An Act To Establish Primary Energy Goals for the State
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1547
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: WADSWORTH, WOODSOME, BERRY, HANLEY, HARVELL, O'CONNOR
Amends: 2 MRSA §9, 12 MRSA §1862, 35-A MRSA §3152, 35-A MRSA §3152-A, 35-A MRSA §3210, 35-A MRSA §3404, 35-A MRSA §3453, 35-A MRSA §3453-A, 35-A MRSA §3473, 35-A MRSA §3474

Legislative Document
No. 1547
H.P. 1065
House of Representatives, April 27, 2017
An Act To Establish Primary Energy Goals for the State
Reference to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative WADSWORTH of Hiram.  (GOVERNOR'S BILL)
Cosponsored by Senator WOODSOME of York and
Representatives: BERRY of Bowdoinham, HANLEY of Pittston, HARVELL of Farmington, 
O'CONNOR of Berwick.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  2 MRSA §9, sub-§3, ¶C, as amended by PL 2013, c. 541, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
C.  In consultation with the Efficiency Maine Trust Board, established in Title 5, 
section 12004-G, subsection 10-C, prepare and submit a comprehensive state energy 
plan to the Governor and the Legislature by January 15, 2009 and submit an updated 
plan every 2 years thereafter. Within the comprehensive state energy plan, the 
director shall identify opportunities to lower the total cost of energy to consumers in 
this State and transmission capacity and infrastructure needs and recommend 
appropriate actions to lower the total cost of energy to consumers in this State and 
facilitate the development and integration of new renewable energy generation within 
the State and support the State's renewable resource portfolio requirements specified 
in Title 35-A, section 3210 and wind energy development goals specified in Title 
35-A, section 3404. The comprehensive state energy plan must include a section that 
specifies the State's progress in meeting the oil dependence reduction targets in 
subsection 5.  The office shall make recommendations, if needed, for additional 
legislative and administrative actions to ensure that the State can meet the reduction 
targets in subsection 5. The recommendations must include a cost and resource 
estimate for technology development needed to meet the reduction targets. 
(1)  Beginning in 2015, the update to the plan must: 
(a)  Be submitted to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters and the joint standing committee 
of the Legislature having jurisdiction over natural resources matters; 
(b)  Address the association between energy planning and meeting the 
greenhouse gas reduction goals in the state climate action plan pursuant to 
Title 38, section 577.  The director shall consult with the Department of 
Environmental Protection in developing this portion of the plan; 
(c)  Include a section devoted to wind energy development, including: 
(i)  The State's progress toward meeting the wind energy development 
goals established in Title 35-A, section 3404, subsection 2, including an 
assessment of the likelihood of achieving the goals and any 
recommended changes to the goals; 
(ii)  Examination of the permitting process and any recommended 
changes to the permitting process; 
(iii)  Identified successes in implementing the recommendations 
contained in the February 2008 final report of the Governor's Task Force 
on Wind Power Development created by executive order issued May 8, 
2007; 
(iv)  A summary of tangible benefits provided by expedited wind energy 
developments, including, but not limited to, documentation of 
community benefits packages and community benefit agreement 
payments provided; 
(v)  A review of the community benefits package requirement under Title 
35-A, section 3454, subsection 2, the actual amount of negotiated 
community benefits packages relative to the statutorily required 
minimum amount and any recommended changes to community benefits 
package policies; 
(vi)  Projections of wind energy developers' plans, as well as technology 
trends and their state policy implications; and 
(vii)  Recommendations, including, but not limited to, identification of 
places within the State's unorganized and deorganized areas for inclusion 
in the expedited permitting area established pursuant to Title 35-A, 
chapter 34-A and the creation of an independent siting authority to 
consider wind energy development applications;  
(d)  Include a description of activities undertaken pursuant to paragraph H; 
and 
(e)  Include a description of the State's activities relating to the expansion of 
natural gas service, any actions taken by the office to expand access to 
natural gas in the State and any recommendations for actions by the 
Legislature to expand access to natural gas in the State. 
