CHAPTER 13.1. ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PROJECTS BY RURAL ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATIONS - Indiana Statutes

IC 8-1-13.1
     Chapter 13.1. Alternative Energy Projects by Rural Electric Membership Corporations

IC 8-1-13.1-1
Findings
     Sec. 1. The general assembly makes the following findings:
        (1) Alternative energy projects result in quantifiable reductions in, or the avoidance of, regulated air pollutants and carbon emissions produced by traditional electric generating facilities that use fossil fuels as their fuel source.
        (2) Corporations and cooperatively owned power suppliers should plan and implement alternative energy projects on behalf of and at the request of their members.
        (3) Incentives that encourage corporations and their cooperatively owned power suppliers to:
            (A) develop alternative energy projects; and
            (B) apply for, and contribute matching funds to, state or federal grants and programs for alternative energy projects;
        are in the public interest of the state and its citizens and are crucial to the state's economic development efforts.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-2
"Alternative energy project"
     Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "alternative energy project" means a project that:
        (1) develops or makes use of:
            (A) clean coal and energy projects (as defined in IC 8-1-8.8-2);
            (B) renewable energy resources (as defined in IC 8-1-8.8-10) for the production of electricity;
            (C) integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology to produce synthesis gas that is used:
                (i) to generate electricity; or
                (ii) as a substitute for natural gas;
            regardless of the fuel source used to produce the synthesis gas;
            (D) methane recovered from landfills for the production of electricity;
            (E) demand side management, energy efficiency, or conservation programs; or
            (F) coal bed methane.
        (2) results in quantifiable reductions in, or the avoidance of:
            (A) the use of electricity produced by traditional electric generating facilities that use fossil fuels as their fuel source; or
            (B) regulated air pollutants and carbon emissions produced by traditional electric generating facilities that use fossil fuels as their fuel source; and         (3) is implemented under a plan approved by:
            (A) the office; and
            (B) a corporation's or a cooperatively owned power supplier's board of directors.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-3
"Cooperatively owned power supplier"
     Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "cooperatively owned power supplier" means:
        (1) an energy utility (as defined in IC 8-1-2.5-2) that is a general district corporation organized under IC 8-1-13; or
        (2) an energy utility that is organized under IC 23-17 and whose membership includes one (1) or more corporations organized under IC 8-1-13.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-4
"Corporation"
     Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "corporation" means a corporation organized under IC 8-1-13 as a local district corporation (as defined in IC 8-1-13-23(b)).
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-5
"Director"
     Sec. 5. As used in this chapter, "director" refers to the director of the office of alternative energy incentives serving under section 9(b) of this chapter.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-6
"Fund"
     Sec. 6. As used in this chapter, "fund" refers to the alternative energy incentive fund established by section 10 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-7
"Office"
     Sec. 7. As used in this chapter, "office" refers to the office of alternative energy incentives established by section 9 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-8
"Retail energy service"
     Sec. 8. As used in this chapter, "retail energy service" has the meaning set forth in IC 8-1-2.5-3.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-9 Office of alternative energy incentives; director
     Sec. 9. (a) The office of alternative energy incentives is established within the Indiana office of energy development.
    (b) The:
        (1) director of the Indiana office of energy development; or
        (2) designee of the Indiana office of energy development, who must be qualified by knowledge of or experience in the electric utility industry;
shall serve as the director of the office.
    (c) The director:
        (1) serves at the pleasure of and is responsible to the director of the Indiana office of energy development, if the director is a designee of the director of the Indiana office of energy development;
        (2) may receive compensation in an amount determined by the director of the Indiana office of energy development, subject to the approval of the budget agency, if the director is a designee of the director of the Indiana office of energy development;
        (3) serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the office; and
        (4) may, to the extent appropriate, delegate the director's authority under this chapter, subject to the approval of:
            (A) the director of the Indiana office of energy development, if the director is a designee of the director of the Indiana office of energy development; and
            (B) the budget agency.
    (d) The director of the Indiana office of energy development may:
        (1) establish; and
        (2) appoint members to;
an advisory board to advise the office in the administration of this chapter.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-10
Alternative energy incentive fund; sources of funds; appropriation; expenditures; expenses; investment; nonreverting fund
     Sec. 10. (a) The alternative energy incentive fund is established for the purpose of providing funds to corporations for use in the development of alternative energy projects. The fund shall be administered by the office.
    (b) The fund consists of:
        (1) money appropriated to the fund by the general assembly;
        (2) money received from state or federal grants or programs for alternative energy projects; and
        (3) donations, gifts, and money received from any other source, including transfers from other funds or accounts.
    (c) Money in the fund is continuously appropriated for the purposes of this section.
    (d) Money in the fund may be spent only in accordance with this chapter and to carry out the purposes of this chapter.     (e) The expenses of administering the fund shall be paid from money in the fund.
    (f) Notwithstanding IC 5-13, the treasurer of state shall invest the money in the fund not currently needed to meet the obligations of the fund in the same manner as money is invested by the public employees retirement fund under IC 5-10.3-5. The treasurer of state may contract with investment management professionals, investment advisers, and legal counsel to assist in the investment of the fund and may pay the expenses incurred under those contracts from the fund. Interest that accrues from these investments shall be deposited in the fund.
    (g) Money in the fund at the end of a state fiscal year does not revert to the state general fund.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-11
Office to establish account in fund for each corporation
     Sec. 11. The office shall establish an account within the fund for each corporation.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-12
Application by corporation to office for access to funds; access amount; application and documentation; review and dispute resolution; installments
     Sec. 12. (a) Beginning in 2009, not later than August 1 of each year, a corporation may apply to the office to have access to a percentage of the total funds that are, as of July 1 of the year, in the account established for the corporation under section 11 of this chapter, as follows:
        (1) A corporation may have access to not more than forty percent (40%) of the total funds in the corporation's account if the corporation certifies to the office that alternative energy projects accounted for five percent (5%) or less of the corporation's total sales from the provision of retail energy service during the preceding calendar year.
        (2) A corporation may have access to not more than seventy percent (70%) of the total funds in the corporation's account if the corporation certifies to the office that alternative energy projects accounted for:
            (A) more than five percent (5%); and
            (B) not more than ten percent (10%);
        of the corporation's total sales from the provision of retail energy service during the preceding calendar year.
        (3) A corporation may have access to one hundred percent (100%) of the total funds in the corporation's account if the corporation certifies to the office that:
            (A) alternative energy projects accounted for at least ten percent (10%) of the corporation's total sales from the provision of retail energy service during the preceding

