WHB/8/8
Sponsored by Darsh Shrivastava, Atharv Mehendale of Ravenwood High School
This legislation was filed in the Agriculture category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT |
| 2 | Section I: Terms in this bill will be defined as follows: |
| 3 | A) Dual-Use Land Application: A piece of land where agricultural production and electricity |
| 4 | production from solar photovoltaic panels occur simultaneously. |
| 5 | B) Agrivoltaics: The use of land for both agriculture and solar photovoltaic energy generation. |
| 6 | C) Photovoltaic Systems: A system composed of multiple solar panels combined with electrical |
| 7 | hardware that turns solar energy into electricity. |
| 8 | D) Solar Panels: A panel that absorbs the sun’s rays and turns the solar energy into electrical |
| 9 | energy. |
| 10 | E) Feed-In Tariff: A policy designed to support renewable energy development by providing high |
| 11 | revenues for producers. |
| 12 | F) Kilowatt Hours (kWh): A measure for electric energy as a product of power and time. |
| 13 | G) Megawatt (MW): A measure of electrical power equivalent to one million watts (in agrivoltaic |
| 14 | system terms, a system that powers one megawatt would take up around 2-8 acres). |
| 15 | H) Base Compensation Rate: The standard compensation rate that’s guaranteed to agrivoltaic |
| 16 | producers no matter the compensation adders and the electricity value. |
| 17 | I) Adders: Extra payment for certain characteristics of an agrivoltaic system that have been |
| 18 | determined to be advantageous to energy production or the environment. |
| 19 | J) Interconnection Service Agreement (ISA): The contract between the agrivoltaic system owner |
| 20 | and the electricity distribution company which defines the rules for interconnection between the |
| 21 | system and the electricity grid. |
| 22 | K) Authorization To Interconnect (ATI): An official notification or agreement by a company to a |
| 23 | customer allowing the customer to operate the facility subject to the terms of the agreement. |
| 24 | L) Electricity Distribution Companies: Companies that own/operate electricity transmission and/or |
| 25 | distribution centers. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Section II: This act will encourage the use of dual-use land applications to solve the problems of |
| 28 | solar panels taking up mass amounts of land without having any other purpose and food shortages |
| 29 | in the State of Tennessee while providing an efficient method of energy usage for the State. |
| 30 | Agrivoltaics has been proven to be a promising avenue for dual-use application, enabling farmers |
| 31 | to continue agricultural activities on the ground by using photovoltaic cells installed above the |
| 32 | ground. Simultaneously, it both strengthens the electric grid and increases renewable energy |
| 33 | sources. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | Section III: Under this act, an Agrivoltaics Committee will be established to promote and establish |
| 36 | the dual-use land applications through agrivoltaics. The Committee will comprise of the following: |
| 37 | A) Members of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation: These officials |
| 38 | |
| 39 | the land, and where best to grow the crops. They shall determine the most efficient way of |
| 40 | land conservation through dual-use applications. |
| 41 | B) Members of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture: These members must be responsible |
| 42 | for implementing sustainable growth methods for the crops grown on the land. |
| 43 | They will also determine which crops can best be grown in this method and where in relation to |
| 44 | the land they shall be grown. |
| 45 | C) Experts: These shall include experts of relevant fields, including photovoltaic systems, |
| 46 | sustainable energy systems, agrivoltaics, and agriculture. Their purpose |
| 47 | will be to help determine action required in different regions. They will also provide insights on |
| 48 | the development of plants and animals where dual land-use |
| 49 | applications are implemented. These experts will be working part-time in ordinance with their |
| 50 | full time jobs/research. Twenty experts will come from East, West, and |
| 51 | Middle Tennessee. From each region, there will be five experts in the fields mentioned above. |
| 52 | D) Members of the Tennessee Valley Authority: This organization has been essential in the |
| 53 | State's move to renewable energy. Members from the TVA who are on the |
| 54 | Agrivoltaic Committee will oversee the usage and establishment of solar panels on the |
| 55 | participating farms. They will utilize the most efficient solar panels to help |
| 56 | harness the power of the sun and develop eco-friendly energy that still suffices to meet the |
| 57 | requirements of the State of Tennessee. |
| 58 | E) Solar Panel Companies: This act will require solar panel companies to play a major role in |
| 59 | this Committee. They will be providing the Committee and farmers with |
| 60 | the solar panels required for the success of this act. |
| 61 | |
| 62 | Section IV: The Committee will create a Feed-In Tariff program as an incentive for the installation |
| 63 | of agrivoltaic systems across Tennessee. To create and maintain this program, the Committee will |
| 64 | take the following steps for rules and regulations, including but not limited to: |
| 65 | A) Collaborating with representatives from investor based electric companies to set appropriate |
| 66 | compensation rates, which would be calculated by this formula would |
| 67 | be: Total Compensation = Base Compensation + Adders - Energy Value |
| 68 | Compensation rates may differ from person to person and each contract with the respective |
| 69 | electricity company. Regardless, the set rate would stay consistent |
| 70 | throughout the time of the contract. |
| 71 | B) Applying is required to join the Committee and receive benefits, including the expertise and |
| 72 | guidance of the both Tennessee Department Members and the Committee’s |
| 73 | paid experts, direct connections to Solar Panel Companies and Electricity Companies, and the |
| 74 | FIT Program. When someone is accepted into the Committee, they gain a |
| 75 | plethora of resources that will guide them through installing an agrivoltaic system. The |
| 76 | Committee would create the application requirements, which include but are |
| 77 | not limited to: |
| 78 | i) Background checks which will include biometric scans, criminal records, etc. |
| 79 | ii) Appropriate Contracts and Documentation (Land Documentation, Permits, Contracts, etc.) |
| 80 | C) Reviewing applications to check if they meet the requirements to be accepted. |
| 81 | D) Determining solar energy capacities across the state for each electricity company to ensure |
| 82 | no agrivoltaic system is exceeding a certain grid threshold. |
| 83 | E) Performing any other necessary duties for the function of the program. |
| 84 | Section V: Implementation and maintenance of this act will result in the creation of the |
| 85 | Agrivoltaics Committee. The State of Tennessee would pay the experts a yearly salary as a part- |
| 86 | time job venture alongside their full time job. Each expert would work 20 hours per week resulting |
| 87 | in a yearly salary of about $30,000. For 60 experts across the state, this would total out to an |
| 88 | annual cost of $180,000, which would come from the Department of Agriculture. |
| 89 | Section VI: All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. |
| 90 | Section VII: This act will take effect as soon as possible after ratification, the public welfare |
| 91 | requiring it. |
| 92 |