S 3617: Establishes a community wind energy pilot program; creates an investor owned wind energy electric generating system.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3617 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 29, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni- cations AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to the community wind energy pilot program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 2 66-y to read as follows: 3 § 66-y. Community wind energy pilot program. 1. The commission shall 4 establish a New York state pilot program promoting the use of community 5 wind energy. 6 2. The commission shall oversee the implementation of the pilot 7 program and shall issue an order of the commission authorizing the 8 construction of a wind energy system installation. 9 3. The commission shall invite consumers to participate in the program 10 as subscribers, provided that: 11 (a) the commission shall set a subscription schedule, including the 12 price per watt to subscribe and the percentage of the total installation 13 each subscription level shall represent; 14 (b) subscribers shall make a one time payment to the commission and, 15 in return, subscribers shall be paid a quarterly dividend for the energy 16 generated by the watts covered by their subscription level; 17 (c) a consumer shall be paid on a quarterly basis based on the consum- 18 er's subscription level; 19 (d) the commission shall set a maximum number of subscriptions at each 20 level; and 21 (e) the minimum price per subscription shall not exceed five hundred 22 dollars. 23 4. All energy generated by the wind energy system installation shall 24 be sold back to an investor-owned utility. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08006-01-5 
 S. 3617 2 1 5. One percent of all payments due to subscribers shall be held by the 2 commission to pay for the capital investment into the original wind 3 energy system installation. After the original installation has been 4 paid in full, the one percent held by the commission shall be used to 5 fund new wind energy system installations in the same manner. 6 6. The state shall retain ownership of the wind energy system instal- 7 lation and of any renewable energy credits generated by the installa- 8 tion. 9 7. Subscribers shall be paid for energy generated at the retail rate 10 and not at the avoided-cost rate. 11 8. The maximum size of the installation shall be two thousand kilo- 12 watts. 13 9. Subscriptions may not be resold to any entity other than the state. 14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.