Relates to farm waste electric generating systems; amends certain definitions to include customers of an electric corporation who own or operate farm waste electric generating equipment and defines such term; makes related provisions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6592--C
IN SENATE
March 20, 2002
___________
Introduced by Sens. WRIGHT, HOFFMANN -- (at request of the Governor) --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public service law, the public authorities law and
the real property tax law, in relation to farm waste electric generat-
ing systems
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The section heading and subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of
2 section 66-j of the public service law, as added by chapter 399 of the
3 laws of 1997, are amended to read as follows:
4 Net energy metering for residential solar or farm waste electric
5 generating systems. 1. Definitions. As used in this section, the
6 following terms shall have the following meanings:
7 (a) "Customer-generator" means: (i) a residential customer of an elec-
8 tric corporation, who owns or operates solar electric generating equip-
9 ment located and used at his or her residence; and (ii) a customer of an
10 electric corporation, who owns or operates farm waste electric generat-
11 ing equipment located and used at his or her "farm operation," as such
12 term is defined in subdivision eleven of section three hundred one of
13 the agriculture and markets law.
14 (b) "Net energy meter" means a non-demand, non-time differentiated
15 meter that measures the reverse flow of electricity to register the
16 difference between the electricity supplied by an electric corporation
17 to the customer-generator and the electricity provided to the corpo-
18 ration by [a] that customer-generator.
19 (c) "Net energy metering" means the use of a net energy meter to meas-
20 ure, during the billing period applicable to a [residential customer]
21 customer-generator, the net amount of electricity supplied by an elec-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD12358-11-2
S. 6592--C 2
1 tric corporation and provided to the corporation by a customer-genera-
2 tor.
3 (d) "Solar electric generating equipment" means a photovoltaic system
4 with a rated capacity of not more than ten kilowatts that is manufac-
5 tured, installed, and operated in accordance with applicable government
6 and industry standards, that is connected to the electric system and
7 operated in conjunction with an electric corporation's transmission and
8 distribution facilities, and that is operated in compliance with any
9 standards and requirements established under this section.
10 (e) "Farm waste electric generating equipment" means equipment that
11 generates electric energy from biogas produced by the anaerobic
12 digestion of agricultural waste, such as livestock manure, farming
13 wastes and food processing wastes with a rated capacity of not more than
14 four hundred kilowatts, that is:
15 i. manufactured, installed, and operated in accordance with applicable
16 government and industry standards;
17 ii. connected to the electric system and operated in conjunction with
18 an electric corporation's transmission and distribution facilities;
19 iii. operated in compliance with any standards and requirements estab-
20 lished under this section;
21 iv. fueled at a minimum of ninety percent on an annual basis by biogas
22 produced from the anaerobic digestion of agricultural waste such as
23 livestock manure materials, crop residues, and food processing waste;
24 and
25 v. fueled by biogas generated by anaerobic digestion with at least
26 seventy-five percent by weight of its feedstock being livestock manure
27 materials on an annual basis.
28 2. Interconnection and net energy metering. An electric corporation
29 shall provide for the interconnection of residential solar and farm
30 waste electric generating equipment owned or operated by a customer-gen-
31 erator and for net energy metering, provided that the customer-generator
32 enters into a net energy metering contract with the corporation or
33 complies with the corporation's net energy metering schedule and
34 complies with standards and requirements established under this section.
35 3. Conditions of service. (a) On or before three months after the
36 effective date of this [act] section, each electric corporation shall
37 develop a model contract and file a schedule that establishes consistent
38 and reasonable rates, terms and conditions for net energy metering to
39 customer-generators, according to the requirements of this section. The
40 commission shall render a decision within three months from the date on
41 which the schedule is filed. Each electric corporation shall make such
42 contract and schedule available to customer-generators on a first come,
43 first served basis, until the total rated generating capacity for resi-
44 dential solar electric generating equipment owned or operated by custom-
45 er-generators in the corporation's service area is equivalent to one-
46 tenth percent of the corporation's electric demand for the year nineteen
47 hundred ninety-six, as determined by the department and the total rated
48 generating capacity for farm waste electric generating equipment owned
49 or operated by customer-generators in the corporation's service area is
50 equivalent to four-tenths percent of the corporation's electric demand
51 for the year nineteen hundred ninety-six, as determined by the depart-
52 ment.
