00                      CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 445(L&C)                                                                    
01 "An Act relating to the alternative energy grant fund and to alternative energy grants."                                
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1. AS 42.45 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                  
04            Sec. 42.45.045. Alternative energy grant fund. (a) The alternative energy                                  
05       grant fund is established as a separate fund in the authority. At the end of each                                 
06       calendar year, if the balance in the fund is less than $250,000,000, the Department of                            
07       Revenue shall calculate an amount equal to 10 cents for each barrel of crude oil                                  
08       produced in the state during that year while the average West Coast prevailing value                              
09       for crude oil was $35 a barrel or higher and notify the governor and the legislature of                           
10       that amount. The legislature may appropriate the amount calculated by the Department                              
11       of Revenue to the alternative energy grant fund together with any income earned on                                
12       money in the fund. Nothing in this subsection creates a dedicated fund.                                           
13            (b)  The authority may use money in the alternative energy grant fund to fund                                
14       new or previously awarded existing grants to electric utilities for new or existing                               
15       alternative energy projects. A grant may not exceed $20,000,000; however, more than                               

01       one grant may be awarded for a particular alternative energy project.                                             
02            (c)  The authority may grant money only for an alternative energy project that                               
03       the authority determines is economically viable and that will result in reduced costs for                         
04       consumers of the services of the electric utility. To qualify for a grant, the electric                           
05       utility must provide from other sources a match amount for the alternative energy                                 
06       project that is equal to 25 percent of the grant amount. In awarding grants, the                                  
07       authority shall give priority to alternative energy projects located in areas where fossil                        
08       fuel costs are higher than in other areas of the state.                                                           
09            (d)  For purposes of this section,                                                                           
10                 (1)  "alternative energy project" means a system that provides a source                                 
11       of thermal, mechanical, or electrical energy that is not dependent on a fossil fuel other                         
12       than natural gas for the supply of energy;                                                                        
13                 (2)  "electric utility" means a corporation, whether public, cooperative,                               
14       or otherwise, company, individual, or association of individuals, their lessees, trustees,                        
15       or receivers appointed by a court, that owns, operates, manages, or controls a plant or                           
16       system for furnishing, by generation, transmission, or distribution, electrical service to                        
17       the public for compensation.