and 
replaced by PL 1999, c. 398, Pt. I, §2, are amended to read: 
B. 
"Eli§i91e Tier 1 eligible resource" means a source of 
electrical generation that: 
(1) Generates power that ea»-~RysieallY-ge is scheduled 
for delivery and delivered to the control region in 
which the New England Power Pool, or its successor as 
approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
has authority over transmission, or to the Maritimes 
Control Area; and 
(2) 
Is 
either 
a 
tier 
renewable 
resource 
or 
an 
efficient resource and does not sell its electrical 
output 
to 
a 
transmission 
and 
distribution utility 
pursuant to a contract entered into pr ior to March 1, 
2000. 
C. "Re»ewa9le Tier 1 renewable resource" means a source of 
electrical generation: 
(1) 
That 
qualifies 
as 
a 
small 
power 
production 
facility under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
rules, 
Code 
of 
Federal 
Regulations, 
Part 
292, 
Subpart B, as in effect on January 1, 1997; or 
(2) 
Whose total power production capacity does not 
(exceed 100 megawatts and that relies on one or more of 
the following: 
(a) 
Fuel cells; 
(b) 
Tidal power; 
Page l-LR0726(1) 
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(c) 
Solar arrays and installations; 
(d) 
Wind power installations; 
(e) 
Geothermal installations; 
(f) 
Hydroelectric generators; 
(g) 
Biomass generators; or 
(h) 
Generators fueled by municipal solid waste in 
conjunction with recycling. 
Sec. 3. 35·A MRSA §3210. sub.§2. ~D is enacted to read: 
D. "Tier 2 renewable resource" means a source of electrical 
generation 
that 
generates 
power 
that 
is 
scheduled 
for 
delivery and delivered to the control region in which the 
New England Power Pool, or its successor as approved by the 
Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 
has 
authority over 
transmission, or to the Maritimes Control Area: that does 
not 
sell 
its 
electrical 
output 
to 
a 
transmission 
and 
distribution utility pursuant to 
a 
contract entered into 
prior to March 1, 
2000: 
and that satisfies one of the 
following criteria: 
(l) Was built after January 1, 2005 and relies on one 
or more of the following~ 
(a) Fuel cells; 
(b) Tidal or wave power: 
(c) Solar arrays and installations; 
(d) Wind power installations; 
(e) Geothermal installations; 
(f) Hydroelectric generators; or 
(g) Lanqfill gas installations; 
(2) 
Is 
a 
hydroelectric 
generator 
in 
which 
a 
fish 
passage system has been installed after January 1, 2005 
and that did not have a fish passage system prior to 
that date. 
For 
a hydroelectric generator to qualify 
under this 
subparagraph, 
the 
Commissioner of Marine 
Resources must certify that the generator had no fish 
passage in place prior to January 1, 2005 and that the 
installed 
fish 
passage 
system 
will 
facilitate 
the 
upstream and downstream passage of anadromous fish. 
A 
system involving the trapping and trucking of fish does 
not 
qualify 
as 
a 
fish 
passage 
system 
under 
this 
subparagraph. 
A system of fish lifts, pumps or ladders 
may qualify as a fish passage system if certified by 
the Commissioner of Marine Resources as effective in 
facilitating the upstream 
and downstream passage of 
anadromous fish at the particular installation; or 
(3) Is a biomass ge~erator that: 
(a) Uses as feedstock only biomass harvested using 
sustainable forest management practices certified 
by an independent 3 rd-party audit in accordance 
with 
rules 
adopted 
by 
the 
commission. 
The 
commission shall consult with the Department of 
Conservation, 
Maine 
Forest 
Service 
in 
adopting 
these rules; and 
(b) Meets emission standards established by the 
commission 
by 
rule 
in 
consultation 
with 
the 
Department of Environmental Protection. 
Emission 
standards established by the commission shall, to 
the extent possible, 
be equivalent to standards 
established 
for 
similar 
generators 
ln 
Massachusetts. 
Rules 
adopted 
under 
this 
subparagraph 
are 
major 
substantive rules pursuant to Title 5, 
chapter 
, 
subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §3210. sub-§3, as amended by PL 
1999, 
c. 
398, Pt. I, §3, is further amended to read: 
3. 
Portfolio requirements. 
As 
a 
condition of licensing 
pursuant to section 3203, each competitive electricity provider 
in this State must demonstrate in a manner satisfactory to the 
commission that 
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• 
• 
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A. 
No less than 30% of its portfolio of supply sources for 
retail electricity sales in this State is accounted for by 
tier 1 eligible resources. 
This requirement is referred to 
in this section as "the Tier 1 Requirement"; and 
B. 
No less than the following percentages of its portfolio 
of supply sources for retail electricity sales in this State 
are accounted for by tier 2 renewable resources: 
(1) Between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006, 2%; 
(2) Between September 1, 2006 and August 31, 2007, 2.5%; 
(3) Between September 1, 2007 and August 31, 2008, 3%; 
(4) Between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009, 3.5%; 
(5) Between September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2010, 4%; 
(6) Between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011, 4.5%; 
(7) Between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012, 5%; 
(8) Between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013, 5.5%; 
(9) Between September 1, 2013 and August 31, 2014, 6%; 
(10) 
Between September 1, 
2014 
and August 31, 
2015, 
6.5<)-0; and 
(11) After Augusta 31, 2015, 7%. 
