Subd. 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. 2. Energy conservation goals; efficiency program.

1. (a) The commissioner of administration in consultation with the department of public service, 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 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 be reduced by at least 25 percent from consumption in the base year of 1990. All agencies participating in the program 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.
2. (b) The commissioner may exclude from the program of paragraph (a) a building in which energy conservation measures are carried out. "Energy conservation measures" means measures that are applied to a state building that improve energy efficiency and have a simple return of investment in ten years or within the remaining period of a lease, whichever time is shorter, and involves energy conservation, conservation facilities, renewable energy sources, improvements in operations and maintenance efficiencies, or retrofit activities.

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.

* NOTE: Subdivision 2, as added by Laws 1991, chapter 235, *article 5, section 1, is repealed effective July 1, 1999. Laws *1991, chapter 235, article 5, section 3, as amended by Laws *1995, chapter 254, article 1, section 91.