IREC RELEASES FIRST
MODEL PROGRAM RULES FOR COMMUNITY RENEWABLES
Best Practices for Community Solar and Wind Generation
Projects
Latham, NY -- The Interstate Renewable Energy Council
(IREC) today released its first Model Program Rules
for 
Community Renewables.
Based on best practices, the model rules are presented to
facilitate co-investment in local renewable power
facilities.
IREC's
new model program
rules consider many of the basic issues facing community
renewables programs. These include: renewable system size,
interconnection, eligibility for participation, allocation of the
benefits flowing from participation, and net metering of system
production. IREC developed the model program rules
for community-scale renewable systems working closely with The Vote Solar
Initiative, a California-based not-for-profit working to bring
solar energy into the mainstream.
"The
goal of this effort is to provide stakeholders with best practice
program rules they can tailor to the individual circumstances and
policy preferences of their state, without having to reinvent the
wheel at each turn," said Joseph Wiedman, author of the model
rules.
Interest
in community solar and wind initiatives stems from recognition that
many utility customers are not able to host an on-site renewable
power system, yet they would like to invest in local renewable
generation. Examples include occupants of multi-tenant residential
and commercial buildings, and properties not conducive to an
on-site system, due to shading or structural
restrictions.
"We
believe community policies, if well designed, can provide the right
approach to create additional opportunities for customers to
support solar development," said Jane Weissman, IREC executive
director. "And there are cost benefits, as community systems can
harness economies of scale."
Wiedman,
a partner with the law firm Keyes & Fox, represents IREC in
state-level rulemakings on many topics essential to building
sustainable markets for renewable energy, including net metering
rules, interconnection standards, plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs),
smart grid, and community renewables.
Two
key principles greatly influenced the development of the Model Program
Rules, and IREC's consideration of the various policy choices
available in designing a community renewables program:
1.
Participants in a community renewables program should have an
experience that is as similar as possible to that of customers
investing in on-site renewable energy; and
2.
Community renewables programs should not undermine successful
on-site renewable energy programs. Rather, they should expand
options for participation.
The
model rules are the product of more than a year's work, including
the release of proposed rules in April 2010, which generated
significant feedback from utilities, industry participants
and
other
stakeholders. In addition to stakeholder comments on the proposed
rules, IREC engaged in detailed discussions with stakeholders and
reviewed current community renewables efforts at the municipal and
state levels in Massachusetts, Colorado, California, Washington and
Utah.
Some
highlights from the 2010 Model Program
Rules for Community Renewables include:
- Using
virtual net metering (VNM) to allocate benefits of participation
onto a customer's monthly electric bill;
- Allowing
kWhs generated by a community renewables project be given a
monetary value that can be applied to a participant's bill;
- Valuing
kWh credits received by customers who are on the same distribution
circuit as the community renewables project at the participant's
full retail rate;
- Requiring
utilities to include system purchase costs, operations and
maintenance, necessary investment
returns and other costs related to a utility-owned system in their
offerings to potential participants; and
- Allowing
utilities to administer a community renewables program.
The
Model Rules also include definitions, general provisions and net
metering provisions.
IREC's
Model Program Rules
for Community Renewables are available as a PDF on IREC's
website: www.irecusa.com.
