1.1    .................... moves to amend H. F. No. 2305, the delete everything amendment
1.2(A07-0553), as follows:
1.3Page 37, after line 27, insert:

1.4    "Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 116C.779, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
1.5    Subd. 2. Renewable energy production incentive. (a) Until January 1, 2018, up to
1.6$10,900,000 $11,400,000 annually must be allocated from available funds in the account
1.7to fund renewable energy production incentives. $9,400,000 of this annual amount is for
1.8incentives for up to 200 megawatts of electricity generated by wind energy conversion
1.9systems that are eligible for the incentives under section 216C.41. The balance of this
1.10amount, Up to $1,500,000 $1,000,000 annually, may be used for production incentives for
1.11on-farm biogas recovery facilities and landfill gas recovery facilities that are eligible for
1.12the incentive under section 216C.41 or for production incentives for other renewables, to
1.13be provided in the same manner as under section 216C.41. Of this amount, no more than
1.14$500,000 may be used for production incentives for landfill gas recovery facilities. Up
1.15to $1,000,000 may be used for grants for qualified on-farm biogas recovery facilities as
1.16provided in section 216C.42. Any portion of the $10,900,000 $11,400,000 not expended
1.17in any calendar year for the incentive is available for other spending purposes under this
1.18section. This subdivision does not create an obligation to contribute funds to the account.
1.19    (b) The Department of Commerce shall determine eligibility of projects under
1.20section 216C.41 for the purposes of this subdivision. At least quarterly, the Department of
1.21Commerce shall notify the public utility of the name and address of each eligible project
1.22owner and the amount due to each project under section 216C.41. The public utility shall
1.23make payments within 15 working days after receipt of notification of payments due."
1.24Page 43, after line 28, insert:

1.25    "Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 216C.41, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
2.1    Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) Unless otherwise provided, the definitions in this
2.2subdivision apply to this section.
2.3    (b) "Qualified hydroelectric facility" means a hydroelectric generating facility in
2.4this state that:
2.5    (1) is located at the site of a dam, if the dam was in existence as of March 31,
2.61994; and
2.7    (2) begins generating electricity after July 1, 1994, or generates electricity after
2.8substantial refurbishing of a facility that begins after July 1, 2001.
2.9    (c) "Qualified wind energy conversion facility" means a wind energy conversion
2.10system in this state that:
2.11    (1) produces two megawatts or less of electricity as measured by nameplate rating
2.12and begins generating electricity after December 31, 1996, and before July 1, 1999;
2.13    (2) begins generating electricity after June 30, 1999, produces two megawatts or
2.14less of electricity as measured by nameplate rating, and is:
2.15    (i) owned by a resident of Minnesota or an entity that is organized under the laws
2.16of this state, is not prohibited from owning agricultural land under section 500.24, and
2.17owns the land where the facility is sited;
2.18    (ii) owned by a Minnesota small business as defined in section 645.445;
2.19    (iii) owned by a Minnesota nonprofit organization;
2.20    (iv) owned by a tribal council if the facility is located within the boundaries of
2.21the reservation;
2.22    (v) owned by a Minnesota municipal utility or a Minnesota cooperative electric
2.23association; or
2.24    (vi) owned by a Minnesota political subdivision or local government, including,
2.25but not limited to, a county, statutory or home rule charter city, town, school district, or
2.26any other local or regional governmental organization such as a board, commission, or
2.27association; or
2.28    (3) begins generating electricity after June 30, 1999, produces seven megawatts or
2.29less of electricity as measured by nameplate rating, and:
2.30    (i) is owned by a cooperative organized under chapter 308A other than a Minnesota
2.31cooperative electric association; and
2.32    (ii) all shares and membership in the cooperative are held by an entity that is not
2.33prohibited from owning agricultural land under section 500.24.
2.34    (d) "Qualified on-farm biogas recovery facility" means an anaerobic digester system
2.35that:
2.36    (1) is located at the site of an agricultural operation; and
3.1    (2) is owned by an entity that is not prohibited from owning agricultural land under
3.2section 500.24 and that owns or rents the land where the facility is located.
3.3    (e) "Anaerobic digester system" means a system of components that processes
3.4animal waste based on the absence of oxygen and produces gas used to generate electricity.
3.5    (f) "Qualified landfill gas recovery facility" means a landfill that is operating or
3.6closed, that generates gas from the decomposition of organic matter, and that installs a
3.7system to collect the gas after July 1, 2007.

