An Act To Create Jobs and Promote Investment in Maine's Economy through Increased Access to Solar Energy
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1263
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: GIDEON, SAVIELLO, BLACK, CAMPBELL, DEVIN, GROHMAN, HUBBELL, MALABY, PIERCE, POULIOT
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3209-A, 35-A MRSA §3210, 35-A MRSA §3210-C

Legislative Document 
No. 1263 
H.P. 863 
House of Representatives, April 7, 2015 
An Act To Create Jobs and Promote Investment in Maine's 
Economy through Increased Access to Solar Energy 
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative GIDEON of Freeport. 
Cosponsored by Senator SAVIELLO of Franklin and 
Representatives: BLACK of Wilton, CAMPBELL of Orrington, DEVIN of Newcastle, 
GROHMAN of Biddeford, HUBBELL of Bar Harbor, MALABY of Hancock, PIERCE of 
Falmouth, POULIOT of Augusta. 
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Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §3209-A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 262, §1, is repealed and 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.  "Eligible facility" means an electric generating facility that uses a wind power 
installation under section 3210, subsection 2, paragraph B-3, subparagraph (2) or a 
power system producing heat and power with a total efficiency of not less than 65% 
as defined by rule. 
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. 
C.  "Shared ownership" means ownership interest of an eligible facility by multiple 
persons who have distinct billing accounts with a transmission and distribution 
utility. 
2.  Net energy billing.  A customer of a transmission and distribution utility may 
elect to engage in net energy billing. 
A.  An eligible facility located in an investor-owned transmission and distribution 
utility territory may not have an installed capacity greater than one megawatt.  An 
eligible facility located in a consumer-owned transmission and distribution utility 
territory may not have an installed capacity greater than 100 kilowatts unless the 
consumer-owned transmission and distribution utility allows an eligible facility with 
an installed capacity of up to one megawatt to be eligible for net energy billing. 
B.  An eligible facility with shared ownership is eligible for net energy billing.  The 
number of customers who participate in a single shared ownership eligible facility 
must allow for economies of scale in installation costs, except that the number may 
not be less than 50. 
3.  Rules.  The commission may adopt rules to implement this section.  Rules 
adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§2, ¶A-2 is enacted to read: 
A-2.  "Alternative compliance payment rate for solar power" means a certain dollar 
amount per megawatt-hour set pursuant to subsection 9 that a competitive electricity 
provider may pay to the commission to satisfy the portfolio requirements of 
subsection 3-B. 
Sec. 3.  35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§2, ¶B-4, as amended by PL 2011, c. 413, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
B-4.  "New" as applied to any renewable capacity resource except a renewable 
capacity resource that relies on solar energy means a renewable capacity resource 
that: 
(1)  Has an in-service date after September 1, 2005; 
(2)  Was added to an existing facility after September 1, 2005; 
(3)  For at least 2 years was not operated or was not recognized by the New 
England independent system operator as a capacity resource and, after September 
1, 2005, resumed operation or was recognized by the New England independent 
system operator as a capacity resource; or 
(4)  Was refurbished after September 1, 2005 and is operating beyond its 
previous useful life or is employing an alternate technology that significantly 
increases the efficiency of the generation process. 
For the purposes of this paragraph, "capacity resource" has the same meaning as in 
section 3210-C, subsection 1, paragraph A.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "to 
refurbish" means to make an investment in equipment or facilities, other than for 
routine maintenance and repair, to renovate, reequip or restore the renewable capacity 
resource. 
Sec. 4.  35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§2, ¶¶B-5 and D are enacted to read: 
B-5.  "New" as applied to any renewable capacity resource that relies on solar energy 
means a renewable capacity resource that has an in-service date after October 1, 
2015. 
D.  "Solar renewable energy credit" means a tradable instrument that represents an 
amount of electricity as measured at the power inverter that is generated from a 
renewable capacity resource that relies on solar energy. 
Sec. 5.  35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§3-A, as corrected by RR 2007, c. 2, §20, is 
amended to read: 
3-A.  Portfolio requirements; new renewable capacity resources.  Portfolio 
requirements for new renewable capacity resources are governed by this subsection. 
A.  Except as provided in paragraph B, beginning Beginning January 1, 2008, 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 the 
percentage of its portfolio of supply sources for retail electricity sales in this State 
accounted for by new renewable capacity resources is as follows: 
(1)  One percent for the period from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008; 
(2)  Two percent for the period from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009; 
(3)  Three percent for the period from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010; 
(4)  Four percent for the period from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011; 
(5)  Five percent for the period from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012; 
(6)  Six percent for the period from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013; 
(7)  Seven percent for the period from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014; 
(8)  Eight percent for the period from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015; 
(9)  Nine and one-quarter percent for the period from January 1, 2016 to 
December 31, 2016; and 
(10)  Ten and one-half percent for the period from January 1, 2017 to December 
31, 2017.; 
(11)  Ten and three-fourths percent for the period from January 1, 2018 to 
December 31, 2018; 
(12)  Eleven percent for the period from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019; 
(13)  Eleven and one-half percent for the period from January 1, 2020 to 
December 31, 2020; 
(14)  Twelve percent for the period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021; 
and 
(15)  Twelve and one-half percent for the period from January 1, 2022 to 
December 31, 2022 and for every year thereafter. 
