HB 1611 - Renewable Energy Sources

• Authorizes public educational customers (K-12 schools) to contract with third parties to install and operate renewable energy devices on school property, with capacity limited to 150% of prior year usage and financing arrangements exempted from retail electricity sales regulations.

• Requires electric utilities to provide meter aggregation for public educational customers to allocate net metering credits from a single aggregated solar facility to 2-20 school accounts within the same school district and county by January 1, 2022.

• Authorizes business entities and contracted third parties to install renewable energy devices and sell generated electricity to adjacent businesses regardless of utility service territory boundaries, with sales exempt from electricity retail regulations.

• Creates new statute allowing local governments, colleges, and universities to install renewable energy systems on eligible properties within the same county and utility service territory, with meter aggregation available and capacity capped at 150% of prior year usage.

• Prohibits renewable energy system costs at educational facilities from being included in per-student station cost calculations for new construction limits and provides expedited permitting for renewable energy projects.

• Effective date: July 1, 2021.