Subdivision 1. Alternative energy sources. Plans prepared by the commissioner for a new building or for a renovation of 50 percent or more of an existing building or its energy systems must include designs which use active and passive solar energy systems, earth sheltered construction, and other alternative energy sources where feasible.

Subd. 1a. Onsite energy generation from renewable sources. A state agency that prepares a predesign for a new building must consider meeting at least two percent of the energy needs of the building from renewable sources located on the building site. For purposes of this subdivision, "renewable sources" are limited to wind and the sun. The predesign must include an explicit cost and price analysis of complying with the two-percent requirement compared with the present and future costs of energy supplied by a public utility from a location away from the building site and the present and future costs of controlling carbon emissions. If the analysis concludes that the building should not meet at least two percent of its energy needs from renewable sources located on the building site, the analysis must provide explicit reasons why not. The building may not receive further state appropriations for design or construction unless at least two percent of its energy needs are designed to be met from renewable sources, unless the commissioner finds that the reasons given by the agency for not meeting the two-percent requirement were supported by evidence in the record.

Subd. 2. Energy conservation goals. The commissioner of administration in consultation with the commissioner of commerce, in cooperation with one or more public utilities or comprehensive energy services providers, may conduct a shared-savings program involving energy conservation expenditures on state-owned and wholly state-leased buildings. The public utility or energy services provider shall contract with appropriate state agencies to implement energy efficiency improvements in the selected buildings. A contract must require the public utility or energy services provider to include all energy efficiency improvements in selected buildings that are calculated to achieve a cost payback within ten years. The contract must require that the public utility or energy services provider be repaid solely from energy cost savings and only to the extent of energy cost savings. Repayments must be interest-free. The goal of the program in this paragraph is to demonstrate that through effective energy conservation the total energy consumption per square foot of state-owned and wholly state-leased buildings could exceed existing energy code by at least 30 percent. All agencies must report to the commissioner of administration their monthly energy usage, building schedules, inventory of energy-consuming equipment, and other information as needed by the commissioner to manage and evaluate the program.

Subd. 3. Gifts. The commissioner may accept gifts for energy efficiency improvements in state-owned and wholly leased buildings. Energy cost savings from these improvements, up to the cost of these improvements, shall be deposited in a special revenue fund established in the state treasury. Money in the special revenue fund is appropriated to the commissioner to implement further energy efficiency improvements in state-owned or wholly leased buildings.

History: 1984 c 544 s 37; 1991 c 235 art 5 s 1,3; 1994 c 632 art 3 s 32; 1994 c 634 art 1 s 3; 1995 c 254 art 1 s 91; 1999 c 250 art 1 s 57,115; 2001 c 162 s 4; 2001 c 212 art 1 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 6 s 7; 2002 c 379 art 1 s 114; 2008 c 179 s 29