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Senate concurs with House changes to solar law, narrows REC reassignment window and sets 10-foot statewide setback
Summary
The Vermont Senate agreed to the House's amendments to S.50 with a further amendment that narrows when customers can reassign renewable energy credits and adopts a statewide 10-foot setback for photovoltaic systems; the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee reported unanimous support for the changes.
The Vermont Senate voted to concur with the House's amendments to S.50, a bill addressing renewable-energy credits and rules for photovoltaic systems, adopting a further amendment that limits when customers can change REC assignments and establishes a 10-foot statewide setback for solar panels.
Senator Watson, reporting for the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, said the House added a time limit for changing the assignment of renewable energy credits (RECs) and broadened the rule's application to systems of any size. "The house thought that, was a good idea, but wanted to put a limit on the amount of time that a change could be made," Watson said. The House's change set a 120-day window (four billing cycles) for a customer to reassign RECs after paperwork is submitted.
The committee also described a provision that allows small systems to be registered under a streamlined process before formal rulemaking is completed, and a new, statewide 10-foot setback for photovoltaic systems. Senator Watson said municipalities generally do not regulate energy-generation setbacks and that a statewide setback avoids a patchwork of local rules.
The House had proposed that installers check municipal setbacks; the House's amendment instead established the uniform 10-foot requirement. Watson said both the Vermont League of Cities and Towns and Renewable Energy Vermont testified in favor of a clear statewide standard.
The House additionally removed a duplicative local recording requirement for newly built affordable solar systems by relying on a functioning Public Utility Commission database instead of separate town recording. The House added a stakeholder process directing the Public Utility Commission to review the statutory definition of a "plant" to identify situations where multiple smaller arrays are effectively a single system and to recommend adjustments that would reduce unnecessary new roads or infrastructure when co-locating smaller installations would be more efficient.
The Senate committee took a straw poll on the House changes and reported a 5-0 result. Senator Watson moved that the Senate concur in the House proposal of amendment with a further proposal of amendment; the motion carried on a voice vote.
The action removes a potential patchwork of municipal setbacks, creates a limited window for customers to correct REC assignments after submission, and asks the Public Utility Commission to study the definition of a photovoltaic "plant" for future rulemaking. The transcript records the committee support and the Senate voice vote but does not provide a recorded roll-call tally for the final concurrence.
