Amended in Senate June 20, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 13, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2630

Introduced by Assembly Member Salas

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Arambula, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brown, Gray, Mathis, Medina, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, and Santiago)

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(Coauthors: Senators Berryhill, Cannella, Fuller, Galgiani, and Pavley)

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February 19, 2016

An act to add Section 399.23 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2630, as amended, Salas. San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy and Jobs Act.

Existing begin delete law, end delete begin insert law relative to electrical restructuring, within end insert the Public Utilities Act, establishes the Independent System Operator to ensure the efficient use and reliable operation of the electric transmission grid. begin delete The Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015 establishes a target of 50% for the amount of electricity generated and sold to retail customers per year from eligible renewable energy resources, to be achieved by December 31, 2030. end delete begin insert The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, so that the total kilowatthours sold to their retail end-use customers achieves 25% of retail sales by December 31, 2016, 33% by December 31, 2020, 40% by December 31, 2024, 45% by December 31, 2027, and 50% by December 31, 2030. The program additionally requires each local publicly owned electric utility, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to achieve the procurement requirements established by the program. end insert

This bill would require the begin delete Public Utilities Commission end delete begin insert PUC end insert and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission begin insert (Energy Commission) end insert to evaluate, while taking into consideration ratepayer costs and benefits, potential begin insert eligible end insert renewable energy begin insert resource end insert projects in the San Joaquin begin delete Valley, as specified, and, end delete begin insert Valley that provide specified benefits or attributes. The bill would require the PUC and the Energy Commission, end insert on or before January 31, 2017, using that evaluation, to recommend to the Independent System Operator an amount of begin delete renewable energy production end delete begin insert electricity to be generated from eligible renewable energy resources end insert in the San Joaquin Valley that reasonably maximizes, consistent with the state’s overall need for begin delete renewable energy, end delete begin insert electricity and the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program, end insert the amount of begin delete renewable energy produced in the San Joaquin Valley. end delete begin insert electricity to be generated from eligible renewable energy resources that accomplishes specified objectives. The bill would require the PUC and the Energy Commission, on or before January 31, 2017, using the results of the evaluation, to recommend to the Independent System Operator any network transmission upgrades needed to fulfill the above-described generation quantity recommendations and would require end insert begin insert that the transmission upgrade recommendations seek to minimize the need for new transmission by prioritizing the use of existing transmission corridors consistent with specified principles developed by the Energy Commission. end insert

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.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy and Jobs Act.

SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health
and Safety Code) established a policy to reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020 and to continue reductions
of emissions of greenhouse gases beyond 2020.

(b) The Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015
(Chapter 547 of the Statutes of 2015) established further clean
energy policies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and
expand begin delete renewable energy end delete begin insert generation from eligible renewable
energy resources end insert to at least 50 percent of total retail sales of
electricity in California by December 31, 2030.

(c) The San Joaquin Valley remains mired in chronic double
digit unemployment, unprecedented rates of poverty, a severe
ongoing drought, and poor air quality.

(d) California’s energy sector is undergoing significant
advancement and transformation driven by evolving regulation,
expanding renewable energy goals, and increasing greenhouse gas
emissions reduction efforts.

(e) While rich in natural resources and clean energy
opportunities, the San Joaquin Valley has largely been left behind
in California’s clean energy revolution. The overwhelming majority
of the state’s new transmission assets have been sited in other
regions, particularly southern California, and renewable energy
begin insert resource project end insert investment, jobs, and economic and environmental
benefits have followed grid access.

(f) Unlocking the renewable energy potential of the San Joaquin
Valley by providing more equitable investment in a clean energy
economy should be a key priority of California policymakers.

(g) Timely investment and improved transmission access are
critical to the San Joaquin Valley and will allow the region to more
effectively and efficiently develop clean energy begin delete opportunities, end delete
begin insert opportunities at all solar project locations, end insert create jobs, and derive
cobenefits for disadvantaged communities.

(h) The Governor’s office begin delete is nearing completion of end delete begin insert has
completed end insert the San Joaquin Valley Solar Convening begin delete to identify end delete
begin insert identifying end insert high potential solar energy developments in the San
Joaquin Valley that maximize renewable energy benefits and
minimize environmental biological and habitat impacts.