53 (b) Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit a corporation from
54 providing net energy metering to additional customer-generators. The
55 commission shall have the authority, after January first, two thousand
S. 6592--C 3
1 five, to increase the [one-tenth] percent [limit] limits if it deter-
2 mines that additional net energy metering is in the public interest.
3 [(b)] (c) In the event that the electric corporation determines that
4 it is necessary to install a dedicated transformer or transformers to
5 protect the safety and adequacy of electric service provided to other
6 customers, a customer-generator shall pay [for] the [cost] electric
7 corporation's actual costs of installing the transformer or
8 transformers[,]:
9 (i) In the case of a customer-generator who owns or operates solar
10 electric generating equipment located and used at his or her residence;
11 up to a maximum amount of three hundred fifty dollars.
12 (ii) In the case of a customer-generator who owns or operates farm
13 waste electric generating equipment located and used at his or her "farm
14 operation," up to a total amount of three thousand dollars per "farm
15 operation".
16 (d) An electric corporation shall impose no other charge or fee,
17 including back-up, stand by and demand charges, for the provision of net
18 energy metering to a customer-generator, except as provided in paragraph
19 (d) of subdivision four of this section.
20 4. Rates. An electric corporation shall use net energy metering to
21 measure and charge for the net electricity supplied by the corporation
22 and provided to the corporation by a customer-generator, according to
23 these requirements:
24 (a) In the event that the amount of electricity supplied by the corpo-
25 ration during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity
26 [produced] provided by a customer-generator, the corporation shall
27 charge the customer-generator for the net electricity supplied at the
28 same rate per kilowatt hour applicable to service provided to other
29 [residential] customers in the same service class which do not generate
30 electricity onsite.
31 (b) In the event that the amount of electricity produced by a custom-
32 er-generator during the billing period exceeds the amount of electricity
33 used by the customer-generator, [it] the corporation shall apply a cred-
34 it to the next bill for service to the customer-generator for the net
35 electricity [produced] provided at the same rate per kilowatt hour
36 applicable to service provided to other [residential] customers in the
37 same service class which do not generate electricity onsite.
38 (c) At the end of the year or annualized over the period that service
39 is supplied by means of net energy metering, the corporation shall
40 promptly issue payment at its avoided cost to the customer-generator for
41 the value of any remaining credit for the excess electricity produced
42 during the year or over the annualized period by the customer-generator.
43 (d) With respect to customer-generators that own or operate farm waste
44 electric generating equipment, in the event that the corporation imposes
45 charges based on kilowatt demand on customers who are in the same
46 service class as the customer-generator but which do not generate elec-
47 tricity on site, the corporation may impose the same charges at the same
48 rates to the customer-generator, provided, however, that the kilowatt
49 demand for such demand charges is determined by the maximum measured
50 kilowatt demand actually supplied by the corporation to the customer-
51 generator during the billing period.
52 5. Safety standards. (a) On or before three months after the effective
53 date of this section, each electric corporation shall establish stand-
54 ards that are necessary for net energy metering and the interconnection
55 of residential solar or farm waste electric generating equipment to its
56 system and that the commission shall determine are necessary for safe
S. 6592--C 4
1 and adequate service and further the public policy set forth in this
2 section. Such standards may include but shall not be limited to:
3 (i) equipment necessary to isolate automatically the residential solar
4 and farm waste generating system from the utility system for voltage and
5 frequency deviations; and
6 (ii) a manual lockable disconnect switch provided by the [customer]
7 customer-generator which shall be located on the outside of the [resi-
8 dence] customer's premises and externally accessible for the purpose of
9 isolating the residential solar and farm waste electric generating
10 equipment.
11 (b) Upon its own motion or upon a complaint, the commission, or its
12 designated representative, may investigate and make a determination as
13 to the reasonableness and necessity of the standards or responsibility
14 for compliance with the standards.
15 (i) In the case of a customer-generator who owns or operates solar
16 electric generating equipment located and used at his or her residence;
17 an electric corporation may not require a customer-generator to comply
18 with additional safety or performance standards, perform or pay for
19 additional tests, or purchase additional liability insurance provided
20 that the residential solar or farm waste electric generating equipment
21 meets the safety standards established pursuant to this paragraph.
