Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes a community solar program available to all classes of taxpayers, and authorizes solar installation on underutilized spaces in Connecticut.

Highlights:

• Requires the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to establish a community solar energy generating systems pilot program, and specifies the following guidelines (Sec. 1):

• All electric customer rate classes must be eligible to participate in the program;

• A subscriber may not receive credit for excess generation that exceeds 200% of their baseline annual usage;

• A subscriber organization may sell unsubscribed generated energy to an electric distribution company or transfer it to the Connecticut Green Bank;

• An electric distribution company must use energy generated from a community solar energy system to offset purchases from wholesale electricity suppliers;

• A subscriber organization may contract with a third party company for the financing, construction, ownership, or operation of a community solar energy system;

• A municipal electric utility may participate in the program; and

• The Authority must limit the program to a total nameplate capacity rating of 600 megawatts.

• Requires the Authority to adopt regulations establishing each of the following (Sec. 1):

• Consumer protections for electric customers;

• A calculation for virtual net energy metering;

• A protocol for electric distribution companies, electricity suppliers, and subscriber organizations to communicate the information necessary to calculate monthly bill credits and yearly net excess generation payments; and

• A protocol for a subscriber organization to coordinate with an electric distribution company for the interconnection of a community solar energy generating system.

• Specifies that a subscriber organization may continue the operation of a community solar energy generating system after the termination of the program (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Connecticut Green Bank, in consultation with the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, to establish a community solar energy credit sale program for subscriber organizations to transfer unsubscribed or overproduced energy credits (Sec. 2).

• Establishes a working group to study the value and costs of the pilot program and make recommendations to the Authority on the advisability of establishing a permanent program (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text