Committee debates S.50 single‑plant definition, seeks limits to stop net‑metering ‘gaming’

The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on April 10 continued deliberations on S.50, focusing on a proposed definition of “single plant” that would exempt facilities on the same or adjacent parcels from being treated as one plant only if they use separate generators, inverters and production meters and the group’s cumulative capacity does not exceed 10 megawatts.

The provision under discussion would add new language to the statutory definition of “plant” (30 V.S.A. §8002) and would apply specifically to the net‑metering program (30 V.S.A. §8010) and the standard offer program (30 V.S.A. §8005a). The draft amendment would also state that utility‑owned distribution and transmission lines are not part of a plant for this test.

Committee draft author Ben Badgley, who described himself as a non‑attorney drafter, summarized the proposal: “Independent technical facilities of no more than 10 megawatts cumulative capacity that are located on the same or an adjacent parcel shall not be considered a single plant if each facility uses separate generators,…