22 (ii) In the case of a customer-generator who owns or operates farm
23 waste electric generating equipment located and used at his or her "farm
24 operation," an electric corporation may not require a customer-generator
25 to comply with additional safety or performance standards, perform or
26 pay for additional tests, or purchase additional liability insurance
27 provided that:
28 1. the electric generating equipment meets the safety standards estab-
29 lished pursuant to this paragraph; and
30 2. the total rated generating capacity (measured in kW) of farm waste
31 electric generating equipment that provides electricity to the electric
32 corporation through the same local feeder line, does not exceed twenty
33 percent of the rated capacity of that local feeder line.
34 (iii) In the event that the total rated generating capacity of farm
35 waste electric generating equipment that provides electricity to the
36 electric corporation through the same local feeder line exceeds twenty
37 percent of the rated capacity of the local feeder line, the electric
38 corporation may require the customer-generator to comply with reasonable
39 measures to ensure safety of that local feeder line.
40 § 2. Subdivision (h) of section 1020-g of the public authorities law,
41 as amended by chapter 399 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as
42 follows:
43 (h) To implement programs and policies designed to provide for the
44 interconnection of: (i) solar electric generating equipment owned or
45 operated by residential customers; and (ii) farm waste electric generat-
46 ing equipment owned or operated by customer-generators and for net ener-
47 gy metering consistent with section sixty-six-j of the public service
48 law, to increase the efficiency of energy end use, to shift demand from
49 periods of high demand to periods of low demand and to facilitate the
50 development of cogeneration.
51 § 3. Section 487 of the real property tax law, as amended by chapter
52 263 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
53 § 487. Exemption from taxation for certain solar or wind energy
54 systems or farm waste energy systems. 1. As used in this section:
55 (a) "Solar or wind energy equipment" means collectors, controls, ener-
56 gy storage devices, heat pumps and pumps, heat exchangers, windmills,
S. 6592--C 5
1 and other materials, hardware or equipment necessary to the process by
2 which solar radiation or wind is (i) collected, (ii) converted into
3 another form of energy such as thermal, electrical, mechanical or chemi-
4 cal, (iii) stored, (iv) protected from unnecessary dissipation and (v)
5 distributed. It does not include pipes, controls, insulation or other
6 equipment which are part of the normal heating, cooling, or insulation
7 system of a building. It does include insulated glazing or insulation to
8 the extent that such materials exceed the energy efficiency standards
9 required by law.
10 (b) "Solar or wind energy system" means an arrangement or combination
11 of solar or wind energy equipment designed to provide heating, cooling,
12 hot water, or mechanical, chemical, or electrical energy by the
13 collection of solar or wind energy and its conversion, storage,
14 protection and distribution.
15 (c) "Authority" means the New York state energy research and develop-
16 ment authority.
17 (d) "Incremental cost" means the increased cost of a solar or wind
18 energy system or farm waste energy system or component thereof which
19 also serves as part of the building structure, above that for similar
20 conventional construction, which enables its use as a solar [and] or
21 wind energy or farm waste energy system or component.
22 (e) "Farm waste electric generating equipment" means equipment that
23 generates electric energy from biogas produced by the anaerobic
24 digestion of agricultural waste, such as livestock manure, farming waste
25 and food processing wastes with a rated capacity of not more than four
26 hundred kilowatts that is (i) manufactured, installed and operated in
27 accordance with applicable government and industry standards, (ii)
28 connected to the electric system and operated in conjunction with an
29 electric corporation's transmission and distribution facilities, (iii)
30 operated in compliance with the provisions of section sixty-six-j of the
31 public service law, (iv) fueled at a minimum of ninety percent on an
32 annual basis by biogas produced from the anaerobic digestion of agricul-
33 tural waste such as livestock manure materials, crop residues and food
34 processing wastes, and (v) fueled by biogas generated by anaerobic
35 digestion with at least seventy-five percent by weight of its feedstock
36 being livestock manure materials on an annual basis.
37 (f) "Farm waste energy system" means an arrangement or combination of
38 farm waste electric generating equipment or other materials, hardware or
39 equipment necessary to the process by which agricultural waste biogas is
40 produced, collected, stored, cleaned, and converted into forms of energy
41 such as thermal, electrical, mechanical or chemical and by which the
42 biogas and converted energy are distributed on-site. It does not include
43 pipes, controls, insulation or other equipment which are part of the
44 normal heating, cooling or insulation system of a building.