The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and 
energy matters may report out legislation by February 1st of each odd-numbered year 
relating to the content of the plan. The joint standing committee of the Legislature 
having jurisdiction over natural resources matters may make recommendations 
regarding that legislation to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over energy matters. 
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §1862, sub-§13, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 615, Pt. B, §1 
and amended by PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §7 and c. 682, §38 and PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. A, 
§24, is further amended to read: 
B.  In accordance with the findings in paragraph A, the following provisions apply to 
an application for a lease or easement for a renewable ocean energy project. 
(1)  No more than 30 days prior to filing applications in accordance with this 
paragraph, an applicant for a lease or easement for a renewable ocean energy 
project shall participate in a joint interagency preapplication meeting that 
includes the Department of Marine Resources and is in accordance with 
permitting procedures of the Department of Environmental Protection or the 
Maine Land Use Planning Commission, as applicable. 
(2)  An applicant for a lease or easement for a renewable ocean energy project 
must file and certify to the director that it has filed completed applications for 
requisite state permits under chapter 206-A or Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter 1, 
article 5-A or 6 or Title 38, chapter 5, subchapter 1, article 1, subarticle 1-B, as 
applicable, prior to or concurrently with submission of its submerged lands lease 
application under this section and shall provide a copy of any such applications to 
the director upon request. 
(3)  The director shall provide notice to the Marine Resources Advisory Council 
under section 6024 and any lobster management policy council established 
pursuant to section 6447 in whose or within 3 miles of whose designated lobster 
management zone created pursuant to section 6446 the proposed development is 
located.  The Marine Resources Advisory Council and any lobster management 
policy council notified pursuant to this subparagraph may provide comments 
within a reasonable period established by the director, and the director shall 
consider the comments in making findings pursuant to subsection 2, paragraph A, 
subparagraph (6). 
(4)  The director may issue a lease or easement for a hydropower project, as 
defined in Title 38, section 632, subsection 3, that uses tidal or wave action as a 
source of electrical or mechanical power, for a term not to exceed 50 years, as 
long as the lease term is less than or equal to the term of the license for the 
project issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 
(5)  If requested by an applicant, and with provision for public notice and 
comment, the director may issue one or more of the following for a renewable 
ocean energy project prior to issuance of a 30-year lease for the project: 
(a)  A lease option, for a term not to exceed 2 years, that establishes that the 
leaseholder, for purposes of consideration of its application for state permit 
approvals under chapter 206-A or Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 
5-A or 6 or Title 38, chapter 5, subchapter 1, article 1, subarticle 1-B, as 
applicable, has title, right or interest in a specific area of state submerged 
lands needed to achieve the purposes of the project as described in 
conceptual plans in the lease application; 
(b)  A submerged lands lease, for a term not to exceed 3 years, that authorizes 
the leaseholder to undertake feasibility testing and predevelopment 
monitoring for ecological and human use impacts as described in conceptual 
plans in the lease application and conditioned on receipt of requisite federal, 
state and local approvals; and 
(c)  A submerged lands lease, for a term not to exceed 5 years, that authorizes 
the leaseholder to secure requisite federal, state and local approvals and 
complete preoperation construction, as long as the applicant provides detailed 
development plans describing all operational conditions and restrictions. 
(6)  Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the annual rent for a wind 
energy demonstration project for which a general permit has been issued under 
Title 38, section 480-HH is $10,000 per year for the term of the general permit.  
The annual rent for a tidal energy demonstration project for which a general 
permit has been issued under Title 38, section 636-A is $100 per acre of 
submerged lands occupied by the project for the term of the general project, 
except that the annual rent may not exceed $10,000. As used in this paragraph, 
"submerged lands occupied" includes the sum of the area on which turbines, 
testing and monitoring equipment, anchoring or mooring lines, submerged 
transmission cables or other structures are placed and any additional area from 
which the director finds it necessary to exclude transient public trust uses to 
avoid unreasonable interference with the project's purposes.  An annual rent is 
not required for an offshore wind energy demonstration project located in the 
Maine Offshore Wind Energy Research Center, as designated by the department 
under section 1868, subsection 2. 
