Solar Thermal Electric

Renewable Energy Standard

In November 2008, voters in Missouri approved by a ballot initiative (i.e., via an initiated state statute) the Missouri Clean Energy Act, also known as Proposition C, which repealed the state’s existing voluntary renewable energy and energy efficiency objective and replaced it with a mandatory renewable portfolio standard (RPS). The RPS requires investor-owned utilities to use eligible renewable energy technologies to meet 15% of annual retail sales by 2021.

Eligible Technologies

Eligible renewable energy technologies include electricity produced using photovoltaics (PV); solar thermal; wind; small hydropower (10 megawatts (MW) or less); biogas from agricultural operations, landfills, and wastewater treatment

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Net Metering

Eligibility and Availability

Missouri enacted legislation in June 2007 requiring all electric utilities—investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, and electric cooperatives—to offer net metering to customers with systems up to 100 kilowatts (kW) in capacity that generate electricity using wind energy, solar-thermal energy, hydroelectric energy, photovoltaics (PV), fuel cells using hydrogen produced by one of the aforementioned resources, and other sources of energy certified as renewable by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Systems must be intended primarily to offset part or all of a customer's own electricity requirements, and must be located on premises owned, operated, leased or otherwise controlled by

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State Building Energy Standards

In June 2007, South Carolina enacted legislation (the Energy Independence and Sustainable Construction Act of 2007) to promote effective energy and environmental standards for construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of buildings in the state; to improve the state's capacity to design, build and operate high-performance buildings; to create new jobs; and to increase the state's energy independence. In June 2008, the state enacted additional legislation, H.B. 4766, requiring state agencies and public school districts to develop energy conservation plans towards an ultimate goal of a 20% reduction in energy use by 2020, as compared to 2000 levels.

In May 2013

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Community-Based Energy Development (C-BED) Tariff

Under the Community-Based Energy Development (C-BED) Tariff, originally enacted through state legislation in 2005 and subsequently amended, each public utility in Minnesota is required to file with the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to create a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for community-owned renewable energy projects. The original legislation was enacted in 2005 but has been amended several times subsequently.

The C-BED tariff rate must be higher in the first 10 years of the agreement than the last 10 years. The intent of this structure is to provide renewable energy projects with better cash flow during the first 10 years
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Renewable Portfolio Standard

As part of the Oregon Renewable Energy Act of 2007 (S.B. 838), the state of Oregon established a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) for electric utilities and retail electricity suppliers. This RPS was updated by S.B. 1547* in 2016 to raise the target to 50% renewable energy by 2040. Different RPS targets apply depending on a utility's size. Electricity service suppliers must meet the requirements applicable to the electric utilities that serve the territories in which the electricity service supplier sells electricity to retail consumers.

Requirements

Large investor-owned utilities -- those with 3% or more of the state's

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Massachusetts LEED Plus 2.0 Standard for New Construction

In April 2021, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed Executive Order 594, titled “Leading By Example: Decarbonizing and Minimizing Environmental Impacts of State Government.” This order establishes numerous energy targets and mandates for all executive branch agencies and all public institutions of higher education. 

These include the following:

  • Reduce overall site energy use intensity (EUI), defined as weather-normalized Btu per square foot, from a 2004 baseline at state owned buildings by 20% in 2025, and by 25% in 2030.
  • Reduce state government unadjusted greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and vehicles from the 2004 baseline by 25% by 2025, 35% by 2030
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Alternative Energy Product Manufacturers Tax Credit

The Alternative Energy Product Manufacturers tax credit may be claimed for manufacturing alternative energy products and components, including renewable energy systems, fuel cell systems, and electric and hybrid-electric vehicles. Alternative energy components include parts, assembly of parts, materials, ingredients, or supplies that are incorporated directly into end-use products. In 2011 S.B. 233 added "products extracted from or secreted by a single cell photosynthetic organism" to the list of eligible alternative energy products.

Tax Credit

The total amount of the credit is approved by the Taxation and Revenue Department and is not to exceed 5% of the taxpayer’s qualified expenditures. A

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Solar Energy Gross Receipts Tax Deduction

New Mexico has a gross receipts tax structure for businesses instead of a sales tax. Businesses are taxed on the gross amount of their business receipts each year before expenses are deducted. Revenue generated by the sale and installation of solar systems used to provide space heat, hot water, or electricity to the property on which it is installed may be deducted from gross receipts before the gross receipts tax is calculated. Dark-colored water tanks exposed to sunlight, including all equipment necessary for the installation and operation of the water tank as a part of the overall water system of

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Property Tax Exemption for Solar and Wind Energy Systems

In May 2007, Maryland established a property tax exemption for residential solar energy systems. Under this law solar energy devices “installed to heat or cool a dwelling, generate electricity to be used in the dwelling, or provide hot water for use in the dwelling” were exempt from state -- but not local -- property taxes. However, in April 2008 H.B. 377 was enacted, repealing this exemption beginning July 1, 2008. In place of the rescinded exemption, H.B. 377 inserted another provision exempting solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar hot water systems from real property taxes. The exemption now applies equally to

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Renewable Portfolio Standard

New Hampshire’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS), established in May 2007, requires the state’s electricity providers -- with the exception of municipal utilities -- to acquire by 2025, renewable energy certificates (RECs) equivalent to 25.2% of retail electricity sold to end-user customers. The RPS includes four distinct standards for different types of energy resources; these are classified as Class I, Class II, Class III, and Class IV.

Class I - New Renewable Energy. This class addresses electricity or “useful thermal energy” generated by any of the following resources, provided the generator began operation after January 1, 2006, except as noted below

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