§24-2F-11 Alternative and renewable energy resources grant program.
§24-2F-11. Alternative and renewable energy resources grant program.
(a) There is hereby established in the State Treasury a special revolving fund to be jointly administered by the Public Service Commission and the Division of Energy which shall be designated the "Alternative and Renewable Energy Resources Research Fund." Moneys in the fund shall be used to award matching grants for demonstration, commercialization, research and development projects relating to alternative and renewable energy resources and energy efficiency technologies.
(b) The fund shall consist of any moneys appropriated by the Legislature, any compliance assessments collected by the commission, any gifts, bequests or other contributions to the fund from private entities or electric customers and any interest or other return on the moneys in the fund. Any moneys remaining in the account at the end of a fiscal year, including accrued interest, do not revert to the General Revenue Fund and remain in the account.
(c) Any donations to the fund collected by an electric generation supplier or electric distribution company shall be forwarded to the Public Service Commission and the commission shall deposit such moneys in the fund.
(d) The Division of Energy shall provide for the distribution of moneys from the fund in the form of matching grants to state institutions of higher education for demonstration, commercialization, research and development projects relating to alternative and renewable energy resources and energy efficiency technologies. The Division of Energy shall consult with and receive recommendations from the Public Energy Authority, the Economic Development Authority and the Department of Environmental Protection to establish eligibility criteria for the awarding of grant moneys under this section. The Division of Energy may update said criteria as necessary to comply with the requirements of this section.
(e) Within two years of the effective date of this section, and each year thereafter, the Division of Energy shall file a report with the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates containing, at a minimum: (i) A description of all actions taken by the Division of Energy pursuant to this section; (ii) an accounting of total deposits into and expenditures from the fund during the previous twelve months; and (iii) a description of any projects that received a distribution from the fund during the preceding twelve months, including the projects' objectives, current status and results, if any.