JUNE 13, 2019 — In a strong bipartisan vote today, the N.H. House passed the biomass-amended House Bill 183 by a 223-122 margin.
The bill now goes to the Governor.
The biomass amendment to HB 183, introduced by Sen. Jeb Bradley, will create a new section of law to allow a “baseload renewable energy credit” to be sold to existing utilities, in a similar pricing methodology as was passed in SB 365. This new amendment creates a mechanism that avoids the issues in the litigation pending at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and that has been challenged at the Public Utilities Commission by the SB 365 opponents. It also follows precedent established in other states that looked for ways to preserve home-grown power generation. The goal is to achieve the same benefit of SB 365 through a slightly different mechanism.
In other words, the biomass amendment will restore the woodchip market supported by N.H.’s independent biomass energy plants. It is crucial to the viability of the market for low-grade wood.
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