45 2. Real property which includes a solar or wind energy system or farm
46 waste energy system approved in accordance with the provisions of this
47 section shall be exempt from taxation to the extent of any increase in
48 the value thereof by reason of the inclusion of such solar or wind ener-
49 gy system or farm waste energy system for a period of fifteen years.
50 When a solar or wind energy system or components thereof or farm waste
51 energy system also serve as part of the building structure, the increase
52 in value which shall be exempt from taxation shall be equal to the
53 assessed value attributable to such system or components multiplied by
54 the ratio of the incremental cost of such system or components to the
55 total cost of such system or components.
S. 6592--C 6
1 3. The president of the authority shall provide definitions and guide-
2 lines for the eligibility for exemption of the solar and wind energy
3 equipment and systems and farm waste energy equipment and systems
4 described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision one of this section.
5 4. No solar or wind energy system or farm waste energy system shall be
6 entitled to any exemption from taxation under this section unless such
7 system meets the guidelines set by the president of the authority and
8 all other applicable provisions of law.
9 5. The exemption granted pursuant to this section shall only be appli-
10 cable to solar or wind energy systems or farm waste energy systems which
11 are (a) existing or constructed prior to July first, nineteen hundred
12 eighty-eight or (b) constructed subsequent to January first, nineteen
13 hundred ninety-one and prior to January first, two thousand six.
14 6. Such exemption shall be granted only upon application by the owner
15 of the real property on a form prescribed and made available by the
16 state board in cooperation with the authority. The applicant shall
17 furnish such information as the board shall require. The application
18 shall be filed with the assessor of the appropriate county, city, town
19 or village on or before the taxable status date of such county, city,
20 town or village. A copy of such application shall be filed with the
21 authority.
22 7. If the assessor is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an
23 exemption pursuant to this section, he or she shall approve the applica-
24 tion and enter the taxable assessed value of the parcel for which an
25 exemption has been granted pursuant to this section on the assessment
26 roll with the taxable property, with the amount of the exemption as
27 computed pursuant to subdivision two of this section in a separate
28 column. In the event that real property granted an exemption pursuant to
29 this section ceases to be used primarily for eligible purposes, the
30 exemption granted pursuant to this section shall cease.
31 8. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this section,
32 a county, city, town or village may by local law or a school district,
33 other than a school district to which article fifty-two of the education
34 law applies, may by resolution provide that no exemption under this
35 section shall be applicable within its jurisdiction with respect to any
36 solar or wind energy system or farm waste energy system constructed
37 subsequent to January first, nineteen hundred ninety-one or the effec-
38 tive date of such local law, ordinance or resolution, whichever is
39 later. A copy of any such local law or resolution shall be filed with
40 the state board and with the president of the authority.
41 § 4. Subdivision 3 of section 594 of the real property tax law, as
42 amended by chapter 869 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as
43 follows:
44 3. Economic units including oil and gas rights contained therein shall
45 not be eligible for any exemption from taxation except as provided in
46 the following circumstances:
47 (a) Oil and gas rights and other elements of economic units shall be
48 exempt from taxation if owned by a school district or board of cooper-
49 ative educational services;
50 (b) Oil and gas rights and other elements of economic units shall be
51 exempt from taxation if owned by an organization whose property is
52 exempt from taxation pursuant to section four hundred twenty-a of this
53 chapter, except that such property shall be taxable to the extent that
54 the oil and gas produced is sold rather than used by the owner, regard-
55 less of the use to which the revenues are devoted; [and]
S. 6592--C 7
1 (c) Unless a local law, ordinance or resolution has been adopted
2 pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section four hundred
3 twenty-b of this chapter, oil and gas rights and other elements of
4 economic units shall be exempt from taxation if owned by an organization
5 whose property is exempt pursuant to such section four hundred twenty-b,
6 except that such property shall be taxable to the extent that the oil
7 and gas produced is sold rather than used by the owner, regardless of
8 the use to which the revenues are devoted[.]; and
9 (d) Oil and gas rights and other elements of economic units shall be
10 exempt from taxation if the gas produced in the economic unit is
11 collected from a landfill or used to power farm waste energy systems or
12 farm waste electric generating equipment, as such term is defined in
13 section sixty-six-j of the public service law. Such exemption shall
14 apply to property on assessment rolls based on taxable status dates
15 occurring on or before December thirty-first, two thousand seventeen.
16 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable
17 status dates occurring on or after such effective date.
