An Act To Encourage and Enhance the Future of Waste-to-energy Facilities by Establishing a Portfolio Requirement for Electricity from Waste Energy Resources
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§2, ¶B-3, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 542, §3, is amended to read:
(1) Whose total power production capacity does not exceed 100 megawatts and relies on one or more of the following:
(a) Fuel cells;
(b) Tidal power;
(c) Solar arrays and installations;
(d) Geothermal installations;
(e) Hydroelectric generators that meet all state and federal fish passage requirements applicable to the generator; or
(f) Biomass generators that are fueled by wood or wood waste, landfill gas or anaerobic digestion of agricultural products, by-products or wastes; or
(g) Waste energy resources; or
(2) That relies on wind power installations.
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§2, ¶D is enacted to read:
(1) That is fueled by municipal solid waste in conjunction with recycling;
(2) Whose total power production capacity does not exceed 35 megawatts;
(3) That is licensed to comply with the air emission requirement levels for resource recovery facilities established pursuant to Title 38, section 585, including, but not limited to, standards for mercury established pursuant to Title 38, section 585-B, subsection 5;
(4) That complies with all applicable licensing requirements for solid waste facilities as established pursuant to Title 38, section 1310-N; and
(5) Whose residuals are transported to a landfill that is licensed to meet at least the performance standards and siting criteria established by rules adopted pursuant to Title 38, section 1304, including, but not limited to, standards prohibiting contamination of groundwater outside the solid waste boundary of landfills.
Sec. 3. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§3-B is enacted to read:
The commission shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2009, c. 329, Pt. A, §2, is further amended to read:
Sec. 5. 35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§10 is enacted to read:
The commission shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
SUMMARY
Current law establishes as a policy of the State the encouragement of the generation of electricity from renewable and efficient resources by requiring that each competitive electricity provider in this State demonstrate that no less than 30% of its portfolio of supply sources for retail electricity sales in this State is accounted for by eligible resources. This bill implements that policy by stimulating demand for electricity from generators fueled by municipal solid waste in conjunction with recycling.
This bill amends the law in the following ways.
1. It amends the definition of "renewable capacity resource" to add waste energy resources.
2. It defines "waste energy resource" as a source of electrical generation that is fueled by municipal solid waste in conjunction with recycling and whose total power capacity does not exceed 35 megawatts. In addition, the waste energy resource would have to meet Maine's air emissions standards for resource recovery facilities and licensing standards for solid waste facilities and ensure that residuals from the waste energy resource are disposed of at a landfill meeting Maine's licensing standards.
3. It establishes a 3.5% portfolio requirement for electricity from waste energy resources.
4. It allows competitive electricity providers to meet the portfolio requirements for waste energy resources through the use of renewable energy credits or an alternative compliance payment to be set by the Public Utilities Commission.