Holsman: Renewable Energy Committee Votes Unanimously on Prop C Fix

Renewable energy committee votes 11-0 in favor of Holsman bill

Proposal follows up on voter-approved renewable energy law

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The House Special Committee on Renewable Energy on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation to fix flaws in a voter-approved law to expand and promote renewable energy in Missouri that have prevented the proposal from being fully implemented more than two years after it was enacted.

House Bill 613 sponsored by state Rep. Jason Holsman, R-Kansas City, would require the state's investor-owned power utilities to construct or purchase 750 megawatts of power generated by renewable sources such as solar, wind, and biomass by 2020. The bill would also require companies to provide $108 million in incentives for consumers who install small-scale solar power systems.

"This revision protects ratepayers from exorbitant rate increases and takes a balanced approach to shift from carbon producing fossil fuels to clean renewable energy like wind and solar," said Holsman, the chairman of the renewable energy committee.

HB 613 modifies provisions of Proposition C, which 66 percent of Missouri voters approved in November 2008 to promote the use of renewable energy. Differences over how certain provisions of Proposition C should be interpreted, however, have kept it from being implemented.

Holsman helped form a coalition of utility companies, industrial power consumers and renewable energy advocates to develop the follow-up legislation necessary to enable the intent of Proposition C to finally be realized. HB 613 now must be approved by the full House of Representatives.