Renewable Energy Growth Program

In 2014, H.B. 7727 created the Renewable Energy Growth (REG) program with the goal to promote installation of grid connected renewable energy within the load zones of electric distribution companies (EDCs) at a reasonable cost. This tariff-based incentive program is designed to finance the development, construction, and operation of renewable energy distributed generation projects through competitive bidding processes over five years to achieve specific megawatt (MW) targets. This program is implemented by the EDCs under supervision and review of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

For the period of at least five years, the EDCs shall file tariffs with the PUC that are designed to provide multi-year performance-based incentives to eligible renewable distributed generation projects. Tariffs shall be developed by the EDCs and will be reviewed and approved by the PUC. Proposed tariffs shall include a ceiling price and term lengths of 15 to 20 years. After being approved by the PUC, the terms under the tariffs are not to be altered in any way that would undermine the reliance of those tariffs. 

Program Goal

The REG program has target install total of 160 MW of distributed renewable energy during its five-year term. The first year of the program (2015) has an annual target of 25 MW, 40 MW for second year, 40 MW for third and fourth year, and rest of the 160 MW for the fifth year. There is also an annual target of at least 3 MW for small scale solar projects for first 4 years of the program. In 2017, S.B. 112A extended the program to the end of 2029, and increased the annual target to 40 MW per year, with a total cumulative procurement of 400 MW of renewable energy between 2020 and 2029. 

Program Description

The Small-Scale Solar Program provides incentives for systems up to 25 KW and are designed for residential and small business owners. Applicants can enroll via the interconnection application to receive a standard performance-based incentive for the period of years in an applicable tariff. The incentives depend on the size and ownership of the system, and the duration of the contract term. The incentives will be provided on a first come, first served basis until the program reaches its capacity target.

The PUC has approved the solar incentive for National Grid for 2022. Incentive amounts are listed in the table below.

Renewable Energy Class (Nameplate kW)	Annual Enrollment Target (Nameplate MW)	Ceiling Price/Standard PBI (cents/kWh)
Small-Scale Solar  (1-15 kW DC)	6.95	31.05 (15-yr Tariff)
Small-Scale Solar (>15-25 kW DC)		27.55 (20-yr Tariff)

Commercial-Scale Solar Projects and All Other Eligible Technologies: The program is directed towards non-residential customers who are interested in installing a qualifying distributed generation project in their facility. Eligible technologies include solar PV, wind, anaerobic digestion, and small-scale hydropower. To participate in the program, interested applicants must submit a bid price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the entire output of the facility, which shall not exceed the ceiling price. Any participant that is purchasing electricity on other than the residential retail rate are eligible to apply for the program. The EDC will select projects based on the lowest proposed prices and time of completion of the project, until the target capacity of that class is met. In order to incentivize renewable distributed generation projects, the EDC may include an incentive payment adder to the bid price of any winning bidder that propose a distributed generation project in a desired geographical load area. 

The REG program shall be administered exclusively through the tariff structure, and the EDC is not required to execute a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the procurement of the renewable energy for the program. Incentives for the 2022 program year for eligible solar, wind, hydro, and anaerobic digester projects are provided in the table below:

Renewable Energy Class (Nameplate KW)	Annual Enrollment Target (Nameplate MW)	Third Open Enrollment Target (Nameplate MW)	Ceiling price (including eligible federal incentives) (cents/kWh)	Term of Service (years)
Medium-Scale Solar, (26-250 kW DC)	5	3.045	24.45	20
Commercial-Scale Solar, (>250-999 kW DC)	4 (>250-500 kW) 8 (>500-999 kW)	2.024 (>250-500 kW) 5.369 (>500-999 kW)	19.25 (>250-500 kW) 15.75 (>500-999 kW)	20
Large-Scale Solar, (1,000-5,000 kW DC)	24.25	24.25	10.95	20
Community Remote DG Commercial Solar (>250-999 kW DC)	3 (>250-500 kW) 3 (>500-999 kW)	3 (>250-500 kW) 3 (>500-999 kW)	22.14 (>250-500 kW) 18.11 (>500-999 kW)	20
Community Remote DG Large Solar (1,000-5,000 kW DC)	3	3	12.59	20
Wind (1-5,000 kW) Community Remote DG Wind (1,000-5,000 kW)	3	2	Wind: 22.40 CRDG Wind: 24.60	20
Anaerobic Digestion, (1-5,000 kW)	1 (Anaerobic Digestion plus Small Hydro)	1 (Anaerobic Digestion  plus Small Hydro)	25.55	20
Hydropower, (1-5,000 kW)	1 (Anaerobic Digestion plus Small Hydro)	1 (Anaerobic Digestion  plus Small Hydro)	37.15	20

Applications for projects in all renewable energy classes are accepted in the Third Open Enrollment. The program also has a capacity target of 1.476 MW for commercial-scale solar carports and 0.005 MW for large-scale solar carports. The solar carport incentive is 6 cents/kWh for 20 years.

H.B. 8534 enacted on July 2016 added a virtual net metering Shared Solar Facilities program as the part of the Renewable Energy Growth program. The program seeks to facilitate solar adoption in multifamily, campuses, multi-structure, business parks, multi-tenant, multi-owner commercial facilities, and public entities with multiple accounts. The program will be available for adoption after the PUC approves the program tariff submitted by the utility.