The Florida Senate

366.91  Renewable energy.--

(1)  The Legislature finds that it is in the public interest to promote the development of renewable energy resources in this state. Renewable energy resources have the potential to help diversify fuel types to meet Florida's growing dependency on natural gas for electric production, minimize the volatility of fuel costs, encourage investment within the state, improve environmental conditions, and make Florida a leader in new and innovative technologies.

(2)  As used in this section, the term:

(a)  "Biomass" means a power source that is comprised of, but not limited to, combustible residues or gases from forest products manufacturing, agricultural and orchard crops, waste products from livestock and poultry operations and food processing, urban wood waste, municipal solid waste, municipal liquid waste treatment operations, and landfill gas.

(b)  "Renewable energy" means electrical energy produced from a method that uses one or more of the following fuels or energy sources: hydrogen produced from sources other than fossil fuels, biomass, solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, ocean energy, and hydroelectric power. The term includes the alternative energy resource, waste heat, from sulfuric acid manufacturing operations.

(3)  On or before January 1, 2006, each public utility must continuously offer a purchase contract to producers of renewable energy. The commission shall establish requirements relating to the purchase of capacity and energy by public utilities from renewable energy producers and may adopt rules to administer this section. The contract shall contain payment provisions for energy and capacity which are based upon the utility's full avoided costs, as defined in s. 366.051; however, capacity payments are not required if, due to the operational characteristics of the renewable energy generator or the anticipated peak and off-peak availability and capacity factor of the utility's avoided unit, the producer is unlikely to provide any capacity value to the utility or the electric grid during the contract term. Each contract must provide a contract term of at least 10 years. Prudent and reasonable costs associated with a renewable energy contract shall be recovered from the ratepayers of the contracting utility, without differentiation among customer classes, through the appropriate cost-recovery clause mechanism administered by the commission.

(4)  On or before January 1, 2006, each municipal electric utility and rural electric cooperative whose annual sales, as of July 1, 1993, to retail customers were greater than 2,000 gigawatt hours must continuously offer a purchase contract to producers of renewable energy containing payment provisions for energy and capacity which are based upon the utility's or cooperative's full avoided costs, as determined by the governing body of the municipal utility or cooperative; however, capacity payments are not required if, due to the operational characteristics of the renewable energy generator or the anticipated peak and off-peak availability and capacity factor of the utility's avoided unit, the producer is unlikely to provide any capacity value to the utility or the electric grid during the contract term. Each contract must provide a contract term of at least 10 years.

(5)  A contracting producer of renewable energy must pay the actual costs of its interconnection with the transmission grid or distribution system.

History.--s. 1, ch. 2005-259.