Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1764 By Senator Albritton 26-01462A-22 20221764__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy 3 Program; creating s. 377.814, F.S.; creating the 4 Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy Program within the 5 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for a 6 specified purpose; defining terms; requiring the 7 department, subject to appropriation, to provide 8 financial assistance grants to municipal solid waste 9 to-energy facilities that meet certain requirements; 10 requiring the department to distribute funds to 11 qualifying applicants based on certain criteria; 12 requiring the department to establish a process to 13 verify the amount of certain electric power purchases; 14 directing the Public Service Commission to provide 15 assistance in verifying grant eligibility; requiring 16 the department, subject to appropriation, to provide 17 incentive grants to municipal solid waste-to-energy 18 facilities to assist with certain costs; specifying 19 requirements for applying for the funding; requiring 20 the Department of Environmental Protection to provide 21 assistance in determining grant eligibility and 22 establishing requirements; requiring the department to 23 perform grant overview; establishing priority for 24 funding for the grants; requiring the Department of 25 Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt rules; 26 providing an appropriation; providing an effective 27 date. 28 29 WHEREAS, as provided in s. 366.91(1), Florida Statutes, the 30 Legislature has determined that it is in the public interest to 31 promote the development of renewable energy resources in this 32 state, and 33 WHEREAS, under s. 366.91, Florida Statutes, municipal solid 34 waste-to-energy facilities that use biomass as a fuel or energy 35 source are deemed to be producing renewable energy, and 36 WHEREAS, municipal solid waste-to-energy facilities provide 37 a practical and sustainable solution to reducing landfill waste, 38 reducing volume by about 87 percent, and 39 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes the benefits that 40 municipal solid waste-to-energy facilities contribute to the 41 state and its local communities, and 42 WHEREAS, the Legislature intends to incentivize the 43 production and sale of energy from municipal solid waste-to 44 energy facilities through grant programs, NOW, THEREFORE, 45 46 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 47 48 Section 1. Section 377.814, Florida Statutes, is created to 49 read: 50 377.814 Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy Program.— 51 (1) CREATION AND PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM.—The Municipal 52 Solid Waste-to-Energy Program is created within the department. 53 The purpose of the program is to provide financial assistance 54 grants and incentive grants to municipal solid waste-to-energy 55 facilities to incentivize the production and sale of energy from 56 municipal solid waste-to-energy facilities while also reducing 57 the amount of waste that would otherwise be disposed of in a 58 landfill. 59 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term: 60 (a) “Department” means the Department of Agriculture and 61 Consumer Services. 62 (b) “Municipal solid waste-to-energy facility” means a 63 publicly owned or government affiliate-owned facility that uses 64 an enclosed device using controlled combustion to thermally 65 break down solid waste to an ash residue that contains little or 66 no combustible material and that produces electricity, steam, or 67 other energy as a result. The term does not include facilities 68 that primarily burn fuels other than solid waste even if such 69 facilities also burn some solid waste as a fuel supplement. The 70 term does not include facilities that primarily burn vegetative, 71 agricultural, or silvicultural wastes, bagasse, clean dry wood, 72 methane or other landfill gas, wood fuel derived from 73 construction or demolition debris, or waste tires, alone or in 74 combination with fossil fuels. 75 (3) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM.—The department, 76 subject to appropriation, shall provide financial assistance 77 grants to municipal solid waste-to-energy facilities that have 78 entered into a power purchase agreement with an electric utility 79 which includes capacity payments and the municipal solid waste 80 to-energy facility will no longer receive capacity payments 81 under the agreement. 82 (a) To receive a financial assistance grant, the owner of a 83 municipal solid waste-to-energy facility must submit an 84 application to the department. The application must include the 85 name of the applicant’s municipal solid waste-to-energy facility 86 and how much energy has been purchased from the facility by an 87 electric utility during the preceding state fiscal year. 88 (b) The department shall distribute funds, subject to 89 appropriation, to each qualifying applicant at a rate of 2 cents 90 per kilowatt-hour of electric power purchased by an electric 91 utility during the preceding state fiscal year, not to exceed 92 the difference between the electric utility’s avoided cost and 93 the commercial retail rate. To the extent that funds are not 94 available to provide financial assistance to each qualifying 95 applicant for every qualifying kilowatt-hour purchased, the 96 department shall prorate the funds on an equitable basis, taking 97 into consideration the commercial retail rate within the 98 applicable service territory. 99 (c) The department shall establish a process to verify the 100 amount of electric power purchased from a municipal solid waste 101 to-energy facility by an electric utility during each preceding 102 state fiscal year. The Public Service Commission shall provide 103 assistance to the department to help verify grant eligibility 104 and award amounts and to ensure that the sum, per kilowatt-hour, 105 of the award plus the electric utility’s purchase at the avoided 106 cost, do not exceed the applicable commercial retail rate within 107 the service territory. 108 (4) INCENTIVE GRANT PROGRAM.—The department, subject to 109 appropriation, shall provide incentive grants to municipal solid 110 waste-to-energy facilities to assist with the planning and 111 designing for constructing, upgrading, or expanding a municipal 112 solid waste-to-energy facility, including necessary legal or 113 administrative expenses. 114 (a) To qualify for an incentive grant, the owner of a 115 municipal solid waste-to-energy facility must apply to the 116 department for funding; provide matching funds on a dollar-for 117 dollar basis; and demonstrate that the project is cost 118 effective, permittable, and implementable and complies with s. 119 403.7061. 120 (b) The Department of Environmental Protection shall 121 provide assistance to the department in determining the 122 eligibility of grant applications and establishing requirements 123 to ensure the long-term and efficient operation and maintenance 124 of facilities constructed or expanded under an incentive grant. 125 (c) The department shall perform adequate overview of each 126 grant application and grant award, including technical review, 127 regular inspections, disbursement approvals, and auditing, to 128 implement this section. 129 (d) The department shall require the termination or 130 repayment of incentive grant funds if the department determines 131 that program requirements are not being met. 132 (5) FUNDING.—Funds appropriated for the Municipal Solid 133 Waste-to-Energy Program must first be used for financial 134 assistance grants. Any funds remaining in a state fiscal year 135 after disbursement to all qualifying applicants may be used to 136 fund the incentive grant program. 137 (6) RULES.—The department shall adopt rules to implement 138 and administer this section, including establishing grant 139 application processes for financial assistance grants and 140 incentive grants. The rules shall include application deadlines 141 and establish the supporting documentation necessary to be 142 provided to the department. In adopting rules relating to the 143 financial assistance grant program, the department shall consult 144 the Public Service Commission. In adopting rules for the 145 incentive grant program, the department shall consult the 146 Department of Environmental Protection. 147 Section 2. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the sum of $100 148 million in recurring funds is appropriated from the General 149 Revenue Fund to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 150 Services for the Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy Program, as 151 provided in s. 377.814, Florida Statutes. 152 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.