20120806Comment.pdf

RECE WED
rn ft)U
MILK PRODUCERS OF IDAHO
IDAHO WHEAT & AGRICULTURE CENTER
P0 Box 2751
Boise, ID 83701
208/345-1190
[e-mail]
YiiWtUJj;Icij
iDAHO PUB UTILITIES COMMISSION
August 3, 2012
Dear Commissioners,
The members of the Milk Producers of Idaho (MPI) want to make you aware that the
recommendation (Case No. GNR-E-11-03) made by the Staff of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission
that if implemented will negatively impact the Idaho Dairy industry.
In the recently released "Staff Legal Brief" regarding Case No. GNR-E-11-03, the PUC staff
addresses the issue of who owns the "Renewable Energy Credits" (RECs) that are developed in the
production of alternative energy projects that are PURPA qualified.
The staff recommendation is that those credits should stay with the energy and be given to the
Utility that is required to purchase the energy under the PURPA laws. The members of MPI utilize those
credits in contracting the construction of anaerobic digesters on dairies. These REC5 are necessary for
the project to pencil out and not become yet another regulatory cost for the dairy. If the IPUC follows
the staff recommendation, the credits would no longer be available for the dairy and the construction of
a very useful waste management tool will be eliminated.
Currently in negotiations with the Utilities, the credits are a large part of the discussion, and it is
recognized that those RECs belong to the producer of the energy. During the last legislative session a bill
was introduced that would force the creator of those credits to give them over to the Utility. After
hearing from multiple impacted parties (including the Idaho Dairy Industry) the Senate State Affairs
committee wisely chose to not give the bill a hearing.
For that reason the IPUC feels that they must be the determining body in deciding who should
own the credits. To the dairy industry that is not a question that needs answering. The individual who
took the financial risk, acquired the necessary permits and built the facility should own all benefits from
the investment - including the RECs.
Any determination by the IPUC to force the owner of those credits to give them up to the Utility
would be nothing more than a bureaucratic taking of personal property and would be contrary to how
Idaho State Government has traditionally operated.
Commissioner, this is an extremely important issue for the Idaho Dairy Industry. The state of
Idaho has encouraged the use of digester technology for over a decade. The industry has spent tens of
millions of dollars in researching digesters and has finally found a process that helps solve the issues
surrounding the waste products produced at a dairy operation and is affordable to build - provided the
RECs are owned by the facility.
A decision by the IPUC that accepts the staff recommendation will create a regulatory expense
that will jeopardize any further growth for a three billion dollar Idaho industry.
Respectfully,
lena Petter, Chairman
Milk Producers of Idaho
Cc: Governor Otter
Mark Warbus
Bonnie Butler
J. Brent Olmstead, Executive Director
Milk Producers of Idaho