100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB0232

 

Introduced , by Rep. André Thapedi

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 687/6-3
20 ILCS 3855/1-10
20 ILCS 3855/1-80

    Amends the Illinois Power Agency Act. Makes changes to the definition of "distributed renewable energy generation device" by removing language limiting hydropower under the definition to hydropower that does not involve new construction of hydropower dams from the list of sources that power a device. Makes a similar change to the list of energy sources in the definition of "renewable energy resources". In a provision concerning the duties and responsibilities of the Resource Development Bureau, provides that the first electric generation or co-generation facility that the Illinois Power Agency develops, finances, or constructs may be a facility that uses coal produced in Illinois or a renewable energy facility (rather than shall be a facility that uses coal produced in Illinois). Removes language providing that the Agency may also develop, finance, or construct renewable energy facilities after work on the first facility has commenced. Amends the Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Coal Resources Development Law of 1997 by making a similar change to the Act's definition of "renewable energy resources".


LRB100 04263 RJF 14269 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB0232LRB100 04263 RJF 14269 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, and
5Coal Resources Development Law of 1997 is amended by changing
6Section 6-3 as follows:
 
7    (20 ILCS 687/6-3)
8    (Section scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2020)
9    Sec. 6-3. Renewable energy resources program.
10    (a) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, to
11be called the "Department" hereinafter in this Law, shall
12administer the Renewable Energy Resources Program to provide
13grants, loans, and other incentives to foster investment in and
14the development and use of renewable energy resources.
15    (b) The Department shall establish eligibility criteria
16for grants, loans, and other incentives to foster investment in
17and the development and use of renewable energy resources.
18These criteria shall be reviewed annually and adjusted as
19necessary. The criteria should promote the goal of fostering
20investment in and the development and use, in Illinois, of
21renewable energy resources.
22    (c) The Department shall accept applications for grants,
23loans, and other incentives to foster investment in and the

 

 

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1development and use of renewable energy resources.
2    (d) To the extent that funds are available and
3appropriated, the Department shall provide grants, loans, and
4other incentives to applicants that meet the criteria specified
5by the Department.
6    (e) The Department shall conduct an annual study on the use
7and availability of renewable energy resources in Illinois.
8Each year, the Department shall submit a report on the study to
9the General Assembly. This report shall include suggestions for
10legislation which will encourage the development and use of
11renewable energy resources.
12    (f) As used in this Law, "renewable energy resources"
13includes energy from wind, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic
14cells and panels, dedicated crops grown for energy production
15and organic waste biomass, hydropower that does not involve new
16construction or significant expansion of hydropower dams, and
17other such alternative sources of environmentally preferable
18energy. "Renewable energy resources" does not include,
19however, energy from the incineration or burning of waste wood,
20tires, garbage, general household, institutional and
21commercial waste, industrial lunchroom or office waste,
22landscape waste, or construction or demolition debris.
23    (g) There is created the Energy Efficiency Investment Fund
24as a special fund in the State Treasury, to be administered by
25the Department to support the development of technologies for
26wind, biomass, and solar power in Illinois. The Department may

 

 

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1accept private and public funds, including federal funds, for
2deposit into the Fund.
3(Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06; 95-913, eff. 1-1-09.)
 
4    Section 10. The Illinois Power Agency Act is amended by
5changing Sections 1-10 and 1-80 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 3855/1-10)
7    Sec. 1-10. Definitions.
8    "Agency" means the Illinois Power Agency.
9    "Agency loan agreement" means any agreement pursuant to
10which the Illinois Finance Authority agrees to loan the
11proceeds of revenue bonds issued with respect to a project to
12the Agency upon terms providing for loan repayment installments
13at least sufficient to pay when due all principal of, interest
14and premium, if any, on those revenue bonds, and providing for
15maintenance, insurance, and other matters in respect of the
16project.
17    "Authority" means the Illinois Finance Authority.
18    "Clean coal facility" means an electric generating
19facility that uses primarily coal as a feedstock and that
20captures and sequesters carbon dioxide emissions at the
21following levels: at least 50% of the total carbon dioxide
22emissions that the facility would otherwise emit if, at the
23time construction commences, the facility is scheduled to
24commence operation before 2016, at least 70% of the total

 

 

