AB 581

Under current law, the Public Service Commission (PSC), with the advice of the

Wind Siting Council, must promulgate rules specifying the restrictions that a city,

village, town, or county may impose on the installation or use of a "wind energy

system," which is defined as equipment and associated facilities that convert and

then store or transfer wind energy into usable forms of energy. The restrictions must

satisfy certain conditions, including preserving or protecting the public health or

safety and not significantly increasing the cost of a wind energy system or

significantly decreasing its efficiency. In addition, the subject matter of the rules

must include setback requirements and decommissioning, and may include other

matters. Current law prohibits a city, village, town, or county from placing a

restriction on the installation or use of a wind energy system that is more restrictive

than the PSC's rules.

This bill creates an exception from this prohibition for setback requirements,

as the bill allows a city, village, town, or county to impose a setback requirement that

is more restrictive than the PSC's rules. The bill also prohibits the PSC, which has

jurisdiction over a wind energy system with a capacity of 100 megawatts or more,

from issuing a certificate of public convenience and necessity for such a wind energy

system unless the system is consistent with any applicable setback requirement that

is more restrictive than the PSC's rules.