Senate Bill No. 43

Introduced by Senator Wolk

(Coauthors: Senators Corbett and Pavley)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Levine and Skinner)

December 11, 2012

An act relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 43, as introduced, Wolk. Shared renewable energy self-generation program.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Under existing law, the local government renewable energy self-generation program authorizes a local government, as defined, to receive a bill credit, as defined, to be applied to a designated benefiting account for electricity exported to the electrical grid by an eligible renewable generating facility, as defined, and requires the commission to adopt a rate tariff for the benefitting account.

This bill would state various findings and declarations, and state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation, relating to a shared renewable energy self-generation program.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares as follows:

(a) The creation of renewable energy within California provides
significant financial, health, environmental, and workforce benefits
to the state of California.

(b) The California Solar Initiative has been extremely successful,
resulting in over 100,000 residential and commercial onsite
installations of solar energy systems. However, it cannot reach all
residents and businesses that want to participate. It is the intent of
the Legislature to enact legislation that would build on the success
of the California Solar Initiative by dramatically expanding the
market for renewable energy resources to include all ratepayers
who are currently unable to access the benefits of onsite generation.

(c) The Governor has proposed the Clean Energy Jobs Plan
calling for the development of 12,000 megawatts of generation
from distributed eligible renewable energy resources of up to 20
megawatts in size by 2020. There is widespread interest from many
large institutional customers, including schools, colleges,
universities, local governments, businesses, and the military, for
development of distributed generation facilities to serve their
energy needs. For these reasons, the Legislature agrees that the
Governor’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan represents a desired policy
direction for the state. It is the intent of the Legislature that
distributed generation that comes online as part of a shared
renewable energy self-generation program is counted toward an
electrical corporation’s efforts to implement the Governor’s Clean
Energy Jobs Plan.

(d) Properly designed shared renewable energy programs can
provide access and cost savings to communities that have under
participated previously, such as low- and moderate-income
residents and renters, while not shifting costs to nonbeneficiaries.

(e) While municipal utilities already have the authority to create
their own shared renewable energy programs, only an act of the
Legislature can empower the vast majority of California residents
to be able to create the significant systemic benefits of shared
renewable energy systems, including, but not limited to, avoided
transmission and distribution upgrades, avoided line loss, and
cleaner air and water.

(f) Public institutions need the flexibility and opportunity to
participate in shared renewable energy facilities to generate
electricity. Electricity usage is one of the most significant cost
pressures facing public institutions at a time when they have been
forced to cut essential programs, increase classroom sizes, and
send pink slips to teachers throughout the state. Schools may use
the savings for restoring funds for salaries, student achievement,
facility maintenance, and other budgetary needs.

(g) Shared renewable energy self-generation creates jobs,
reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, and promotes energy
independence. Further, shared renewable energy self-generation
will enable schools, colleges, universities, local governments,
businesses, and consumers to save money on their electricity bills,
thereby helping to fund educational programs, spur investments,
and strengthen our communities.

(h) Many large energy users in California have pursued
renewable energy programs of their own, but cannot make their
goals due to seismic or land space limitations, or size limits on net
metering. It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
will create a mechanism whereby institutional customers, including
military installations, universities, and local governments, as well
as groups of individuals, can efficiently invest in generating
electricity from eligible renewable energy resources.

(i) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation establishing a shared renewable energy self-generation
program that will be implemented in such a manner as to broaden
access to self-generation of renewable energy, while fairly
compensating electrical corporations for the services they provide.

(j) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
would require the Public Utilities Commission to carefully consider
regulatory barriers to distributed generation projects already
identified and those not yet identified and quickly address those
barriers in a manner that is conducive to the development of
distributed generation projects consistent with appropriate ratepayer
protections.

(k) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
would require the commission to minimize the rate impact of a
shared renewable energy self-generation program on
nonbeneficiaries, with a goal of ratepayer indifference. To the
extent that a program would impose incremental increases in rates,
it is the intent that the commission ensure that the cost increases
are equitably allocated to all customers on a nonbypassable basis
reflecting both the costs and benefits that shared renewable energy
facilities provide to the residents of California.