MN HF623

Reduces the biomass electric energy mandate in Minnesota from 125 megawatts to 110 megawatts.

Requires the Public Utilities Commission to approve amendments to a power purchase agreement for a biomass facility using short-rotation woody crops if the project owner reduces capacity from 50 megawatts to 35 megawatts and maintains an average energy price at or below $109.20 per megawatt-hour.

Allows assignment of the power purchase agreement to an entity owned by two municipal utilities north of Constitutional Route No. 8 that propose to retrofit existing coal-burning facilities to use biomass fuel.

Permits the public utility to recover all Minnesota jurisdictional costs for transmission, distribution, and interconnection infrastructure improvements needed for the biomass facility from retail customers.

Allows the project owner to request a fuel cost adjustment clause reimbursing costs exceeding $3.40 per million metric British thermal unit, with annual reconciliation against actual fuel costs, effective January 1, 2014.