A big thumbs up to Representatives Ruffridge and Coulombe for introducing HB 161:
“An Act relating to minimum paid sick leave requirements; and providing for an effective date.”
This legislation is intended to moderate the incredible financial impacts on Alaska’s businesses that will begin July 1 with the implementation of the poorly written, never-modeled for financial impacts Ballot Measure 1! ( Have we told you how much we dislike Ballot Measure 1?)
A thumbs down to HB 153:
“An Act relating to generation of electricity from renewable energy resources; relating to a renewable portfolio standard; relating to power cost equalization; and providing for an effective date.”
Three words describe our dislike of this legislation: Markets not Mandates!
The bill creates a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), a requirement on Alaska’s retail electric suppliers to supply a minimum percentage or amount of their retail load with eligible sources of renewable energy. Water, geothermal, wind, solar and waste to energy are the eligible sources included in the bill.
HB 153 sets a requirement of 40% by 2030 and 55% by 2035.
The supposed “carrot” in the bill is a Renewable Energy Credit that utilities can purchase from Railbelt Utilities or PCE communities in order to meet the requirements if they haven’t done so via renewable energy projects.
The REC is described as “A market -based instrument that represents the property rights to the environmental, social, and other non -power attributes of renewable electricity generation. We have questions about non-power attributes of renewable electricity generation. (Like – this sounds expensive and not meaningful)
The “stick” is a noncompliance fine of $45 / MWh.
An analysis meant to support the need for mandates over markets confused us. The analysis showed that projects already in the pipeline would meet the 40$ goal and almost meet the 55% goal.
Those projects are:
- 300MW wind farm at Little Mount Susitna and Shovel Creek
- 45MW(input)/30MW(output) solar modeled on Puppy Dog Lake
- Dixon Diversion
- Distributed solar
If the market is already producing the desired result, why the need for carrots and sticks? Why the need for an RPS?