S 50

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No. 38. An act relating to increasing the size of solar net metering projects
that qualify for expedited registration.
  (S.50)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. 30 V.S.A. § 8010 is amended to read:
§ 8010. SELF-GENERATION AND NET METERING
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   (c) In accordance with this section, the Commission shall adopt and
implement rules that govern the installation and operation of net metering
systems.
      (1) The rules shall establish and maintain a net metering program that:
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  (G) accounts for changes over time in the cost of technology; and
  (H) allows a customer to retain ownership of the environmental
attributes of energy generated by the customer’s net metering system and of
any associated tradeable renewable energy credits or to transfer those attributes
and credits to the interconnecting retail provider, and:
  (i) if the customer retains the attributes, reduces the value of the
credit provided under this section for electricity generated by the customer’s
net metering system by an appropriate amount;
  (ii) if the customer transfers the attributes to the interconnecting
provider, requires the provider to retain them for application toward
compliance with sections 8004 and 8005 of this title unless the provider has
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fewer than 75,000 customers, in which case the attributes do not need to be
applied toward compliance obligations under sections 8004 and 8005 of this
title; and
  (iii) if a retail electricity provider that is 100 percent renewable
under subdivision 8005(b)(1) of this title does not retire the transferred
attributes under sections 8004 and 8005 of this title, requires that the provider
apply an equivalent amount of attributes from distributed renewable generation
that qualifies under subdivision 8005(a)(2) of this title toward its compliance
obligations under sections 8004 and 8005 of this title; and
  (I) allows a customer to change the customer’s decision to retain or
transfer the attributes once in the 120-day period after the net metering system
is commissioned.
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      (3) The rules shall establish standards and procedures governing
application for and issuance or revocation of a certificate of public good for net
metering systems under the provisions of section 248 of this title. In
establishing these standards and procedures:
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  (F) This subdivision (F) applies to an application for a net metering
system with a capacity that is greater than 15 25 kilowatts, unless the system is
located on a new or existing structure the primary purpose of which is not the
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generation of electricity. With respect to such a system, the rules shall not
waive or include provisions that are less stringent than each of the following:
  (i) the requirement of subdivision 248(a)(4)(C) of this title to
provide a copy of the application to the Agencies of Agriculture, Food and
Markets and of Natural Resources; the Department of Public Service; the
Division for Historic Preservation; the municipal legislative body; and the
municipal and regional planning commissions; and
  (ii) the requirements of subsection 248(f) (preapplication
submittal) of this title.
  (G) The rules shall establish an expedited registration procedure for
net metering systems of 25 kilowatts and less in size.
  ***
Sec. 1a. NET METERING RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDITS
  OWNERSHIP
   The Public Utility Commission (PUC) shall allow a customer who owns a
net metering system that was commissioned between January 1, 2023 and July
1, 2025 to change the customer’s decision to retain the attributes once. The
customer shall be allowed to transfer the attributes to the utility by submitting a
request to the PUC by September 2, 2025.
Sec. 2. RULEMAKING
   The Public Utility Commission shall update its Rule 5.100 to allow ground
mounted photovoltaic net metering systems of 25 kilowatts and less to qualify
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for expedited registration. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the
Commission shall allow systems of 25 kilowatts and less to use the expedited
registration before the rules are updated.
Sec. 3. 30 V.S.A. § 248(s) is amended to read:
   (s) This subsection sets minimum setback requirements that shall apply to
in-state ground-mounted solar electric generation facilities approved under this
section, unless the facility is installed on a canopy constructed on an area
primarily used for parking vehicles that is in existence or permitted on the date
the application for the facility is filed.
      (1) The minimum setbacks shall be:
  (A) From a State or municipal highway, measured from the edge of
the traveled way:
  (i) 100 feet for a facility with a plant capacity exceeding 150 kW;
and
  (ii) 40 feet for a facility with a plant capacity less than or equal to
150 kW but greater than 15 25 kW; and
  (iii) 10 feet for a facility with a plant capacity less than or equal to
25 kW.
  (B) From each property boundary that is not a State or municipal
highway:
  (i) 50 feet for a facility with a plant capacity exceeding 150 kW;
and
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  (ii) 25 feet for a facility with a plant capacity less than or equal to
150 kW but greater than 15 25 kW; and
  (iii) 10 feet for a facility with a plant capacity less than or equal to
25 kW.
      (2) This subsection does not require a setback for a facility with a plant
capacity equal to or less than 15 kW. [Repealed.]
      (3) On review of an application, the Commission may:
  (A) require a larger setback than this subsection requires;
  (B) approve an agreement to a smaller setback among the applicant,
the municipal legislative body, and each owner of property adjoining the
smaller setback; or
  (C) require a setback for a facility constructed on an area primarily
used for parking vehicles, if the application concerns such a facility.
      (4) In this subsection:
  (A) “kW” and “plant capacity” shall have the same meaning as in
section 8002 of this title.
  (B) “Setback” means the shortest distance between the nearest
portion of a solar panel or support structure for a solar panel, at its point of
attachment to the ground, and a property boundary or the edge of a highway’s
traveled way.
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Sec. 4. 30 V.S.A. § 248(a)(7) is amended to read:
      (7) When a certificate of public good under this section or amendment
to such a certificate is issued for an in-state electric generation or energy
storage facility with a capacity that is greater than 15 25 kilowatts, the
certificate holder within 45 days shall record a notice of the certificate or
amended certificate, on a form prescribed by the Commission, in the land
records of each municipality in which a facility subject to the certificate is
located and shall submit proof of this recording to the Commission. The
recording under this subsection shall be indexed as though the certificate
holder were the grantor of a deed. The prescribed form shall not exceed one
page and shall require identification of the land on which the facility is to be
located by reference to the conveyance to the current landowner, the number of
the certificate, and the name of each person to which the certificate was issued
and shall include information on how to contact the Commission to view the
certificate and supporting documents.
Sec. 5. PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION;
  DEFINITION OF SINGLE PLANT
   On or before November 1, 2025, and with input from stakeholders, the
Public Utility Commission shall submit a recommended amended definition of
“plant” in 30 V.S.A. § 8002(18) and an overview of their process and
explanation of the recommendation to the House Committee on Energy and
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Digital Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and
Energy. In making its recommendation, the Commission shall consider:
       (1) the land use benefits of collocation of energy generation facilities;
       (2) the ability to ensure comprehensive review of collocated facilities;
and
       (3) the potential impacts to ratepayers associated with collocated
facilities.
Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE
   This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.
Date Governor signed bill: May 28, 2025
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