This bill amends existing laws concerning community solar projects in New Hampshire, specifically targeting low-moderate income households. Key changes include increasing the maximum size for low-moderate income community solar projects from 6 megawatts to 18 megawatts, while also allowing community solar developers to apply for project designation that benefits households earning at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). The definition of "municipal host" is expanded to include nonprofit educational institutions and public housing authorities, and the previous specification regarding special purpose entities is removed. Additionally, the bill allows customer-generators to participate as group members without becoming group hosts and facilitates agreements for group net metering members to sign with multiple group hosts, provided their combined load does not exceed their total load.

Furthermore, the bill increases the capacity limit for metering requirements from 100 kilowatts to 500 kilowatts for both single net meters and bi-directional metering systems. It introduces a new compensation structure for group hosts, ensuring that compensation for generation does not exceed the total costs of group members. The Department of Energy is mandated to report on the costs and benefits of low-moderate income community solar projects and is required to authorize at least two new projects annually in each utility's service territory. The anticipated need for a full-time Utility Analyst IV position to manage these changes will result in increased expenditures of approximately $104,000 in FY 2026, with subsequent incremental increases, which will be recovered from electric utility ratepayers. The New Hampshire Municipal Association has noted a lack of sufficient data to assess the bill's fiscal impact on municipalities.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 362-A:9, 362-F:2, 362-A:1-a
As Amended by the Senate: 362-A:9, 362-F:2, 362-A:1-a