The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  3521--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 30, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  PARKER, ADDABBO, BAILEY, BIAGGI, BRESLIN, BROOKS,
   COMRIE, GAUGHRAN, GIANARIS, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN, KAPLAN, LIU,
   MAY, MYRIE, PERSAUD, RAMOS, SKOUFIS, STAVISKY, THOMAS  --  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  commit-
   tee
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the public service law, in relation to the transfer of
   bill credits associated with the  electricity  produced  by  community
   distributed generation facilities
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the  "Community
 Solar for Disadvantaged Communities Act".
   §  2.  The  Legislature  hereby  finds that as a result of the Climate
 Leadership and Community Protection Act, New York State  has  two  goals
 that are wholly compatible: the leading-edge goal to build six gigawatts
 of  distributed  solar  generation  by  2025, and to provide benefits to
 disadvantaged communities through the provision  of  low-cost  renewable
 power; that recent estimates indicate New York State needs to accelerate
 the  build  out of solar deployment by at least six hundred thirty mega-
 watts per year by 2025 to achieve the first goal; that New York City  is
 the  home  to  the four most underserved counties for solar power in the
 state, with seven percent of the solar generation yet forty-one  percent
 of  the population; that New York City is the home to the largest number
 of low and moderate income rate payers, including fifty-five percent  of
 the state's low income residents; that New York city has a laudable goal
 of  two  hundred fifty megawatts of community solar to address a portion
 of the need; so New York State must pair together these two vital  goals
 to  ensure  that  the  economic  and environmental benefits of renewable
 solar power are available to  all  residents,  especially  disadvantaged

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD06837-02-1

 S. 3521--A                          2
 
 communities,  through  a  process  of  removing  regulatory barriers and
 unlocking consumer savings, while avoiding the need  for  costly  short-
 term transmission upgrades.
   § 3. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 66-q to
 read as follows:
   § 66-Q. COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTED GENERATION FACILITY BILL CREDITS.  1. AS
 USED IN THIS SECTION, THE TERM "COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTED GENERATION FACILI-
 TY"  SHALL  MEAN A PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM WITH A RATED CAPACITY OF NOT MORE
 THAN FIVE MEGAWATTS OF ALTERNATING CURRENT THAT IS CONNECTED TO AN ELEC-
 TRIC SYSTEM AND OPERATED IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN  ELECTRIC  CORPORATION'S
 TRANSMISSION   AND  DISTRIBUTION  FACILITIES.    PARTICIPATING  ELECTRIC
 CUSTOMERS RECEIVE A BILL CREDIT FOR THE ELECTRICITY GENERATED IN PROPOR-
 TION TO THE SIZE OF THEIR INTEREST IN THE FACILITY, WITH AT LEAST  SIXTY
 PERCENT  OF THE FACILITY'S PRODUCTION ALLOCATED TO PARTICIPATING CUSTOM-
 ERS IN INCREMENTS OF TWENTY-FIVE KILOWATTS OR LESS.
   2. WITHIN NINETY DAYS OF THE  EFFECTIVE  DATE  OF  THIS  SECTION,  THE
 COMMISSION  SHALL  DIRECT  ELECTRIC  CORPORATIONS TO FILE A MODEL TARIFF
 PROVIDING FOR THE TRANSFER OF BILL CREDITS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ELECTRIC-
 ITY PRODUCED BY COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTED GENERATION FACILITIES IN ONE ELEC-
 TRIC CORPORATION TERRITORY TO THE ACCOUNTS OF SUBSCRIBERS IN OTHER ELEC-
 TRIC CORPORATION TERRITORIES,  AND  ANY  OTHER  SETTLEMENT  SYSTEMS  AND
 PROCESSES  NECESSARY  TO  EFFECTUATE  SUCH TRANSFERS IN A COST-EFFECTIVE
 MANNER. FOLLOWING PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE MODEL TARIFF, THE PUBLIC SERVICE
 COMMISSION SHALL, WITHIN TWO HUNDRED SEVENTY DAYS OF THE EFFECTIVE  DATE
 OF THIS SECTION, APPROVE TARIFFS TO ENABLE SUCH TRANSFERS.
   3.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION TWO, NOTHING IN THIS
 SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO IMPEDE  COMMUNITY  DISTRIBUTED  GENERATION
 DEVELOPMENT  WITHIN A CITY WITH A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE. THE
 COMMISSION MAY, AT ITS DISCRETION, REVIEW  THE  COMPENSATION  MECHANISMS
 FOR  COMMUNITY  DISTRIBUTED  GENERATION SITED WITHIN SUCH CITY TO ENSURE
 THE MARKET IS ACHIEVING ITS POTENTIAL, GIVEN THE LIMITED  REAL  PROPERTY
 FOR SOLAR DEVELOPMENT.
   4. THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED FORTY-NINE-D OF THE GENERAL
 BUSINESS  LAW  SHALL  ALSO  BENEFIT  CUSTOMERS  OF COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTED
 GENERATION FACILITIES DESIGNATED UNDER THIS SECTION.
   § 4. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 66-r to
 read as follows:
   § 66-R. COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTED GENERATION  FACILITY  BILL  CREDITS  FOR
 DISADVANTAGED  COMMUNITIES. ALL COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTED GENERATION FACILI-
 TIES THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATED  FOR  PARTICIPATION  IN  THE  BILL
 CREDIT  SYSTEM  ESTABLISHED  UNDER  SECTION  SIXTY-SIX-Q OF THIS ARTICLE
 SHALL PROVIDE AT LEAST THIRTY-FIVE  PERCENT  OF  THE  CREDITS  FROM  THE
 AGGREGATE  GENERATION RESULTING FROM THE DESIGNATED PROJECTS UNDER THEIR
 OWNERSHIP TO DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES AS DEFINED UNDER SUBDIVISION FIVE
 OF SECTION 75-0101 OF  THE  ENVIRONMENTAL  CONSERVATION  LAW,  INCLUDING
 WITHIN  LOW  AND  MODERATE  INCOME  COMMUNITIES AS DEFINED IN THE LOW TO
 MODERATE INCOME CENSUS POPULATION ANALYSIS TOOL OF THE  NEW  YORK  STATE
 ENERGY  AND  RESEARCH  DEVELOPMENT  AUTHORITY  PURSUANT TO MATTER NUMBER
 16-00681 OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.