Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solar Incentives Transparency topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee approves committee substitute requiring solar projects to disclose incentives to Energy and Environment Cabinet
Summary
A committee substitute to House Bill 790 removes setback requirements and instead requires construction certificate holders for solar merchant electric generation facilities to disclose all federal and state incentives used; the Energy and Environment Cabinet will compile and report those disclosures annually to the General Assembly.
A committee substitute to House Bill 790 strips setback requirements from the bill and instead requires disclosure of incentives used by solar merchant electric generating facilities, the committee heard.
Under the committee substitute, at the time of filing a required notice, a construction certificate holder for a solar merchant electric generating facility must file a report with the Energy and Environment Cabinet detailing all federal and state incentives utilized in the construction and operation of the facility. The cabinet will compile those disclosures and submit an annual report to the General Assembly, the substitute states.
A committee member explained that the substitute "takes away all of the setback requirements and all the things that a lot of people felt were negative about this bill" and that the measure now focuses on incentive reporting. Representative Bolling moved the committee substitute; Leader Miles seconded. A roll call was taken and the committee approved the substitute and gave House Bill 790 a favorable report.
Why it matters: the substitute shifts the bill from land-use setbacks to a transparency requirement about incentives, producing annual data for the General Assembly about state and federal incentives used by merchant solar projects.
The committee chair indicated the bill passed with a favorable expression and should move to the House floor for consideration.
