Missouri renewable energy bill gets stuck in the legislative process:
Renewable Energy Act HB 613 stalls out
 May 13, 2011 - HB 613 Never Gets a Vote
Missouri lawmakers rolled back key provisions of the voter-approved Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) earlier this year, effectively driving jobs and economic development out of the state. SCR1, which went into effect in late February, removes the requirement that utilities generate renewable electricity, like wind, solar, and biomass, from in-state projects or from projects from surrounding states that deliver power into Missouri. SCR1’s passage allows utilities to comply with the RES by paying to outsource development of renewable energy projects to places like California, South Dakota, and Canada.
In response to the SCR1 vote, House Speaker Steven Tilley (R-106) created the Special Committee on Renewable Energy, chaired by Rep. Jason Holsman (D-45), specifically to focus on creating a “fix” to Prop C. Rep. Holsman worked very hard with his committee and was able to pass HB 613 out of his committee with a 10 – 0 vote. While HB 613 would have resulted in significantly less renewable energy than Prop C, it would have established certainty for the wind, solar, and biomass industries. In dramatic fashion, on the last day of session, it appeared a deal had been struck between Ameren, Missouri’s largest utility, and Missouri’s largest industrial energy users to pass HB 613 as part of an energy omnibus bill with many other amendments. The bill also contained the early site permit for the proposed nuclear facility Callaway 2 and would have also shifted funding for the Office of Public Council from the taxpayers to the ratepayers. But several senators stood in protest of voting on such a large bill in the final hour of session, a bill they had largely not read, so the bill’s sponsor decided to bring an end to the debate with ten minutes left in session. There is a chance the issue could be taken up within a special session this summer, but at press time there was no news confirming they would work on the energy omnibus bill. Renew Missouri also laid a foundation this legislative session to establish interconnection standards that would make it easier and more cost effective to connect renewable energy projects to the grid. Rep. T.J. Berry (R-35) sponsored HB 877, which had a hearing in the Utilities committee, but didn’t come up for a vote this session. Renew Missouri helped draft HB 877, which would have reduced uncertainty and risk for renewable energy developers by streamlining and simplifying the procedural and technical process required to connect a project to the utility grid. Renew Missouri will lead the stakeholder process this summer to build consensus around an interconnection policy with the support needed to pass in the 2012 session. April 18, 2011
Jefferson City, MO – In response to the Missouri General Assembly’s dramatic weakening of the Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) in January, the House Committee on Renewable Energy passed the “Renewable Energy Act” (HB 613) Wednesday, April 6 with a 10-0 vote.
The Renewable Energy Act successfully reinstates portions of the renewable energy law, though it is still weaker than the Prop C that Missouri voters passed with 66% of the vote in 2008. With Prop C, Missouri’s investor-owned utilities were required to get 15% renewable energy from renewable energy sources by 2021 and faced financial penalties if they failed to meet these targets. The renewable energy had to be sold to Missouri customers to count toward the mandate. The Renewable Energy Act requires 750MW of new non-solar renewable energy and sets aside a fund for 60MW of solar. All of the energy must also be sold to Missouri consumers. The Act also requires utilities to make a good faith effort to get 15% by 2021. There are penalties if utilities do not meet the new less stringent requirements; however, there are no penalties if they fail to meet the original targets of Prop C. Renew Missouri, the state’s leading renewable energy group and original proponents of Prop C, were extremely disappointed when the General Assembly undercut Prop C in January. They are glad the Renewable Energy Act restores much of Prop C’s promise. However, they recognize that this bill is already a compromise of the original language and would not support any further weakening of the RES. “If HB613 passes, utilities will begin to add more renewable energy generation to their power mix that they sell to Missouri.” said PJ Wilson, co-director of Renew Missouri, “That’s the whole point of the Renewable Energy Standard. Missouri will greatly benefit from the green jobs, economic investment, and clean air that will result from new in-state wind, solar, and sustainable biomass developments.” HB 613 will next move to the House floor, anticipated week of April 18th. If it passes into law, and receives the Governor’s signature, the “Renewable Energy Act” is anticipated to go into effect in 2012. | Features of the Bill as of April 18, 2011
• 380MW by 2015 • 430MW by 2018 • 750MW by 2020
• For homes and businesses that install small-scale solar power - $3 per watt rebate for solar up to 25KW in size - $2 per watt for solar 26 to 50 KW in size
|
Missouri lawmakers outsource renewable energy, jobs to other regions of the country
Jefferson City (February 23, 2011) - Missouri lawmakers have rolled back key provisions of the voter-approved Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), effectively driving jobs and economic development out of the state. SCR1, which went into effect today, removes the requirement that utilities generate renewable electricity, like wind, solar, and biomass, from in-state projects or from projects from surrounding states that deliver power into Missouri. Utilities will now comply with the RES by paying to outsource development of renewable energy projects to places like California, South Dakota, and Canada.
“We should be focused on development in Missouri,” said PJ Wilson, co-director of Renew Missouri. “Developing projects across the state in places like Neosho or Nodaway County could result in more than $4 billion in economic investment for our state and thousands of new jobs.”
Legislators need look no further than Columbia for the benefits of requiring renewable energy standards to come from locally sourced projects. Last week, MFA Oil of Columbia announced its plans to create jobs in Missouri by investing in a large biomass project. The biomass project is expected to directly create more than 900 jobs and more than $150 million in annual economic development. The company states within its press release the investments are being made to help the City of Columbia meet its own municipal renewable electricity standard.
A University of Missouri - St. Louis study from 2008 calculated Missouri’s RES would create 9,591 jobs and generate $2.86 billion in economic activity in Missouri over the next 20 years. The study assumed power was being generated in state or delivered into Missouri from surrounding states.
“This is just a matter of common sense. When spending ratepayer dollars on new projects, why outsource the projects and not build them here locally?” questioned PJ Wilson.
Missouri’s RES, seen on the ballot as Prop C, which was passed into law in November 2008 with the support of 66% of voters statewide, requires that investor-owned utilities produce or buy no less than 15% of their electricity from renewable resources like wind, biomass, and solar by 2021. The Missouri RES includes strong consumer protections limiting any increase in costs to just 1% as a result of the state’s RES.
Leaders on both side of the aisle have voiced strong support for a legislative solution to Missouri’s RES and in response House Speaker Steven Tilley (R-Perryville) created a special Renewable Energy Committee to focus on the issue. “At the end of the day, investment in Missouri is what we want. It’s what the intention of Prop. C was,” said Rep Jason Holsman (D-45th) the Chairman of the newly created Special Committee on Renewable Energy. “Prop C needed to be drafted a little tighter and better to make sure that was the end outcome, and now we’re going to seek a legislative solution to get the outcome that we were looking for which is more renewable energy for our state.”
In response to SCR1, Gov. Nixon sent a letter last week to the entire General Assembly in which he says, “Now is not the time to abandon this critical opportunity to accelerate the development of renewable energy in Missouri. Renewable energy must be a cornerstone of our economic future.”