calendar year;
            (B) at least fifty percent (50%) of the sales attributed to alternative energy projects under clause (A) were made to Indiana customers; and
            (C) at least fifty percent (50%) of the alternative energy projects that:
                (i) under clause (A) accounted for at least ten percent (10%) of the corporation's total sales from the provision of retail energy service during the preceding calendar year; and
                (ii) are energy production or generating facilities;
            are located in Indiana.
    (b) A corporation that seeks access to a percentage of the total funds in the corporation's account under subsection (a) shall submit:
        (1) an application to the office on a form prescribed by the office; and
        (2) any documentation required by the office to support the corporation's certification of the percentage of its total sales from the provision of retail energy service that is attributable to alternative energy projects during the preceding calendar year.
An application submitted under this section must be signed under penalty of perjury by an officer of the corporation or another person authorized to bind the corporation.
    (c) The application form prescribed by the office and described in subsection (b)(1) must require the applicant to identify:
        (1) each planned or existing alternative energy project in which the applicant plans to invest money drawn from the applicant's account under this section;
        (2) the amount of money the applicant plans to invest in each alternative energy project identified under subdivision (1); and
        (3) any other corporations, cooperatively owned power suppliers, or other persons that have invested or will invest money in each alternative energy project identified under subdivision (1), to the extent known by the applicant.
    (d) Upon receiving an application and any supporting documents from a corporation under subsection (b), the office shall review the application and documents for accuracy and completeness. If the office determines that the application and documents are accurate, complete, and properly verified, the office shall notify the corporation as soon as practicable, but in any case not later than thirty (30) days after the date of the corporation's application, that the corporation may have access to the percentage of funds for which the corporation qualifies under subsection (a). If the office determines that the application and documents are inaccurate or incomplete, or are not properly verified, the office shall immediately notify the corporation of any additional information or verifications required. If there is disagreement between a corporation and the office about:
        (1) the accuracy or completeness of an application or any documents submitted in conjunction with an application; or
        (2) the determination of, or the method used to determine, the

