A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT (1) to reduce the amount of purchased renewable energy certificates derived from out‑of‑state new solar facilities that may be used to comply with the REPS requirement through the use of solar energy resources AND (2) To double the REPS requirement for the use of solar energy resources and expand the compliance schedule.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 62‑133.8(b)(2) reads as rewritten:
"(2)	An electric public utility may meet the requirements of this section by any one or more of the following:
…
e.	Purchase renewable energy certificates derived from in‑State or out‑of‑state new renewable energy facilities. Certificates derived from out‑of‑state new solar electric facilities and new metered solar thermal energy facilities in order to comply with the REPS requirement under subsection (d) of this section shall not be used to meet more than twelve and one‑half percent (12.5%) of the requirements of this section. Certificates derived from all other out‑of‑state new renewable energy facilities shall not be used to meet more than twenty‑five percent (25%) of the requirements of this section. The limitations under this sub‑subdivision shall not apply to an electric public utility with less than 150,000 North Carolina retail jurisdictional customers as of December 31, 2006.
f.	Use electric power that is supplied by a new renewable energy facility or saved due to the implementation of an energy efficiency measure that exceeds the requirements of this section for any calendar year as a credit towards the requirements of this section in the following calendar year or sell the associated renewable energy certificates."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 62‑133.8(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	Compliance With REPS Requirement Through Use of Solar Energy Resources. – For calendar year 2018 and for each calendar year thereafter, at least four‑tenths of one percent (0.4%) of the total electric power in kilowatt hours sold to retail electric customers in the State, or an equivalent amount of energy, shall be supplied by a combination of new solar electric facilities and new metered solar thermal energy facilities that use one or more of the following applications: solar hot water, solar absorption cooling, solar dehumidification, solar thermally driven refrigeration, and solar industrial process heat. The terms of any contract entered into between an electric power supplier and a new solar electric facility or new metered solar thermal energy facility shall be of sufficient length to stimulate development of solar energy; provided, the Commission shall develop a procedure to determine if an electric power supplier is in compliance with the provisions of this subsection if a new solar electric facility or a new metered solar thermal energy facility fails to meet the terms of its contract with the electric power supplier. As used in this subsection, "new" means a facility that was first placed into service on or after January 1, 2007. The electric power suppliers shall comply with the requirements of this subsection according to the following schedule:
	Requirement for Solar
Calendar Year	Energy Resources
	2010	0.02%
	2011	0.02%
	2012	0.08%
	2013	0.14%
	2014	0.19%
	2015	0.25%
	2016	0.30%
	2017	0.36%
	2018	0.40%"
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2012.