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1carbon dioxide emissions that the facility would otherwise emit
2if, at the time construction commences, the facility is
3scheduled to commence operation during 2016 or 2017, and at
4least 90% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the
5facility would otherwise emit if, at the time construction
6commences, the facility is scheduled to commence operation
7after 2017. The power block of the clean coal facility shall
8not exceed allowable emission rates for sulfur dioxide,
9nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulates and mercury for
10a natural gas-fired combined-cycle facility the same size as
11and in the same location as the clean coal facility at the time
12the clean coal facility obtains an approved air permit. All
13coal used by a clean coal facility shall have high volatile
14bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per
15million btu content, unless the clean coal facility does not
16use gasification technology and was operating as a conventional
17coal-fired electric generating facility on June 1, 2009 (the
18effective date of Public Act 95-1027).
19    "Clean coal SNG brownfield facility" means a facility that
20(1) has commenced construction by July 1, 2015 on an urban
21brownfield site in a municipality with at least 1,000,000
22residents; (2) uses a gasification process to produce
23substitute natural gas; (3) uses coal as at least 50% of the
24total feedstock over the term of any sourcing agreement with a
25utility and the remainder of the feedstock may be either
26petroleum coke or coal, with all such coal having a high

 

 

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1bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per
2million Btu content unless the facility reasonably determines
3that it is necessary to use additional petroleum coke to
4deliver additional consumer savings, in which case the facility
5shall use coal for at least 35% of the total feedstock over the
6term of any sourcing agreement; and (4) captures and sequesters
7at least 85% of the total carbon dioxide emissions that the
8facility would otherwise emit.
9    "Clean coal SNG facility" means a facility that uses a
10gasification process to produce substitute natural gas, that
11sequesters at least 90% of the total carbon dioxide emissions
12that the facility would otherwise emit, that uses at least 90%
13coal as a feedstock, with all such coal having a high
14bituminous rank and greater than 1.7 pounds of sulfur per
15million btu content, and that has a valid and effective permit
16to construct emission sources and air pollution control
17equipment and approval with respect to the federal regulations
18for Prevention of Significant Deterioration of Air Quality
19(PSD) for the plant pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act;
20provided, however, a clean coal SNG brownfield facility shall
21not be a clean coal SNG facility.
22    "Commission" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.
23    "Costs incurred in connection with the development and
24construction of a facility" means:
25        (1) the cost of acquisition of all real property,
26    fixtures, and improvements in connection therewith and

 

 

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1    equipment, personal property, and other property, rights,
2    and easements acquired that are deemed necessary for the
3    operation and maintenance of the facility;
4        (2) financing costs with respect to bonds, notes, and
5    other evidences of indebtedness of the Agency;
6        (3) all origination, commitment, utilization,
7    facility, placement, underwriting, syndication, credit
8    enhancement, and rating agency fees;
9        (4) engineering, design, procurement, consulting,
10    legal, accounting, title insurance, survey, appraisal,
11    escrow, trustee, collateral agency, interest rate hedging,
12    interest rate swap, capitalized interest, contingency, as
13    required by lenders, and other financing costs, and other
14    expenses for professional services; and
15        (5) the costs of plans, specifications, site study and
16    investigation, installation, surveys, other Agency costs
17    and estimates of costs, and other expenses necessary or
18    incidental to determining the feasibility of any project,
19    together with such other expenses as may be necessary or
20    incidental to the financing, insuring, acquisition, and
21    construction of a specific project and starting up,
22    commissioning, and placing that project in operation.
23    "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic
24Opportunity.
25    "Director" means the Director of the Illinois Power Agency.
26    "Demand-response" means measures that decrease peak

 

 

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1electricity demand or shift demand from peak to off-peak
2periods.
3    "Distributed renewable energy generation device" means a
4device that is:
5        (1) powered by wind, solar thermal energy,
6    photovoltaic cells and panels, biodiesel, crops and
7    untreated and unadulterated organic waste biomass, tree
8    waste, and hydropower that does not involve new
9    construction or significant expansion of hydropower dams;
10        (2) interconnected at the distribution system level of
11    either an electric utility as defined in this Section, an
12    alternative retail electric supplier as defined in Section
13    16-102 of the Public Utilities Act, a municipal utility as
14    defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act, or a
15    rural electric cooperative as defined in Section 3-119 of
16    the Public Utilities Act;
17        (3) located on the customer side of the customer's
18    electric meter and is primarily used to offset that
19    customer's electricity load; and
20        (4) limited in nameplate capacity to no more than 2,000
21    kilowatts.
22    "Energy efficiency" means measures that reduce the amount
23of electricity or natural gas required to achieve a given end
24use. "Energy efficiency" also includes measures that reduce the
25total Btus of electricity and natural gas needed to meet the
26end use or uses.

