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Legislative Session Wrap-up

June 2008

Sustainable energy advocates have reason to celebrate - the New Hampshire Legislature wrapped up its 2008 session by passing a flurry of important energy bills. NHSEA was thrilled to see the incentives bill for small renewable systems pass after having worked on it for four long years. It was one of 22 renewable energy bills we had been following this year, 10 of which passed.

The incentives bill will give homeowners $3 per watt for systems under 5kW with a limit of $6000 or 50% of the system, whichever is smaller, and will cover off-grid as well as grid-tied systems. This will go a long way towards helping out with the initial up-front cost that has been so intimidating. Laura Richardson has been the one focusing on this bill and will have a full report on all the details.

NHSEA was also very involved with HB310, the small wind bill, with Mark Weisslog using his technical expertise as an installer to help craft the language and Clay Mitchell adding wording from a town planner's perspective. Until now, many town ordinances restricted any structure from being over three stories high, the height that the fire department's hoses could reach. Now, while municipalities will have control over much of the process, they will not be allowed to categorically restrict small wind turbines within their borders. The Department of Energy will draw up a model ordinance this summer which towns could use if they don't want to write their own.

By passing RGGI, New Hampshshire joins the other northeastern states in the regional cap-and-trade agreement to reduce carbon emissions. Large fossil-fuel fired power plants will have to buy allowances to cover their emissions, thereby encouraging them to reduce their emissions and turn to clearner resources. Part of the money accumulated by selling allowances will be used to improve energy efficiency in the state, and a portion will be returned to the ratepayers. By accelerating the move away from fossil fuels, we will help to forestall climate change and will avoid the increased prices expected for fossil fuels in the future. (See http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/05/15/nh_senate_gives_ok_to_global_warming_initiative/)

In the past there have been short-term commissions with limited authority to study energy policy in the state. Now with HB1561, an ongoing Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy Board will oversee all energy policy in the state, a real necessity with RGGI and the RPS bill creating new programs. This will create a place where all parties concerned with energy issues in the state can come together to shape our energy future and be sure that the lines of communication will stay open to avoid duplication and conflict. It is symbolic of the important focus that energy has become in our lives.

Adding an energy section to zoning and master plans will encourage towns to analyze their resources and focus on ways to conserve energy. The town of Epping was a classic example of this as they gave their town buildings energy audits which ended up saving them both energy and money. After the Carbon Coalition's petition created energy committees in a great number of towns, there has been a huge focus on energy conservation on the town level throughout the state, and this bill will further enable this work.

The bill on distributed generation will allow the major utilities to invest in distributed generation systems under 5 MW for energy efficiency and for reduction of line loss and peak load shaving. They are limited to a maximum of 6% of their total distribution in peak load, and after they reach 3%, the generation must be in renewable energy. Biomass-fueled generation must meet strict emission standards. Fossil-fueled generation must produce combined heat and power and also meet strict emission standards. Although this is not completely a clean energy bill, it was thought that it would be a partial step in the right direction in this time of transition to cleaner energy.

For the past few years there has been a queue of wood-burning plants and windfarms in the north country waiting for new transmission lines to be built to carry the electricity to the more populated areas of the state, a common problem in many states these days. Now a commission has been created which will spend $200,000 for a consultant to complete an economic study on how to pay for the project, and will get input from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the regional regulator, ISO-New England. A plan will be developed by December 1, 2008.

The biodiesel study commission that met last year suggested three bills to promote biodiesel in the state. HB1631 will require the state to use biodiesel for heating oil and for its fleet, which will validate biodiesel use, increase the market in the state, and reduce our air pollution at the same time. SB522 will allow small biodiesel producers to avoid the $10,000 bond that is required for large producers (a great help to farmers in particular), and HB1632 will allow the commission to continue to study the subject and suggest more bills for next year.

The 2007 Commission to study tidal energy in Dover will continue until December 1, 2009. Our member Craig Yankes has been going to the hearings, and information can be found at: https://www.des.state.nh.us/Coastal/ocean_policy.html#tidalenergycommission

All in all, this is an impressive body of work for just five months. We can be proud that our state is making significant progress in moving towards a more sustainable energy future. NHSEA has found it very rewarding to be involved in the process and looks forward to what may be emerging next year.

Small Renewable Energy Systems Incentive Bill To Become Law

May 2008

Thanks to the hard work, patience and support of the NHSEA membership and volunteer Board, HB1628 has passed! Now New Hampshire has a financial incentive for small renewable energy systems! Some final tweaking through the senate has clarified some of the language, and we thank you for all of your input, as well as the consistent support from the Public Utilities Commission and Office of Consumer Advocate, and so many of the legislators that supported this effort. Mostly, however, we thank Representative Mike Kaelin (D-Lyndeborough), prime sponsor of this bill, for his focus and courage on securing this important program. Drop a line to Rep. Kaelin at mike@kaelin.net. We do anticipate that Governor Lynch will sign this bill into law.

A quick overview of HB1628

Where does the money to fund this come from?

Last year, as part of the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) bill, a Renewable Energy Fund was created and will start being funded in January 2009. The RPS mandates that utilities need to add growing percentages of renewable energy to the mix they deliver to their customers, ultimately closing in on that 25% by 2025. When the utilities cannot buy those "green" electrons on the market, or generate them themselves, they pay an Alternate Compliance Payment (ACP). The ACP is a fair and mutually agreed upon payment that protects the program from bottomed-out prices and overly high prices. These payments will be held by the NH Treasurer in a special account, specifically for the purpose of encouraging generation of renewable energy, as defined by law.

This program could not have gained the momentum it did without the support of the NHSEA membership and Board.

Many thanks!
The NHSEA Legislative Committee

If there was ever a time to make a donation or become a member of NHSEA, it's now! Let's keep it rolling! Click Here.

Renewable Energy News from the NH Legislature

Fall 2007

NHSEA has had a busy and exciting year advocating for renewable energy in the Concord legislature. After years of effort, New Hampshire finally became the twenty-first state in the U.S. to adopt Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). Our members' strong support for the bill in their calls and emails to legislators in response to our Action Alerts made a real difference, showing that the public really wanted this bill passed. Now that it has been signed into law by Governor Lynch (see picture to right with NHSEA board members Carolyn Demorest and Laura Richardson), this act requires our utilities to buy an increasing amount of their power from renewable sources, which promises to stimulate renewable energy industries throughout the state. Other states have found this to be a major tool to accelerate the growth of renewables on the state level.

A second bill, an upgrading of the Net Metering bill, will also have a big impact, particularly on the growth of solar installations. By raising the limit on the size of a net metered system from 25 kW to 100 kW, businesses will become interested in putting up systems, and we hope to see systems sprouting up in very visible public places all over the state.

All in all, we were tracking 18 bills on renewable energy, energy efficiency and green building, a very encouraging sign in itself. 8 of those bills passed, and 10 have been kept in their committee to be reconsidered in the fall and resubmitted when the session begins again in January. NHSEA board member Laura Richardson will be championing an Incentives bill that could help people, especially homeowners, to cover the up-front cost of putting up photovoltaic solar panels (PVs). The Incentives bill has been retained in the Science, Technology and Energy Committee (ST&E) of the House and will be due for a hearing in the fall.

We were excited to see that the Lempster Wind Farm was approved in (late June?), becoming New Hampshire's first big wind facility. Part of the process included a thorough analysis by the state's Site Evaluation Committee (SEC), and we were active in advocating for this first in what we hope will be a long list of wind projects, producing clean renewable energy and at the same time respecting the local environment.

We are already making plans for our major efforts for the 2008 session.