An Act To Encourage and Enhance the Future of Waste-to-energy Facilities by Establishing a Portfolio Requirement for Electricity from Waste Energy Resources
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0273
Committee Amendment CA_A_H519 (House)
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3210

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 191, L.D. 273, Bill, "An Act To 
Encourage and Enhance the Future of Waste-to-energy Facilities by Establishing a 
Portfolio Requirement for Electricity from Waste Energy Resources" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Encourage and Enhance the Future of Waste-to-energy Facilities by 
Establishing a Portfolio Requirement for Electricity from Waste-to-energy 
Resources' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§2, ~-2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 542, §2, 
is further amended to read: 
B-2. 
"Renewable energy credit" means a tractable instrument that represents an 
amount of electricity generated from eligible resources, waste-to-energy resources or 
renewable capacity resources. 
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§2, ~ 
is enacted to read: 
D. "Waste-to-energy resource" means a pyrolytic or other waste system that is a 
source of electrical generation and: 
(1) That is fueled by municipal solid waste in conjunction with recycling; 
(2) Whose total power production capacity does not exceed 35 megawatts; 
(3) That is licensed to comply with the air emission requirement levels for 
resource recovery facilities established pursuant to Title 38, section 585, 
including, but not limited to, standards for mercury established pursuant to Title 
38, section 585-B, subsection 5; 
(4) That complies with all applicable licensing requirements for solid waste 
facilities as established pursuant to Title 38, section 1310-N; 
Page I -127LR0072(02)-1 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 191, L.D. 273 
(5) Whose residuals are transported to a landfill that is licensed to meet at least 
the performance standards and siting criteria established by rules adopted 
pursuant to Title 38, section 1304, including. but not limited to, standards 
prohibiting contamination of groundwater outside the solid waste boundary of 
landfills; and 
( 6) That is not a party to a power purchase agreement entered into pursuant to 
the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978. 
Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§3-B is enacted to read: 
3-B. Portfolio requirements; waste-to-energy resources. Portfolio requirements 
for waste-to-energy resources are governed by this subsection. 
As a condition oflicensing pursuant to section 3203, each competitive electricity provider 
in this State must demonstrate in a manner satisfactory to the commission that no less 
than the following percentage of its portfolio of supply sources for retail electricity sales 
in this State is accounted for by waste-to-energy resources: 
A. One percent for the period from January l, 2017 to February 14, 2018: and 
B. Two and a half percent beginning February 15, 2018. 
Waste-to-energy resources used to satisfy the requirements of this subsection may not be 
used to satisfy the requirements of subsection 3 or subsection 3-A. 
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. 4. 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 aaa~ 3-A and 3-B through the use of 
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 aaa~ 3-A and 3-B, 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. 5. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§10 is enacted to read: 
10. 
Alternative compliance payment; portfolio requirements for waste-to-
energy resources. The commission shall allow competitive electricity providers to 
satisfy the portfolio requirements for waste-to-energy resources under subsection 3-B 
through an alternative compliance payment mechanism in accordance with this 
subsection. 
A. The commission shall set the alternative compliance payment base rate at $10 per 
megawatt-hour. Beginning January 1, 2018, the commission shall adjust the 
alternative compliance payment rate by the annual change in the United States 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A" to H.P. 191, L.D. 273 
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. 
The 
commission shall calculate and publish the alternative compliance payment rate no 
later than January 31st of each 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. 
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. 6. Existing contracts. 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 Act are exempt from the requirements of the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 3210, subsection 3-B until the end date of the 
current term of the supply contract or standard-offer service arrangement.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the minority report of the committee and it replaces the bill and 
changes the title. This amendment differs from the bill in the following ways. 
1. It changes the term "waste energy resources" to "waste-to-energy resources" to be 
consistent with other statutory provisions. 
2. 
It removes the section that would have added waste energy resources to the 
definition of "renewable capacity resource" in order to clarify that waste-to-energy 
resources would create a separate class of renewable energy credits. 
3. 
It amends the definition of "renewable energy credit" to include electricity 
generated from waste-to-energy resources. 
4. 
It includes in the definition of "waste-to-energy resource" a provision that 
disqualifies any generator that is a party to a power purchase agreement under the federal 
Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978. 
5. It lowers the proposed portfolio requirement for waste-to-energy resources from 
3.5% to 1% from January 1, 2017 to February 14, 2018 and to 2.5% beginning February 
15, 2018 to more accurately reflect the level of generation from the eligible waste-to-
energy facilities in Maine and to lessen the impact on ratepayers. 
6. It adds language to clarify that renewable energy credits from waste-to-energy 
resources used to satisfy the new portfolio requirement may not be used to satisfy eligible 
resources and new renewable capacity resources portfolio requirements. 
7. It sets the initial alternative compliance payment base rate at $10 per megawatt-
hour, to be adjusted for inflation on an annual basis and published annually by the Public 
Utilities Commission. 
FIICAL NOTE UQUIRED 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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LD273 
LR 72(02) 
An Act To Encourage and Enhance the Future of Waste-to-energy Facilities by Establishing a 
Portfolio Requirement for Electricity from Waste Energy Resources 
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Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 'A' L H "' 5 
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Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Potential current biennium revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Potential transfer to Efficiency Maine Trust 
Minor cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
The bill allows competitive electricity providers to pay an alternative compliance payment of $10 per megawatt-hoL 
to the Public Utilities Commission as a way to satisfy portfolio requirements for waste-to-energy resources. Any 
revenue would be transferred to the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Resource Fund within the Efficiency Maine 
Trust. The PUC has indicated that it is not expecting any competitive electricity providers to make these payments at 
this time. Beginning January 1, 2018, the PUC is required to adjust the alternative compliance payment rate by the 
annual change in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. Any additional costs to the PUC to 
require waste-to-energy resources to meet certain portfolio requirements are expected to be minor and can be absorbed 
within existing budgeted resources. 
LR0072(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1