| Last Action | 02/24/22: floor amendment (4) filed to Committee Substitute |
|---|---|
| Title | AN ACT relating to merchant electric generating facilities and declaring an emergency. |
| Bill Documents | Introduced |
| Fiscal Impact Statements |
Local Mandate
Additional Fiscal Impact Statements Exist |
| Bill Request Number | 839 |
| Sponsor | P. Hornback |
| Summary of Original Version | Amend KRS 278.212 to prohibit an electrical interconnection with a merchant electric generating facility that either operates at an aggregate capacity in excess of 10 megawatts or occupies in aggregate 10 acres or more of land until the plans for the electrical interconnection have been filed with the Public Service Commission; amend KRS 278.216 to prohibit a utility from beginning construction on an electric generating facility that either operates at an aggregate capacity in excess of 10 megawatts or occupies in aggregate 10 acres or more of land without first obtaining a site compatibility certificate from the Public Service Commission; amend KRS 278.700 to change the definition of "merchant electric generating facility" to include facilities that occupy in aggregate 10 acres or more of land; change the definition of "commence to construct" so that site clearing and excavation work satisfy the commence to construct requirements; amend KRS 278.704 to establish setback requirements for solar merchant electric generating facilities of 50 feet from the property boundary of any nonparticipating adjoining property and 100 feet from a residence on any other property than the one on which the facility is to be located unless waived in writing; provide exceptions; require that before exercising an option to acquire any interest in real estate in a county that a merchant electric generating entity notify the heads of local government entities of jurisdiction; allow the local officials or the commission to request a public hearing on the proposed merchant electric generating project; require ongoing notification of changes to the project from the merchant electric generating entities to local officials; remove outdated language; amend KRS 278.706 to conform; amend KRS 278.708 to require the site assessment report submitted by a person proposing to construct a merchant electric generating facility to include a decommissioning plan to explain in detail how the facility and its components will be removed at the end of their useful lives; require the decommissioning plan to be reviewed as needed, but at least once every 5 years; establish minimum requirements for the decommissioning plan; amend KRS 278.710 to require the application for the construction certificate of a merchant utility generating facility to be denied until the applicant can provide documentation of compliance with all local planning and zoning requirements that existed on the date that the application was filed; include whether the proposed decommissioning plan is in the public interest as a criterion for application approval; authorize the merchant utility siting board to require the decommissioning plan to be amended to ensure that it is in the public interest; provide that the construction certificate holder and any of its successors in interest shall be required to comply on an ongoing basis with all conditions of its application approval, subject to enforcement in Franklin Circuit Court; require that prior to the commencement of construction, the holder of a construction certificate for a merchant electric generating facility shall furnish bond or other similar security to assure the decommissioning of the facility at the end of its useful life; establish the procedure for setting the bond amount; provide for review of the bond amount as needed but at least once every 5 years; provide which entities will be named as beneficiaries of the bond depending on the circumstances; require that the bond be forfeited unless the person responsible for completing the decommissioning plan begins work on the plan within 12 months of the date that the facility ceases to produce electricity for sale and completes the work within 18 months of that date; require that any forfeited bond amounts only be used to decommission facilities on the properties for which the bond was posted; require prior authorization for any transfer of control of a merchant electric generating facility; define "control" and the circumstances under which control will be considered to be transferred and the conditions for approval; require a decision to be made on the approval of the transfer of control within 90 days of the application, except that an additional 60 days may be taken for good cause shown; require that notice of an application for approval of transfer of control of a merchant electric generating facility be given to local government officials for where the facility is located; provide that the requirements of the Act shall apply to all new and current applicants for construction certificates for merchant electric generating facilities whose applications have not been approved prior to the effective date of the Act; EMERGENCY. |
| Index Headings of Original Version |
Effective Dates, Emergency - Merchant electric generating facilities, siting Energy - Merchant electric generating facilities, siting Environment and Conservation - Solar merchant electric generating facilities, siting Land Use - Solar merchant electric generating facilities, siting, setback requirements Local Government - Merchant electric generating facilities, acquisition of real estate, notice, local officials Notices - Merchant electric generating facilities, acquisition of real estate, notice, local officials Property - Merchant electric generating facilities, siting Public Utilities - Merchant electric generating facilities, siting Bonds of Surety - Merchant electric generating facilities, decommissioning bonds, requirement Public Meetings - Merchant electric generating facilities, public meetings, counties of proposed projects Local Mandate - Merchant electric generating facilities, public meetings, counties of proposed projects |
| Jump to Proposed Amendments |
Senate Committee Substitute 1 with Fiscal Impact Statements Senate Floor Amendment 1 Senate Floor Amendment 2 Senate Floor Amendment 3 Senate Floor Amendment 4 |
| 01/10/22 |
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| 01/13/22 |
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| 02/16/22 |
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| 02/17/22 |
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| 02/24/22 |
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| Amendment | Senate Committee Substitute 1 |
|---|---|
| Fiscal Impact Statement | Local Mandate to Senate Committee Substitute 1 |
