BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2249
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2249 (Buchanan)
As Amended August 22, 2012
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |69-9 |(May 30, 2012) |SENATE: |32-2 |(August 29, |
| | | | | |2012) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: U. & C.
SUMMARY : Expands the definition of a solar water heating system
and revises exclusions from the definition of a solar water
heating system. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires investor owned gas utilities to implement a solar
water heating incentive program.
2)Prescribes criteria to qualify for the solar water heating
incentive program.
The Senate amendments :
1)Add intent language that solar water heating incentives should
be a cost-effective investment by gas customers.
2)Delay the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) report
on the incentive levels from July 1, 2013, to February 1,
2014.
3)Delete the requirement that marketing of the revised program
begin by August 1, 2013.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the Assembly version.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, $166,000 from the Public Utilities Reimbursement
Account in 2012-13 and 2013-14 to the Public Utilities
Commission to implement expanded program eligibility
requirements. It would cost $120,000 annually beginning 2014-15
to monitor the program and ensure that the new requirements are
met by the utilities' program administrators. Likely major
accelerated California Solar Initiative (CSI) thermal program
AB 2249
Page 2
expenditures annually is unknown.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 2249 will include
non-residential solar pool heating systems in the types of solar
water heating systems eligible to receive installation
incentives as part of the existing California Solar Initiative
(CSI) Thermal Program. AB 2249 will help encourage the
installation of solar hot water systems by expanding the current
program to include non-residential pools. This will remove the
upfront cost barriers that currently prevent municipalities,
schools and non-profits from using solar to heat their swimming
pools. Budget cuts have severely impacted schools and
municipalities and pool closures are becoming the norm. Solar
heating systems can significantly lower the astronomical
operating costs associated with heating swimming pools. These
cash-strapped organizations would benefit from significant
savings associated with heating their pools while also greatly
reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases and other criteria
pollutants."
In 2007, the Legislature passed AB 1470 (Huffman) Chapter 536,
Statutes of 2007, which created the Solar Water Heating and
Efficiency Act of 2007.
In January 2010, the PUC formalized the program as CSI Thermal
Program and provided for approximately $280 million in financial
incentives. The existing pot of money is not being utilized due
to a number of factors, including a lack of program awareness.
There is a current unspent balance of more than $250 million.
The program expires in 2017.
CSI Thermal Program has had a slow uptake in applications due to
several factors: the PUC delayed several years implementing the
program and has not yet initiated the marketing campaign to
educate the public on the availability of the incentives; there
have been natural gas prices and gas rate structures for
commercial customers.
This bill will modify incentive eligibility criteria to include
non-residential solar pool heating systems in CSI Thermal
Program to remove upfront cost barriers that currently prevent
municipalities, schools and non-profits from going solar through
this program and heating their swimming pools. These
cash-strapped organizations will benefit from significant
operating cost savings associated with heating their pools while
AB 2249
Page 3
also greatly reducing their pollutant emissions.
Solar water heating for residential pools is a well-accepted
technology because it provides cost-effective heating and
extends the pools use by warming the pool water earlier in the
year and keeping it warm later in the year.
According to the California Solar Energy Industries Association,
heated high school pools in the San Francisco, California bay
area, for example, will spend between $30,000 and $60,000
annually to heat their pools.
Analysis Prepared by : Susan Kateley / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083
FN:
0005788