New renewable capacity resources used to satisfy the requirements of this paragraph 
may not be used to satisfy the requirements of subsection 3. 
B.  Suspensions of scheduled increases in the portfolio requirements as provided in 
paragraph A are governed by this paragraph. 
(1)  If by March 31st of the years 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 the commission 
determines that investment in new renewable capacity resources in the preceding 
calendar years has not been sufficient for competitive electricity providers to 
meet the portfolio requirements under paragraph A and that the resulting use of 
renewable energy credits pursuant to subsection 8 or the alternative compliance 
payment mechanism pursuant to subsection 9, or both of these methods, has 
burdened electricity customers in the State without providing the benefits of new 
renewable capacity resources, the commission may suspend all or some of the 
future scheduled increases in the portfolio requirements under paragraph A. 
(2)  If the commission finds that alternative compliance payments are made 
pursuant to subsection 9 in 3 consecutive calendar years, the commission shall 
temporarily suspend all or some of the future scheduled increases in the portfolio 
requirements under paragraph A. 
(3)  If the commission suspends any scheduled increases in the portfolio 
requirements under paragraph A pursuant to subparagraph (1) or (2), the 
commission may resume increases, limited to no more than one percentage point 
per year over the previous year, in the portfolio requirements after a minimum of 
one year. 
C.  No later than March 31, 2008 and annually thereafter, the commission shall 
submit a report regarding the status of new renewable capacity resources in the State 
and compliance with the portfolio requirements under paragraph A to the joint 
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy 
matters. The report must include, but is not limited to, a description of new renewable 
capacity resources available to meet the portfolio requirements under paragraph A, 
documentation of the loss of any existing renewable generation capacity in the State, 
the status of implementation of the new renewable capacity resources portfolio 
requirements, including any suspensions pursuant to paragraph B, and 
recommendations to stimulate investment in new renewable capacity resources. 
D.  Retail electricity sales pursuant to a supply contract or standard-offer service 
arrangement executed by a competitive electricity provider that is in effect on the 
effective date of this subsection is exempt from the requirements of this subsection 
until the end date of the current term of the supply contract or standard-offer service 
arrangement. 
The commission shall adopt rules to implement this subsection.  Rules adopted under this 
subsection are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 6.  35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§3-B is enacted to read: 
3-B.  Portfolio requirements; new renewable capacity resources that rely on 
solar energy.  Portfolio requirements for new renewable capacity resources that rely on 
solar energy are governed by this subsection. 
A.  Beginning January 1, 2016, each competitive electricity provider in this State 
must demonstrate in a manner satisfactory to the commission that the percentage of 
its portfolio of supply sources for retail electricity sales in this State used to satisfy 
the requirements of subsection 3-A must include new renewable capacity resources 
that rely on solar energy and are interconnected to a transmission and distribution 
serving load in the State as follows: 
(1)  One-fourth of one percent for the period from January 1, 2016 to December 
31, 2016; 
(2)  One-half of one percent for the period from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 
2017; 
(3)  Three-fourths of one percent for the period from January 1, 2018 to 
December 31, 2018; 
(4)  One percent for the period from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019; 
(5)  One and one-half percent for the period from January 1, 2020 to December 
31, 2020; 
(6)  Two percent for the period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021; and 
(7)  Two and one-half percent for the period from January 1, 2022 to December 
31, 2022 and for every year thereafter. 
B.  The commission shall subject each solar renewable energy credit used for 
compliance with paragraph A to the following discount factors: 
(1)  One solar renewable energy credit is generated for each megawatt-hour of 
solar energy generated from: 
(a)  Solar resources with less than 100 kilowatts in capacity located on low-
income or median-income housing units; 
(b)  Solar resources eligible for shared ownership net energy billing; and 
(c)  Solar resources owned by an agricultural business; 
(2)  Nine-tenths of one solar renewable energy credit is generated for each 
megawatt-hour of solar energy generated from: 
(a)  Solar resources located on landfills; 
(b)  Solar resources owned by a municipality or unit of municipal 
government; and 
(c)  Solar resources not eligible under divisions (a) and (b) and under 
subparagraph (1) with less than one megawatt of capacity and for which 
more than 67% of the power is consumed on site; and 
(3)  Eight-tenths of one solar renewable energy credit is generated for each 
megawatt-hour of solar energy generated from all solar resources other than those 
under subparagraphs (1) and (2). 
An eligible facility that relies on solar energy is not subject to the portfolio requirements 
of this subsection and subsections 3 and 3-A. 