 

 

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1    "Electric utility" has the same definition as found in
2Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act.
3    "Facility" means an electric generating unit or a
4co-generating unit that produces electricity along with
5related equipment necessary to connect the facility to an
6electric transmission or distribution system.
7    "Governmental aggregator" means one or more units of local
8government that individually or collectively procure
9electricity to serve residential retail electrical loads
10located within its or their jurisdiction.
11    "Local government" means a unit of local government as
12defined in Section 1 of Article VII of the Illinois
13Constitution.
14    "Municipality" means a city, village, or incorporated
15town.
16    "Person" means any natural person, firm, partnership,
17corporation, either domestic or foreign, company, association,
18limited liability company, joint stock company, or association
19and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal
20representative thereof.
21    "Project" means the planning, bidding, and construction of
22a facility.
23    "Public utility" has the same definition as found in
24Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.
25    "Real property" means any interest in land together with
26all structures, fixtures, and improvements thereon, including

 

 

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1lands under water and riparian rights, any easements,
2covenants, licenses, leases, rights-of-way, uses, and other
3interests, together with any liens, judgments, mortgages, or
4other claims or security interests related to real property.
5    "Renewable energy credit" means a tradable credit that
6represents the environmental attributes of a certain amount of
7energy produced from a renewable energy resource.
8    "Renewable energy resources" includes energy and its
9associated renewable energy credit or renewable energy credits
10from wind, solar thermal energy, photovoltaic cells and panels,
11biodiesel, anaerobic digestion, crops and untreated and
12unadulterated organic waste biomass, tree waste, hydropower
13that does not involve new construction or significant expansion
14of hydropower dams, and other alternative sources of
15environmentally preferable energy. For purposes of this Act,
16landfill gas produced in the State is considered a renewable
17energy resource. "Renewable energy resources" does not include
18the incineration or burning of tires, garbage, general
19household, institutional, and commercial waste, industrial
20lunchroom or office waste, landscape waste other than tree
21waste, railroad crossties, utility poles, or construction or
22demolition debris, other than untreated and unadulterated
23waste wood.
24    "Revenue bond" means any bond, note, or other evidence of
25indebtedness issued by the Authority, the principal and
26interest of which is payable solely from revenues or income

 

 

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1derived from any project or activity of the Agency.
2    "Sequester" means permanent storage of carbon dioxide by
3injecting it into a saline aquifer, a depleted gas reservoir,
4or an oil reservoir, directly or through an enhanced oil
5recovery process that may involve intermediate storage,
6regardless of whether these activities are conducted by a clean
7coal facility, a clean coal SNG facility, a clean coal SNG
8brownfield facility, or a party with which a clean coal
9facility, clean coal SNG facility, or clean coal SNG brownfield
10facility has contracted for such purposes.
11    "Sourcing agreement" means (i) in the case of an electric
12utility, an agreement between the owner of a clean coal
13facility and such electric utility, which agreement shall have
14terms and conditions meeting the requirements of paragraph (3)
15of subsection (d) of Section 1-75, (ii) in the case of an
16alternative retail electric supplier, an agreement between the
17owner of a clean coal facility and such alternative retail
18electric supplier, which agreement shall have terms and
19conditions meeting the requirements of Section 16-115(d)(5) of
20the Public Utilities Act, and (iii) in case of a gas utility,
21an agreement between the owner of a clean coal SNG brownfield
22facility and the gas utility, which agreement shall have the
23terms and conditions meeting the requirements of subsection
24(h-1) of Section 9-220 of the Public Utilities Act.
25    "Substitute natural gas" or "SNG" means a gas manufactured
26by gasification of hydrocarbon feedstock, which is

 

 

