The bill establishes a community solar facility program in Iowa, which aims to promote solar energy generation and enhance participation from electric utility customers in alternative solar energy projects. It defines key terms such as "community solar facility," which refers to a distributed generation facility that produces electricity through solar panels, allowing subscribers to receive bill credits based on their subscription size. The bill also clarifies that community solar facilities will not be classified as public utilities and that their operation will not violate existing regulations regarding electric utility facilities.

Additionally, the bill outlines the responsibilities of electric utilities, including the requirement to review interconnection processes to ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness, as well as the obligation to provide bill credits to subscribers. It mandates that community solar facilities must have a decommissioning plan with financial assurances and sets forth specific procedures for managing subscriber information and bill credits. The Iowa Utilities Commission is tasked with adopting rules to implement these provisions, and electric utilities must file updated tariffs by January 1, 2027, to comply with the new regulations.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 476.1, 476.50