percentage of a corporation's total sales from the provision of retail energy service that is attributable to alternative energy projects;
the corporation may request a hearing or any other procedure for resolving disputes established by the office in rules adopted under section 15 of this chapter.
    (e) A corporation may receive the percentage of funds for which it qualifies under subsection (a) for a particular year in one (1) or more installments. However, any money received by a corporation under this section may be used only for one (1) or more alternative energy projects in accordance with section 14 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-13
Joint development of alternative energy projects
     Sec. 13. (a) Two (2) or more corporations that are members of the same cooperatively owned power supplier may:
        (1) develop alternative energy projects jointly; and
        (2) share money drawn from their respective accounts in the fund with the corporations' cooperatively owned power supplier, as long as the cooperatively owned power supplier uses the money for one (1) or more alternative energy projects in accordance with section 14 of this chapter.
    (b) For purposes of determining the percentage of a corporation's total sales from the provision of retail energy service that is attributable to alternative energy projects under section 12 of this chapter, any joint project described in subsection (a)(1) shall be allocated among the participating corporations according to each corporation's respective investment in the joint project.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-14
Corporation's board of directors determines use of money; permissible uses of money; limitations
     Sec. 14. (a) A corporation's board of directors is entitled to determine how money drawn from the corporation's account under section 12 of this chapter is used, subject to the following:
        (1) Money drawn from the corporation's account under section 12 of this chapter must be used for an alternative energy project that is approved by:
            (A) the office; and
            (B) the corporation's board.
        (2) If the money will be used to develop or invest in an alternative energy project that involves:
            (A) the construction of a new energy production or generating facility; or
            (B) the expansion or extension of an existing energy production or generating facility;
        the facility to be constructed, expanded, or extended as part of the alternative energy project must be located in Indiana.         (3) Money drawn from the corporation's account under section 12 of this chapter may not be used to purchase electricity produced from an alternative energy project, unless the alternative energy project:
            (A) is located in Indiana; and
            (B) first came online after July 1, 2009.
        (4) If the money will be used for a demand side management, energy efficiency, or conservation program, the money must be dedicated to Indiana customers participating in the demand side management, energy efficiency, or conservation program.
    (b) Subject to subsection (a), money drawn from the corporation's account under section 12 of this chapter may be used for:
        (1) reimbursement to the corporation for money invested by the corporation:
            (A) within the thirty-six (36) month period immediately preceding the date funds are applied for by the corporation under section 12 of this chapter; and
            (B) for the expansion or extension of an alternative energy project; and
        (2) contributions of matching funds to state or federal programs for alternative energy projects.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-15
Adoption of rules by office
     Sec. 15. (a) The office may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to implement this chapter. Any rules adopted by the office under this section must include:
        (1) requirements for plans for alternative energy projects submitted by corporations and cooperatively owned power suppliers to the office under this chapter;
        (2) standards by which the office evaluates plans described in subdivision (1);
        (3) standards or methodologies for determining the percentage of a corporation's total sales from the provision of retail energy service that is attributable to alternative energy projects under section 12 of this chapter;
        (4) standards and procedures to ensure that a corporation does not receive money from the fund for an investment in, or a purchase of electricity from, an alternative energy project if money has been received from the fund by another applicant for the same or an equivalent investment or purchase;
        (5) procedures for resolving disputes that arise between a corporation and the office concerning:
            (A) the accuracy or completeness of an application or any documents submitted to the office by a corporation under section 12(b) of this chapter; or
            (B) the determination of, or the method used to determine, the percentage of a corporation's total sales from the provision of retail energy service that is attributable to

alternative energy projects under section 12 of this chapter; and
        (6) any other standards, methodologies, or requirements necessary to implement this chapter.
    (b) In adopting rules under this section, the office may consult with the Indiana office of energy development.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.

IC 8-1-13.1-16
Federal economic stimulus funds and programs
     Sec. 16. This chapter shall not be construed to constrain a corporation's access to and immediate use of federal economic stimulus funds for alternative energy projects. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, any money that may become available to a corporation in connection with federal economic stimulus programs may not become part of the fund or an account established under this chapter without the consent of the corporation, which shall have access to federal economic stimulus funds:
        (1) for the same uses; and
        (2) in accordance with the same processes;
as any other energy utility (as defined in IC 8-1-2.5-2) may have access to or use federal economic stimulus money.
As added by P.L.151-2009, SEC.5.