Maine considers renewable electricity law reforms

The Maine legislature is considering a list of bills that would amend the state's renewable portfolio standard. Existing law requires electricity providers to source 10% of their power from qualifying "Class I" renewable resources built or refurbished after 2005, plus another 30% from other "Class II" renewable resources. But legislators have filed numerous proposals to alter Maine's renewable portfolio standard. Some bills propose fairly narrow reforms, while others reach broadly. Here's a guide to how some of those bills would change Maine's renewable portfolio standard:

• LD 334, An Act To Change the Definition of "Renewable Capacity Resource": This bill would add generators fueled by municipal solid waste in conjunction with recycling to the definition of Class I or "renewable capacity resource."
• LD 1027, An Act To Eliminate the 100-megawatt Limit on Hydroelectric Generators under the Renewable Resources Laws: This bill would remove the current 100-megawatt capacity limit for hydroelectric generator qualification as a Class I or Class II resource. 
• LD 1279, An Act To Modernize Maine's Renewable Portfolio Standard: This bill would remove the current 100-megawatt capacity limit for hydroelectric generator qualification as a Class I or Class II resource, and instead adds a new limitation that qualifying hydro must be in Maine and 25 megawatts or greater. It would add new limits on what fraction of the total Class I requirement could be satisfied by hydroelectric generators, increasing from 25% in 2020 to 100% by 2035.
• LD 1282, An Act To Establish a Green New Deal for Maine: Among other provisions, this bill would require 80% renewable resources by 2040.
• LD 1465, An Act To Diversify Maine's Energy Portfolio with Renewable Energy: This bill would increase the portfolio requirement for new renewable resources from 10% to 50% by 2030, removes the restriction limiting solar and hydro resources seeking Class I status to projects no larger than 100 megawatts, adds a new limitation that qualifying hydro must be 25 megawatts or greater, and limits refurbishment-based eligibility to Class I status to refurbishments occurring between 2005 and 2019. It also moves Maine toward an additional thermal renewable portfolio standard.
• LD 1494, An Act To Reform Maine's Renewable Portfolio Standard: This bill would increase the renewable portfolio standard to 50% by 2030, remove the restriction limiting solar projects seeking Class I status to projects no larger than 100 megawatts, limit pathways to Class I eligibility for restarted or refurbished facilities, phase in Class I eligibility for certain hydropower generation licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and impose an additional thermal energy standard.

In addition to these bills, further legislation calling for reforms to Maine's renewable portfolio standard is expected. Numerous additional bills propose other changes to Maine's renewable energy policy, such as increased solicitation and procurement of long-term contracts for clean energy, reforms to Maine's net energy billing policy, and tax benefits for renewable energy property.