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1substantially interchangeable in use and distribution with
2conventional natural gas.
3    "Total resource cost test" or "TRC test" means a standard
4that is met if, for an investment in energy efficiency or
5demand-response measures, the benefit-cost ratio is greater
6than one. The benefit-cost ratio is the ratio of the net
7present value of the total benefits of the program to the net
8present value of the total costs as calculated over the
9lifetime of the measures. A total resource cost test compares
10the sum of avoided electric utility costs, representing the
11benefits that accrue to the system and the participant in the
12delivery of those efficiency measures, as well as other
13quantifiable societal benefits, including avoided natural gas
14utility costs, to the sum of all incremental costs of end-use
15measures that are implemented due to the program (including
16both utility and participant contributions), plus costs to
17administer, deliver, and evaluate each demand-side program, to
18quantify the net savings obtained by substituting the
19demand-side program for supply resources. In calculating
20avoided costs of power and energy that an electric utility
21would otherwise have had to acquire, reasonable estimates shall
22be included of financial costs likely to be imposed by future
23regulations and legislation on emissions of greenhouse gases.
24(Source: P.A. 97-96, eff. 7-13-11; 97-239, eff. 8-2-11; 97-491,
25eff. 8-22-11; 97-616, eff. 10-26-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12;
2698-90, eff. 7-15-13.)
 

 

 

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1    (20 ILCS 3855/1-80)
2    Sec. 1-80. Resource Development Bureau. Upon its
3establishment by the Agency, the Resource Development Bureau
4has the following duties and responsibilities:
5        (a) At the Agency's discretion, conduct feasibility
6    studies on the construction of any facility. Funding for a
7    study shall come from either:
8            (i) fees assessed by the Agency on municipal
9        electric systems, governmental aggregators, unit or
10        units of local government, or rural electric
11        cooperatives requesting the feasibility study; or
12            (ii) an appropriation from the General Assembly.
13        (b) If the Agency undertakes the construction of a
14    facility, moneys generated from the sale of revenue bonds
15    by the Authority for the facility shall be used to
16    reimburse the source of the money used for the facility's
17    feasibility study.
18        (c) The Agency may develop, finance, construct, or
19    operate electric generation and co-generation facilities
20    that use indigenous coal or renewable resources, or both,
21    financed with bonds issued by the Authority on behalf of
22    the Agency. Any such facility that uses coal must be a
23    clean coal facility and must be constructed in a location
24    where the geology is suitable for carbon sequestration. The
25    Agency may also develop, finance, construct, or operate a

 

 

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1    carbon sequestration facility.
2            (1) The Agency may enter into contractual
3        arrangements with private and public entities,
4        including but not limited to municipal electric
5        systems, governmental aggregators, and rural electric
6        cooperatives, to plan, site, construct, improve,
7        rehabilitate, and operate those electric generation
8        and co-generation facilities. No contract shall be
9        entered into by the Agency that would jeopardize the
10        tax-exempt status of any bond issued in connection with
11        a project for which the Agency entered into the
12        contract.
13            (2) The Agency shall hold at least one public
14        hearing before entering into any such contractual
15        arrangements. At least 30-days' notice of the hearing
16        shall be given by publication once in each week during
17        that period in 6 newspapers within the State, at least
18        one of which has a circulation area that includes the
19        location of the proposed facility.
20            (3) The first facility that the Agency develops,
21        finances, or constructs may shall be a facility that
22        uses coal produced in Illinois or a renewable energy
23        facility. The Agency may, however, also develop,
24        finance, or construct renewable energy facilities
25        after work on the first facility has commenced.
26            (4) The Agency may not develop, finance, or

 

 

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1        construct a nuclear power plant.
2            (5) The Agency shall assess fees to applicants
3        seeking to partner with the Agency on projects.
4        (d) Use of electricity generated by the Agency's
5    facilities. The Agency may supply electricity produced by
6    the Agency's facilities to municipal electric systems,
7    governmental aggregators, or rural electric cooperatives
8    in Illinois. The electricity shall be supplied at cost.
9            (1) Contracts to supply power and energy from the
10        Agency's facilities shall provide for the effectuation
11        of the policies set forth in this Act.
12            (2) The contracts shall also provide that,
13        notwithstanding any provision in the Public Utilities
14        Act, entities supplied with power and energy from an
15        Agency facility shall supply the power and energy to
16        retail customers at the same price paid to purchase
17        power and energy from the Agency.
18    (e) Electric utilities shall not be required to purchase
19electricity directly or indirectly from facilities developed
20or sponsored by the Agency.
21    (f) The Agency may sell excess capacity and excess energy
22into the wholesale electric market at prevailing market rates;
23provided, however, the Agency may not sell excess capacity or
24excess energy through the procurement process described in
25Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act.
26    (g) The Agency shall not directly sell electric power and

 

 

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1energy to retail customers. Nothing in this paragraph shall be
2construed to prohibit sales to municipal electric systems,
3governmental aggregators, or rural electric cooperatives.
4(Source: P.A. 99-536, eff. 7-8-16.)