Legislation now awaiting the signature of Gov. Mike Dunleavy encourages private investment in renewable energy projects by extending an exemption from duplicative government regulations for independent power producers, or IPPs.
The current exemption is set to lapse on July 1, just as additional interest in renewable resources is growing in the state.
Senate Bill 69, sponsored by Sen. Josh Revak, R-Anchorage, was approved by the Legislature this past week. It would enact a seven-year extension through July 1, 2028, allowing investors to make long-term plans and deploy capital throughout the state.
Legislators in 2010 approved a bill to better align Alaska’s regulatory treatment of renewable energy produced by independent power producers with how they are regulated at the federal level. At that time Alaska was the only state to extend the regulatory authority of a public utility commission like the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to regulate not just the power purchase agreement but also the IPP.
By doing away with the duplicative layer of review and regulation in 2010, the Legislature encouraged private investment in renewable energy projects. That exemption, however, was only effective for five years. In 2016 legislators voted unanimously to extend that exemption for another five years, to avoid the double regulation of these facilities.
