S.F. No. 3320 Summary

• Establishes a standard renewable rate requiring electric utilities to purchase electricity from Minnesota-owned renewable energy projects (wind, solar photovoltaic, anaerobic digester) at fixed rates for 20-year power purchase agreements.

• Creates a two-component rate system: utilities pay the highest applicable rate based on project size, with incentive payments from a public benefits surcharge account covering the difference between the standard rate and utility payment.

• Imposes a public benefits surcharge on retail electricity consumption starting at $0.00025 per kilowatt-hour on July 1, 2010, escalating to $0.001 per kilowatt-hour by July 1, 2013, with exemptions for high-volume industrial customers and low-income residential customers.

• Limits eligible projects to wind systems up to 7 megawatts and solar photovoltaic systems up to 500 kilowatts, requiring qualifying owners to maintain at least 51 percent ownership interest and capping individual ownership at 12 megawatts aggregate capacity.

• Requires the Public Utilities Commission to determine final standard rates by October 1, 2010, based on generation costs, subsidies, reasonable profit, and adjustments needed to meet renewable energy objectives, with annual rate reviews beginning February 1, 2013.