3.8    Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 216C.41, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
3.9    Subd. 2. Incentive payment; appropriation. (a) Incentive payments must be made
3.10according to this section to (1) a qualified on-farm biogas recovery facility, (2) the owner
3.11or operator of a qualified hydropower facility or qualified wind energy conversion facility
3.12for electric energy generated and sold by the facility, (3) a publicly owned hydropower
3.13facility for electric energy that is generated by the facility and used by the owner of the
3.14facility outside the facility, or (4) the owner of a publicly owned dam that is in need of
3.15substantial repair, for electric energy that is generated by a hydropower facility at the
3.16dam and the annual incentive payments will be used to fund the structural repairs and
3.17replacement of structural components of the dam, or to retire debt incurred to fund those
3.18repairs, or (5) a qualified landfill gas recovery facility.
3.19    (b) Payment may only be made upon receipt by the commissioner of commerce of
3.20an incentive payment application that establishes that the applicant is eligible to receive an
3.21incentive payment and that satisfies other requirements the commissioner deems necessary.
3.22The application must be in a form and submitted at a time the commissioner establishes.
3.23    (c) There is annually appropriated from the renewable development account
3.24under section 116C.779 to the commissioner of commerce sums sufficient to make the
3.25payments required under this section, in addition to the amounts funded by the renewable
3.26development account as specified in subdivision 5a.

3.27    Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 216C.41, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
3.28    Subd. 3. Eligibility window. Payments may be made under this section only for:
3.29    (a) electricity generated from:
3.30    (1) from a qualified hydroelectric facility that is operational and generating
3.31electricity before December 31, 2009;
3.32    (2) from a qualified wind energy conversion facility that is operational and
3.33generating electricity before January 1, 2008; or
3.34    (3) from a qualified on-farm biogas recovery facility from July 1, 2001, through
3.35December 31, 2017; and
3.36    (b) gas generated from:
4.1    (1) a qualified on-farm biogas recovery facility from July 1, 2007, through December
4.231, 2017; or
4.3    (2) a qualified landfill gas recovery facility from July 1, 2007 through December
4.431, 2017.

4.5    Sec. 12. [216C.42] ON-FARM BIOGAS RECOVERY GRANTS.
4.6    Subdivision 1. Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following terms
4.7have the meanings given.
4.8    (a) "Qualified on-farm biogas recovery facility" means an anaerobic digester system
4.9that:
4.10    (1) is located at the site of an agricultural operation;
4.11    (2) is owned by an entity that is not prohibited from owning agricultural land under
4.12section 500.24 and that owns or rents the land where the facility is located; and
4.13    (3) is owned by a qualified owner as defined in section 216B.1612, subdivision 2,
4.14paragraph (c).
4.15    (b) "Anaerobic digester system" means a system of components that processes
4.16animal waste based on the absence of oxygen and produces gas.
4.17    (c) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of agriculture.
4.18    Subd. 2. Eligibility. Subject to the availability of funds, the commissioner must
4.19approve grants to a qualified owner of a qualified on-farm biogas recovery facility for the
4.20total installed costs of capital investments associated with the facility, up to a maximum of
4.21$500,000.
4.22    Subd. 3. Application. Application for a grant under this section must be made by a
4.23qualified owner to the commissioner on a form the commissioner prescribes by rule. The
4.24commissioner must review each application to determine:
4.25    (1) whether the application is complete;
4.26    (2) whether the information, calculations, and estimates contained in the application
4.27are appropriate, accurate, and reasonable;
4.28    (3) whether the project is eligible for a grant;
4.29    (4) the amount of the grant for which the project is eligible; and
4.30    (5) other funding sources the owner proposes to use to finance the project in addition
4.31to a grant authorized by this section.
4.32An applicant may submit only one grant application each year under this section.
4.33    Subd. 4. Additional information. During application review, the commissioner
4.34may request additional information about a proposed project, including information on
4.35project cost. Failure to provide information requested disqualifies a grant application.
5.1    Subd. 5. Public accessibility of grant application data. Data contained in an
5.2application submitted to the commissioner for a grant under this section, including
5.3supporting technical documentation, is classified as public data not on individuals under
5.4section 13.02, subdivision 14.
5.5    Subd. 6. Rules. The commissioner must adopt rules necessary to implement this
5.6section. The rules must contain at a minimum:
5.7    (1) standards for project eligibility;
5.8    (2) criteria for reviewing grant applications; and
5.9    (3) procedures and guidelines for program monitoring and evaluation.
5.10    Subd. 7. Right of first refusal. A utility that provides electric service at retail in
5.11the area where the qualified on-farm biogas recovery facility is located has the right of
5.12first refusal for any gas produced by a qualified on-farm biogas recovery facility that has
5.13received a grant under this section. A utility's right of first refusal expires if:
5.14    (1) within 45 days after the qualified owner files an incentive payment application
5.15with the commissioner, the utility fails to send a letter of intent to the qualified owner
5.16indicating the utility's willingness to negotiate a purchase agreement; or
5.17    (2) the parties enter negotiations but fail to reach agreement within 120 days after
5.18the qualified owner files an incentive payment application with the commissioner.
5.19    Subd. 8. Eligibility toward renewable energy objective. Any gas generated by
5.20a qualified on-farm biogas recovery facility awarded a grant under this section that is
5.21purchased by a utility may be counted toward the utility's renewable energy objective
5.22under section 216B.1691, subdivision 2.
5.23    Subd. 9. Appropriation. Up to $1,000,000 is appropriated annually from the
5.24renewable development account through fiscal year 2015 to the commissioner of
5.25agriculture for the purpose of providing grants to qualified on-farm biogas recovery
5.26facilities.

