SB 508

Abstract

Renewable energy portfolio standard; geothermal heating and cooling systems; report. Provides that geothermal heating and cooling systems, as defined in the bill, located in the Commonwealth are eligible for compliance with renewable energy portfolio standard requirements. The bill also requires the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) to convene a stakeholder work group to examine the feasibility of establishing renewable energy portfolio standard program (RPS program) requirements that require each Phase I and Phase II Utility to procure and retire renewable energy certificates (RECs) from geothermal heating and cooling systems placed in service after August 16, 2022, as a percentage of the number of RECs used for RPS program compliance. The work group shall include representatives from the geothermal industry, Phase I and Phase II Utilities, the Department of Energy, environmental advocacy organizations, environmental justice organizations, consumer advocates, and other interested stakeholders. The Commission is required to report the findings and recommendations of the work group to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, the House Committee on Labor and Commerce, and the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation no later than December 1, 2024. Portions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.

Renewable energy portfolio standard; geothermal heating and cooling systems; Strategic Energy Investment Fund and Program established; Geothermal Energy Work Group established; reports. Provides that geothermal heating and cooling systems, as defined in the bill, located in the Commonwealth are eligible for compliance with renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) requirements. The bill requires that certain percentages of the RPS requirements be derived from post-2019 geothermal heating and cooling systems, as defined in the bill, in accordance with the schedule prescribed in the bill. The bill also requires that at least 25 percent of the required RPS required percentages be derived from post-2019 geothermal systems in historically economically disadvantaged communities and includes information for the State Corporation Commission to use in calculating the amount of renewable energy credits attributable to geothermal heating and cooling systems. The bill includes certain labor and employment requirements for large (360,000 BTU or greater generating capacity) geothermal heating and cooling systems and authorizes the Department of Labor and Industry to promulgate related regulations and enforce compliance with the requirements. The bill adds additional noncompliance fees for Phase I and Phase II Utilities that are unable to meet the RPS compliance obligations that must be derived from a post-2019 geothermal heating or cooling system, and requires that such RPS noncompliance fees be paid into a new fund called the Strategic Energy Investment Fund. The Fund shall be administered by the Department of Energy and used to implement the Strategic Energy Investment Program, with the purpose of implementing job training programs in historically economically disadvantaged communities, energy efficiency measures for public facilities, and renewable energy programs in historically economically disadvantaged communities. The bill also creates a Geothermal Energy Work Group for the purposes of studying the status and impact of increasing the use of geothermal heating and cooling systems in the Commonwealth, among other factors. The bill directs the Work Group to submit an annual report of its findings to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor and the House Committee on Commerce and Energy. Additionally, the bill directs the Department of Energy to conduct a comprehensive technical study on the status of geothermal heating and cooling systems in the Commonwealth and the potential impacts of expanding and incentivizing the use of geothermal heating and cooling systems in the Commonwealth. The Department of Energy, in consultation with the Geothermal Energy Work Group, is also directed to develop recommendations by December 1, 2024, for an incentive structure to increase the deployment of geothermal heating and cooling systems in the Commonwealth. Portions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025.