This requirement is referred to in this section as "the Tier 
Requirement." 
If a competitive electricity provider represents to a customer 
that the provider is selling to the customer 
a portfolio of 
supply sources that exceeds the Tier 1 Requirement or the Tier 2 
Requirement, the resources necessary to supply that excess may 
not be 
applied to meet the aggregate Tier 
Requirement or 
gggxegate Tier 2 Requirement. 
The commission shall allow competitive electricity providers to 
satisfy the requirements of this subsection through the use of 
renewable credits if the commission determines that a reliable 
system of trading exists for such credits. 
Rules adopted under this subsection are major substantive rules 
pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 5. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§4, as amended by PL 1999, c. 
398, Pt. I, §3, is repealed. 
Sec. 6. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§4-A is enacted to read: 
4-A. 
Alternative 
compliance 
payments; 
Renewable 
Power 
Fund. 
A competitive electricity provider may satisfy any unmet 
Tier 1 Requirement or Tier 2 Requirement by making alternative 
compliance payments pursuant to this subsection. 
The payment to 
meet any unmet Tier 1 Requirement is calculated by mUltiplying 
$25 by the number of unmet megawatt hours. The payment to meet 
any unmet Tier 2 Requirement is calculated by multiplying $50 by 
the number of unmet megawatt hours. 
There is established the Renewable Power Fund. 
The fund is a 
nonlapsing fund administered by the commission to support the 
policies of this section. 
All alternative compliance payments 
must be deposited in the fund. 
The commission shall disburse 
money in the fund to tier 2 renewable resources in a manner that 
supports the policies, goals and objectives of this section. 
The 
commission shall adopt rules governing the disbursement of money 
from the fund. 
Rules adopted under this subsection are major substantive rules 
pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 7. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 
372, §2, is amended to read: 
6. 
Renewable Resource Research and Development Fund. 
There 
is established the Renewable Resource Research and Development 
Fund, referred to in this subsection as the "fund." 
The fund is 
a nonlapsing fund administered by the State Planning Office. 
All 
funds collected by the commission pursuant to subsection 5 must 
be deposited in the fund for distribution by the State Planning 
Office 
in accordance 
with subsection 
5. 
The 
State Planning 
Office may seek and accept funding for the program established 
pursuant to subsection 5 from other sources, public or private. 
Any funds accepted for use in the program established pursuant to 
subsection 5 must be deposited in the fund. 
Sec. 8. 35-A MRSA §3212, sub-§4-A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 
665, §2, is further amended to read: 
4-A. 
RenewabIes; hedging. 
The commission shall adopt rules 
establishing standards and procedures for incorporating renewable 
resources 
that 
are 
constructed 
after 
March 
1, 
2004 
into 
standard-offer 
service. 
The 
rules 
must 
provide 
for 
the 
incorporation of such resources if the commission finds that the 
incorporation will reduce the risk of price volatility, offer an 
.. 
• 
.. 
.. 
effective hedging strategy and provide a 
competitively priced 
supply 
option. 
The 
commission 
may 
enter 
into 
or 
require 
standard-offer providers chosen by a competitive bidding process 
to enter 
into contracts with appropriate 
terms 
in order to 
achieve 
the 
purposes of this subsection consistent with the 
legislative findings established in chapter 34 and rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection. 
For purposes of this subsection, 
"renewable resources" has the same meaning as "Tier 1 renewable 
resource" in section 3210, 
subsection 2, 
paragraph C. 
Rules 
adopted pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules, 
as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A, and must be 
submitted to the Legislature for review by March 1, 2005. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the eligible resource portfolio requirement 
for 
competitive 
electricity 
providers. 
The 
bill 
does 
the 
following. 
1. 
It 
modifies 
the 
current 
disqualifying a generator that sells 
transmission and distribution utility. 
portfolio 
requirement 
by 
its electrical output to a 
2. 
It establishes a "Tier 2 Requirement," which requires 
that a certain percentage of a competitive electricity provider's 
portfolio be supplied by one of the following: generators built 
after January 
1, 
2005 
that use certain renewable 
resources: 
hydroelectric 
generators 
that 
install 
adequate 
fish 
passage 
systems after January 1, 2005: or biomass generators that burn 
biomass harvested using sustainable forest management practices 
and that meet certain emission standards. 
The requirement is 
ini tially 2<;0 
and increases by 0.5% each year until it reaches 
70b. 
A 
generator 
that 
sells 
its 
electrical 
output 
to 
a 
transmission and distribution utility is not qualified to meet 
this requirement. 
3. 
It requires 
portfolio requirements 
the New England Power 
Area. 
that 
any 
resource used to satisfy the 
be scheduled for delivery and delivered to 
Pool region or to the Maritimes Control 
4. 
It authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to allow 
the portfolio requirements to be met through the use of renewable 
credits. 
5. It allows the portfolio requirements to be satisfied 
through alternative compliance payments. 
6. 
It 
establishes 
a 
fund 
into 
which 
all 
alternative 
compliance payments are paid and from \.,hich disbursements are 
made by the Public Utilities Commission to resources that qualify 
to meet the Tier 2 Requirement. 
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