5.27    Sec. 13. [561.20] NUISANCE LIABILITY OF WIND ENERGY CONVERSION
5.28SYSTEMS.
5.29    Subdivision 1. Definition. For the purposes of this section, "wind energy conversion
5.30system" has the meaning given in section 216C.06.
5.31    Subd. 2. Wind energy conversion system not a nuisance. (a) A wind energy
5.32conversion system is not and does not become a private or public nuisance after two years
5.33from the date it begins generating electricity as a matter of law if the system:
5.34    (1) complies with all applicable federal, state, or county laws, regulations, rules, and
5.35ordinances and any permits issued for it; and
6.1    (2) operates according to generally accepted practices.
6.2    (b) For a period of two years from the date it begins generating electricity, there is
6.3a rebuttable presumption that a wind energy conversion system in compliance with the
6.4requirements of paragraph (a) is not a public or private nuisance.
6.5    (c) This subdivision does not apply:
6.6    (1) to any prosecution for the crime of public nuisance as provided in section
6.7609.74 or to an action by a public authority to abate a particular condition that is a public
6.8nuisance; or
6.9    (2) to any enforcement action brought by a local unit of government related to
6.10zoning under chapter 394 or 462.
6.11    Subd. 3. Existing contracts. This section must not be construed to invalidate any
6.12contracts or commitments made before the effective date of this section.
6.13    Subd. 4. Severability. If a provision of this section, or application thereof to any
6.14person or set of circumstances, is held invalid or unconstitutional, the invalidity does not
6.15affect other provisions or applications of this section that can be given effect without the
6.16invalid provision or application. To that end, the provisions of this section are declared to
6.17be severable.
6.18EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

6.19    Sec. 14. PETROLEUM VIOLATION ESCROW FUNDS.
6.20    (a) Petroleum violation escrow funds appropriated to the commissioner of commerce
6.21by Laws 1988, chapter 686, article 1, section 38, for state energy loan programs for
6.22schools, hospitals, and public buildings must be used for grants to K-12 schools to develop
6.23energy conservation or renewable energy projects. A grant may not exceed $500,000. The
6.24commissioner must endeavor to award grants throughout the regions of the state. No more
6.25than one grant may be awarded in a county, unless an insufficient number of applications
6.26is received from schools located in other counties to exhaust available funds.
6.27    (b) The commissioner of commerce must petition the federal Department of Energy
6.28for a waiver from any federal regulation that limits the proportion of federal funds
6.29expended on state energy programs that may be spent on energy efficiency.
6.30    (c) For purposes of this subdivision, "renewable energy" means wind, solar,
6.31hydroelectric with a capacity of less than 60 megawatts, geothermal, hydrogen, fuel cells
6.32made from renewable resources, herbaceous crops, agricultural crops, agricultural waste,
6.33and aquatic plant matter.
7.1EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day after the commissioner of
7.2commerce receives the waiver described in paragraph (b)."
7.3Renumber the sections in sequence and correct the internal references
7.4Amend the title accordingly