In July 2012 Pennsylvania State Senator Dave Argall (R-29th District) introduced PA Senate Bill (SB) 1350 with 18 co-sponsors. The bill was then submitted to the Pennsylvania Consumer Protection and Licensure Committee in August. The earliest the Bill could be reviewed is in the 2013 legislative session, so there is little to report right now.

Senator Argall’s website describes SB 1350 as an updated adoption of Representative Chris Ross’ (R-Chester) failed House Bill 1580 which we described in these previous blog posts.

Key points proposed in SB 1350 are:

• Accelerates the existing Pennsylvania Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) over 3 years, starting with RY 2013.
• Establishes a cap on the SREC prices through a set Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP) of $285 per SREC out to 2019 (currently PA does not have an ACP), followed by a decline of 2% per year.
• Allows for solar thermal facilities to qualify for SRECs along with solar photovoltaic systems.
• Adds consumer protection language for educating stakeholders about SREC prices.
• Does not include a clause to prevent qualified out of state photovoltaic facilities from selling SRECs in the Pennsylvania market.