BILL NUMBER: SB 1122	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 29, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 16, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Rubio

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2012

   An act to amend, renumber, and add Section 701.3 of the Public
Utilities Code, relating to energy.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1122, as amended, Rubio. Energy: renewable biomass and biogas
projects.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities. Existing law  , adopted prior
to the enactment of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard
Program,  provides that until the commission completes an
electric generation procurement methodology that values the
environmental and diversity costs and benefits associated with
various generation technologies, the commission shall direct that a
specific portion of future electrical generating capacity needed for
California be reserved or set aside for renewable resources.
   This bill would  provide that unless and until the
commission adopts   require the commission to adopt
 a methodology  , by June 1, 2014,  that accounts for
the benefits to ratepayers and the environment from reducing air
pollution and global warming emissions by generating electricity from
specified sources of biogas and biomass  , the commission
shall, by June 1, 2013, direct electrical corporations, as defined,
to collectively procure at least 250 megawatts of electrical
generating capacity from small renewable biomass and biogas
electrical generating projects, as specified  .
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 701.3 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
and renumbered to read:
   701.2.  Until the commission completes an electric generation
procurement methodology that values the environmental and diversity
costs and benefits associated with various generation technologies,
the commission shall direct that a specific portion of future
electrical generating capacity needed for California be reserved or
set aside for renewable resources.
  SEC. 2.  Section 701.3 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   701.3.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
   (1) New and emerging distributed renewable generation technologies
can greatly reduce methane pollution in California while providing
quantifiable benefits to California ratepayers and the environment,
contributing to the state's local renewable energy and climate goals,
and providing increased electric system reliability.
   (2) The commission has refused to account for the benefits of
methane and other emissions reductions that result from the
utilization of low-emission biomass and biogas technologies from
landfills and organic waste diversion, waste water treatment plants,
food and agricultural processing, animal waste facilities, and farms,
and has failed to promote resource diversity in the renewable
distributed generation programs it administers.
   (b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (1) "Electrical corporation" means an electrical corporation, as
defined in Section 218, that furnishes electricity to more than
100,000 customers.
   (2) "Small biogas or biomass projects" means electrical generation
projects that are no larger than five megawatts, and that comply
with all applicable requirements of the State Air Resources Board and
the air quality management or air pollution control district.
   (c)  Unless and until the commission adopts  
By June 1, 2014, the commission shall adopt  a methodology that
accounts for the benefits to ratepayers and the environment from
reducing air pollution and global warming emissions by generating
electricity from landfills and organic waste diversion, waste water
treatment plants, food and agricultural processing, animal waste
facilities, and farms  , the commission shall, by June 1,
2013, direct the electrical corporations to collectively procure at
least 250 megawatts of electrical generating capacity from small
renewable biomass or biogas projects  . 
   (d) In implementing this section, the commission shall do all of
the following:  
   (1) Allocate the 250 megawatts identified in subdivision (c) among
the electrical corporations.  
   (2) Direct each electrical corporation to, at least once a year,
solicit electricity from small biomass or biogas electrical
generating projects.  
   (3) Direct each electrical corporation, as part of the
solicitation in paragraph (2), to issue a standard unilateral offer
to small renewable biomass or biogas electrical generating projects
that includes terms that are consistent with the operational
characteristics of the projects, and provides a streamlined
interconnection process.  
   (4) Select the offers that represent the least-cost, best-fit
resources for the electrical corporation.