| Summary | Retain original provisions; extend the validity of a construction certificate for a merchant electric generating facility to three years; require that no later than 180 days prior to filing its application for a construction certificate, a merchant electric generating entity shall notify the heads of local government entities of jurisdiction; allow the local officials or the board to request a public hearing on the proposed merchant electric generating project; require that upon filing its construction certificate application, the merchant electric generating facility shall inform local officials of changes to the project and shall post the changes to its Web site; remove the requirement that a decommissioning plan include a signed right of entry document from the landowner; remove requirement that the application for the construction certificate of a merchant utility generating facility be denied until the applicant can provide documentation of compliance with all local planning and zoning requirements that existed on the date that the application was filed; remove the authority of the board to enforce compliance with conditions of its application approval; remove the requirement that governing bodies of local governments be named as secondary beneficiaries for bonds for facilities on leased lands; name the governing bodies of local governments as primary beneficiaries of bonds for facilities on land owned by the party responsible for decommissioning only upon agreement of the governing body of the local government; allow the Energy and Environment Cabinet to claim forfeited bonds and perform decommissioning if there is no other party willing or able to do so; exempt the Energy and Environment Cabinet from legal or financial liability to perform decommissioning; allow deadline extensions for beginning or completing decommissioning plans for good cause shown; provide that after the application for a construction certificate for a merchant electric generating facility has been approved, the secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet shall ensure the facility's ongoing compliance with the requirements of KRS 278.700 to 278.718 and the conditions of its construction certificate approval, including updating its decommissioning plan and bond amounts at least once every five years; require a finding by the secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet that an acquirer or transferee has a good environmental compliance history and will assume the obligations of the construction certificate prior to any transfer of control of a merchant electric generating facility; require the secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet to make a transfer determination within 90 days of its application and to issue findings with the determination; remove local official reporting requirements for transfers of control of merchant electric generating facilities; create a new section of Subchapter 10 of KRS Chapter 224 to require the Energy and Environment Cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations within 90 days of the effective date of the Act to establish compliance monitoring and enforcement of merchant electric generating facilities with regard to KRS 278.700 to 278.718 and the conditions of their construction certificate approvals; require that the administrative regulations include fees to be collected from merchant electric generating facilities to cover the costs of compliance monitoring; authorize the cabinet to suspend the operation of a merchant electric generating facility to ensure compliance; amend KRS 224.10-100 to require the cabinet to monitor compliance with and enforce the provisions of KRS 278.700 to 278.718 and the conditions of a merchant electric generating facility's construction certificate approval. |
| Index Headings |
Energy - Energy and Environment Cabinet, merchant electric generating facilities, enforcement Environment and Conservation - Energy and Environment Cabinet, merchant electric generating facilities, enforcement Fees - Energy and Environment Cabinet, merchant electric generating facilities, enforcement, fees Local Government - Merchant electric generating facilities, notice, 180 days prior to board application Notices - Merchant electric generating facilities, notice, 180 days prior to board application Public Utilities - Energy and Environment Cabinet, merchant electric generating facilities, enforcement State Agencies - Energy and Environment Cabinet, merchant electric generating facilities, enforcement Administrative Regulations and Proceedings - Energy and Environment Cabinet, merchant electric generating facilities, enforcement, fees Public Meetings - Merchant electric generating facilities, public meetings, 180 days prior to board application Local Mandate - Energy and Enviroment Cabinet, merchant electric generating facilities, enforcement |
| Amendment | Senate Floor Amendment 1 |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | S. West |
| Summary | Amend KRS 132.450 to exclude land used in connection with a merchant electric generating facility from the agricultural land and horticultural land valuations for property taxation. |
| Index Headings |
Energy - Property tax, merchant electric generating facility, agricultural or horticultural land, exclusion Environment and Conservation - Property tax, merchant electric generating facility, agricultural or horticultural land, exclusion Land Use - Property tax, merchant electric generating facility, agricultural or horticultural land, exclusion Property - Property tax, merchant electric generating facility, agricultural or horticultural land, exclusion Taxation - Property tax, merchant electric generating facility, agricultural or horticultural land, exclusion Taxation, Property - Merchant electric generating facility, agricultural or horticultural land valuation, exclusion Agriculture - Property tax, merchant electric generating facility, agricultural or horticultural land, exclusion |
| Amendment | Senate Floor Amendment 2 |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | S. West |
| Summary | Retain original provisions, add that public funds shall not be used to subsidize a merchant electric generating facility. |
| Index Headings |
Appropriations - public funds, merchant electric generating facility Economic Development - public funds, merchant electric generating facility |
| Amendment | Senate Floor Amendment 3 |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | S. West |
| Summary | Amend KRS 103.710 to exclude merchant electric generating facilities from the definition of industrial building. |
| Index Headings |
Energy - Merchant electric generating facilities, industrial building defining, exclusion Environment and Conservation - Merchant electric generating facilities, industrial building defining, exclusion Local Government - Merchant electric generating facilities, industrial building defining, exclusion Public Utilities - Merchant electric generating facilities, industrial building defining, exclusion Cities - Merchant electric generating facilities, industrial building defining, exclusion Counties - Merchant electric generating facilities, industrial building defining, exclusion |
| Amendment | Senate Floor Amendment 4 |
|---|---|
| Sponsor | S. West |
| Summary | Change setback requirements for solar merchant electric generating facilities to 500 feet from the property boundary of any nonparticipating adjoining property and 1,000 feet from a residence on any other property than the one on which the facility is to be located. |
| Index Headings |
Energy - Solar merchant electric generating facilities, siting, setback requirements Land Use - Solar merchant electric generating facilities, siting, setback requirements Property - Solar merchant electric generating facilities, siting, setback requirements Public Utilities - Solar merchant electric generating facilities, siting, setback requirements |
Last updated: 2/8/2023 2:57 PM (EST)