For the purposes of this subsection, "eligible facility" has the same meaning as in section 
3209-A, subsection 1, paragraph A and "net energy billing" has the same meaning as in 
section 3209-A, subsection 1, paragraph B. 
The commission shall adopt rules to implement this subsection.  Rules adopted pursuant 
to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2-A. 
Sec. 7.  35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2009, c. 329, Pt. A, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
8.  Credit trading.  The commission shall allow competitive electricity providers to 
satisfy the portfolio requirements of subsections 3 and 3-A through the use of renewable 
energy credits and to satisfy the portfolio requirements of subsection 3-B through the use 
of solar renewable energy credits if the commission determines that a reliable system of 
electrical attribute trading exists. When renewable energy credits are used to satisfy the 
portfolio requirements of subsections 3 and 3-A, the value of a renewable energy credit 
for electricity generated by a community-based renewable energy project, as defined in 
section 3602, that is participating in the community-based renewable energy pilot 
program established in section 3603 and elects the renewable energy credit multiplier 
under section 3605 is 150% of the amount of the electricity. 
Sec. 8.  35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§9, as amended by PL 2011, c. 637, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
9.  Alternative compliance payment; portfolio requirements for new renewable 
capacity resources.  The commission shall allow competitive electricity providers to 
satisfy the portfolio requirements for new renewable capacity resources under subsection 
subsections 3-A and 3-B through an alternative compliance payment mechanism in 
accordance with this subsection. 
A.  The commission shall set the alternative compliance payment rate by rule and 
shall publish the alternative compliance payment rate by January 31st of each year. In 
setting the rate, the commission shall take into account prevailing market prices, 
standard-offer service prices for electricity, reliance on alternative compliance 
payments to meet the requirements of subsection 3-A and investment in new 
renewable capacity resources in the State during the previous calendar year. 
B.  The commission shall collect alternative compliance payments made by 
competitive electricity providers and shall deposit all funds collected under this 
paragraph in the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Resource Fund established under 
section 10121, subsection 2 to be used to fund research, development and 
demonstration projects relating to renewable energy technologies and to fund rebates 
for cost-effective renewable energy technologies. 
C.  Beginning October 1, 2015, the commission shall set the alternative compliance 
payment rate for solar energy at $200 per solar renewable energy credit.  Beginning 
January 1, 2023, the commission shall set the alternative compliance payment rate for 
solar energy by rule in order to meet the requirements of subsection 3-B and maintain 
the rate of solar market development over the previous 5 years. 
The commission shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. Rules adopted under this 
subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 9.  35-A MRSA §3210-C, sub-§3-A is enacted to read: 
3-A.  Solar market stabilization contracts.  Beginning October 1, 2015 and on 
January 1st every year thereafter through the year ending December 31, 2022, the 
commission shall conduct an auction or an alternative competitive solicitation for long-
term contracts for solar renewable energy credits in accordance with this subsection.  
Each year the commission shall solicit contracts for no more than 40% and no less than 
20% of the total solar renewable energy credits that will be required during that year in 
accordance with section 3210, subsection 3-B.  The commission shall solicit contracts for 
solar renewable energy credits at a fixed price in relation to the year's alternative 
compliance payment rate for solar energy under subsection 9, paragraph C as follows: 
A.  In 2015 and 2016, the price must be 80% of the alternative compliance payment 
rate for solar energy; 
B.  In 2017, the price must be 75% of the alternative compliance payment rate for 
solar energy; 
C.  In 2018, the price must be 70% of the alternative compliance payment rate for 
solar energy; 
D.  In 2019, the price must be 65% of the alternative compliance payment rate for 
solar energy; 
E.  In 2020, the price must be 60% of the alternative compliance payment rate for 
solar energy; 
F.  In 2021, the price must be 55% of the alternative compliance payment rate for 
solar energy; and 
G.  In 2022, the price must be 50% of the alternative compliance payment rate for 
solar energy. 
The term of all contracts must be between 10 and 20 years.  The commission may also 
offer solicitations for contracts for future years using the alternative compliance payment 
rate for solar energy reasonably anticipated for those years, as long as the total volume of 
solar renewable energy credits does not exceed the limits in this subsection. 
The commission shall adopt rules to implement this subsection.  Rules adopted under this 
subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows customers of transmission and distribution utilities to engage in net 
energy billing, a method 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.  It changes the law regarding renewable resources to increase the 
new renewable capacity resources percentages in the portfolio requirements of 
competitive electricity providers and requires those increases to be met by new renewable 
capacity resources that rely on solar energy; and it removes the Public Utilities 
Commission's power to suspend scheduled increases in portfolio requirements for new 
renewable capacity resources.  It also establishes an alternative compliance payment 
mechanism and a system of solar renewable energy credits, including an auction for long-
term contracts for these credits, in order to provide competitive electricity providers with 
alternative methods to satisfy the new portfolio requirements.