(7)  The director shall charge a lessee an annual rent in accordance with a fee 
schedule, established by the bureau by rule, that balances state goals of assurance 
of fair compensation for use and mitigation of potential adverse effects on or 
conflict with existing uses of state-owned submerged lands that are held in trust 
for the people of the State with state renewable ocean energy-related goals, 
including state wind energy generation goals established in Title 35-A, section 
3404, subsection 2.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subparagraph are routine 
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
(8)  The director may not require additional public compensation pursuant to 
subsection 9. 
(9)  The director may issue a lease for a buffer zone comprising a land or water 
area around permanent structures located on submerged or intertidal land if: 
(a)  The director determines such a buffer zone is necessary to preserve the 
integrity or safety of the structure or fulfill the purposes of the project; and 
(b)  The director consults with the Commissioner of Marine Resources 
regarding the need for such a buffer, its location and size and options to 
minimize its potential effects on existing uses. 
Sec. 3.  35-A MRSA §3152, as amended by PL 2013, c. 369, Pt. F, §§2 to 4, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 4.  35-A MRSA §3152-A is enacted to read: 
§3152-A.  Policy and findings 
1.  State energy policy.  The Legislature declares that the primary energy policy of 
the State is to reduce electric rates and costs for businesses and households in the State 
and to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to Title 38, section 576 
cost-effectively and to the maximum extent practicable. 
2.  Increased efficiency.  The Legislature declares and finds that improvements in 
transmission and distribution utility rate design and related regulatory programs have 
great potential for reducing the cost of electric utility services to consumers, for 
encouraging energy conservation and efficient use of existing facilities and for 
minimizing the need for expensive new electric transmission capacity.  It is the purpose 
of this chapter to: 
A.  Require the commission to relate transmission and distribution rates more closely 
to the costs of providing transmission and distribution service; 
B.  Require the commission to consider the ability of low-income residential 
customers to pay in full for electric services as transmission and distribution rates are 
redesigned consistent with these policies; and 
C.  Require the commission to set rates to the extent practicable to achieve economic 
efficiency. 
Sec. 5.  35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1999, c. 398, Pt. I, §1, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 6.  35-A MRSA §3404, as amended by PL 2009, c. 615, Pt. A, §§3 and 4, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 7.  35-A MRSA §3453, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2015, c. 265, §7 and 
affected by §10, is further amended to read: 
1.  Geographic extension.  Involves a logical geographic extension of the currently 
designated expedited permitting area, except that the addition of a specified place that 
was previously removed from the expedited permitting area in accordance with section 
3453-A, subsection 1 need not satisfy this requirement; and 
Sec. 8.  35-A MRSA §3453, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 661, Pt. A, §7, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 9.  35-A MRSA §3453-A, sub-§3, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 265, §8 
and affected by §10, is repealed. 
Sec. 10.  35-A MRSA §3473, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 562, §1, is 
amended to read: 
1.  Monitoring.  The commission shall monitor, to the extent possible through 
readily available information, the level of solar energy development in the State in 
relation to the goals in section 3474, basic trends in solar energy markets and the likely 
relative costs and benefits for ratepayers from solar energy development, including but 
not limited to minimizing peak load on transmission and distribution systems and the 
energy market price of electricity and natural gas during the peak hours. 
Sec. 11.  35-A MRSA §3474, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 562, §1, is repealed. 
SUMMARY 
This bill changes the State's energy goals to establish that the primary objectives of 
the State's energy policy are to reduce electric rates and costs and to reduce air pollution.  
It repeals state policies and goals related to energy generation from renewable resources 
and to wind energy development.