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(i) The report issued by the University of California in May
2016 on the outcome of the convening, entitled “A Path Forward:
Identifying Least-Conflict Solar PV Development in California’s
San Joaquin Valley,” identified 470,000 acres of least-conflict
land, amounting to roughly 5 percent of the 9.5 million acres in
the stakeholder study area.

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(j) In order to identify least-conflict lands, the project team
convened four stakeholder groups early in the process: (1) an
environmental conservation group, (2) an agricultural farmland
conservation group, (3) a solar industry group, and (4) a
transmission group. An agricultural rangeland stakeholder group
was later added to gain a better understanding of regional land
value from this stakeholder perspective.

end insert begin insert

(k) The project team generated the final result, the composite
least-conflict area, using the information developed with the solar
industry, environmental conservation, and agricultural farmland
conservation stakeholder groups.

end insert begin insert

(l) Given the proximity to existing transmission corridors, solar
projects in the San Joaquin Valley can be developed in a way that
minimizes the need for new transmission by prioritizing the use of
existing transmission corridors consistent with the principles of
transmission corridor planning developed by the State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission in response
to Senate Bill 2431 (Chapter 1457 of the Statutes of 1988), known
as the Garamendi Principles.

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(i)

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begin insert (m) end insert  As future clean energy investments are planned and
implemented, state officials must ensure an appropriate share is
targeted to improve environmental quality, expand economic
development, contribute to environmental solutions, and create
jobs in the San Joaquin Valley.

SEC. 3.  

Section 399.23 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:

399.23.  

(a) The begin delete Public Utilities Commission end delete begin insert commission end insert and
the begin delete State end delete Energy begin delete Resources Conservation and Development end delete
Commission shall evaluate, while taking into consideration
ratepayer costs and benefits, potential begin insert eligible end insert renewable energy
begin insert resource end insert projects in the San Joaquin Valley. Evaluation of projects
that provide the following benefits begin insert or attributes end insert shall be prioritized:

(1) The economically viable and environmentally beneficial
reuse of drainage-impaired agricultural lands.

(2) The retirement of drainage-impaired agricultural land and
facilitation of regional agricultural drainage solutions.

(3) The facilitation of surface water supply redirection from
drainage-impaired agricultural lands to other productive agricultural
land.

(b) Using the results of the evaluation, on or before January 31,
2017, the begin delete Public Utilities Commission end delete begin insert commission end insert and the begin delete State end delete
Energy begin delete Resources Conservation and Development end delete Commission
shall recommend to the Independent System Operator an amount
of begin delete renewable energy production end delete begin insert electricity to be generated from
eligible renewable energy resources end insert in the San Joaquin Valley
that reasonably begin delete maximizes, end delete begin insert maximizes the amount of electricity to
be generated from eligible renewable energy resources, end insert consistent
with the state’s overall need for begin delete renewable energy, the amount of
renewable energy produced in the San Joaquin Valley. end delete begin insert electricity
and the requirements of this article, and that accomplishes all of
the following: end insert

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(1) Takes into account the 470,000 acres identified in the
Governor’s May 2016 Solar Convening Report, entitled “A Path
Forward: Identifying Least-Conflict Solar PV Development in
California’s San Joaquin Valley,” along with all other lands in
the Central Valley that have entitlements for solar development.

end insert begin insert

(2) Provides eligible renewable energy resources within the
San Joaquin Valley with full capacity deliverability status.

end insert begin insert

(3) Minimizes the need for new transmission by prioritizing the
use of existing transmission corridors consistent with the principles
of transmission corridor planning developed by the Energy
Commission in response to Senate Bill 2431 (Chapter 1457 of the
Statutes of 1988), known as the Garamendi Principles.

end insert begin insert

(c) Using the results of the evaluation, on or before January
31, 2017, the commission and the Energy Commission shall
recommend to the Independent System Operator any network
transmission upgrades needed to fulfill the recommendations made
pursuant to subdivision (b). This recommendation shall seek to
minimize the need for new transmission by prioritizing the use of
existing transmission corridors consistent with the Garamendi
Principles of transmission corridor planning.

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