Senate committee advances House Bill 350 to clear path for district energy project tax credits

The Utah Senate Public Utilities, Technology, Energy and Transportation Committee voted unanimously to send House Bill 350, District Energy Amendments, to the Senate floor with a favorable recommendation after a presentation by Representative Peterson.

The bill would allow a district energy project to access an existing “high cost, high infrastructure cost” tax credit and use captured waste heat from a nearby natural-gas plant, Sponsor Representative Peterson told the committee. "So, I think 1 of the coolest things about this is there's a natural gas plant that's close to this 1, and it actually is going to capture the waste heat off of that. So it creates greater efficiencies in the district," Peterson said. Peterson said initial construction is expected to cost about $30,000,000 and that complete build-out could reach "probably talking a hundred and 50 to $200,000,000 to build out the whole."

Senator Ibsen moved that the bill "pass out with a favorable recommendation." There was no recorded opposition, and Chair Senator Hartbright "I'll rule that passage unanimously." The committee record shows only committee discussion and the motion; no public testimony was recorded for this item.

Representative Peterson added that because of the size and scope of the infrastructure, the project would be subject to regulation by the Utah Public Service Commission. The transcript also records that the bill would allow participants in the district to access the referenced tax credit; the sponsor did not specify the statutory citation or the formal name of the tax credit on the record.

The committee did not record a roll-call vote; the chair declared the motion carried and the bill advanced to the full Senate. Next steps will follow the Senate calendar; the committee did not set an implementation timeline or list additional approvals beyond the Public Service Commission regulation mentioned in committee.