BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2630
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Date of Hearing: April 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 2630
(Salas) - As Amended April 13, 2016
SUBJECT: San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy and Jobs Act
SUMMARY: Requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the
California Energy Commission (CEC) to evaluate, while taking
into consideration ratepayer costs and benefits, potential
renewable energy projects in the San Joaquin Valley. Requires
the PUC and CEC to use the results of the evaluation to
recommend to the Independent System Operator (ISO) an amount of
renewable energy production in the San Joaquin Valley that
reasonably maximizes, consistent with the state's overall need
for renewable energy, the amount of renewable energy produced in
the San Joaquin Valley.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Pursuant to the California Renewables Portfolio Standard
(RPS), requires "retail sellers" of electricity, i.e.,
investor-owned utilities (IOUs), energy service providers
(ESPs) and community choice aggregators (CCAs), as well as
publicly-owned utilities (POUs), to procure 50% of their
retail electricity sales from eligible renewable energy
resources by 2030 and thereafter, including interim targets of
25% by 2016, 33% by 2020, 40% by 2024, and 45% by 2027.
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2)Pursuant to the Warren-Alquist Act of 1974, grants the CEC
exclusive authority to license thermal powerplants 50
megawatts and larger (including related facilities such as
fuel supply lines, water pipelines and transmission lines that
tie the plant to the grid). The CEC must consult with
specified agencies, including the Department of Fish and Game
(DFG), but the CEC may override any contrary state or local
decision. The CEC process is a certified regulatory program
[determined by the Resources Secretary to be the functional
equivalent of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)], so
the CEC is exempt from having to prepare an environmental
impact report. Its certified program, however, does require
environmental analysis of the project, including an analysis
of alternatives and mitigation measures to minimize any
significant adverse effect the project may have on the
environment. The Act generally excludes photovoltaic (PV)
facilities of any size from CEC jurisdiction. PV facilities
are ordinarily reviewed under CEQA by applicable local and
state agencies.
THIS BILL:
1)Requires the PUC and the CEC to evaluate, while taking into
consideration ratepayer costs and benefits, potential
renewable energy projects in the San Joaquin Valley.
2)Requires the evaluation to prioritize projects that provide
the following benefits:
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a) The economically viable and environmentally
beneficial reuse of drainage-impaired agricultural lands.
b) The retirement of drainage-impaired agricultural
land and facilitation of regional agricultural drainage
solutions.
c) The facilitation of surface water supply redirection
from drainage-impaired agricultural lands to other
productive agricultural land.
3)Requires the PUC and CEC to use the results of the evaluation
to recommend to the ISO an amount of renewable energy
production in the San Joaquin Valley that reasonably
maximizes, consistent with the state's overall need for
renewable energy, the amount of renewable energy produced in
the San Joaquin Valley.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's statement:
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Last year, California enacted legislation to require that the
state reach a 50% RPS by 2030, creating new demand for large
utility scale solar development.
Due to the lack of reliable water supplies, drainage issues and
other challenges to agriculture in the Central Valley, there is
a lot of potential for renewable development on unproductive
farmland throughout the Central Valley and permanently retired
lands within Westlands Water District.
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL) publishes renewable energy potential maps for
the United States by county. NREL shows that the San Joaquin
Valley has the third highest rating on the solar potential
scale. NREL estimates solar would produce enough energy to
power up to 1,000,000 homes in the San Joaquin Valley.
Last year, the University of California (UC) Berkeley and the
Governor's Office of Planning and Research initiated the San
Joaquin Valley Solar Convening, a multi-party stakeholder effort
to discuss ways that the clean energy economy could be realized
in the Central Valley.
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UC Berkeley conducted a survey that identified the major
concerns that must be addressed to increase clean energy
development in the San Joaquin Valley. Some of the major issues
found included the lack of transmission capacity in promising
areas; protection of endangered species; high land costs and
lack of available sites; and lack of a statewide solar
development plan.
2)Double referral. This bill passed the Assembly Utilities and
Commerce Committee by a vote of 15-0 on April 6, 2016.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority (Sponsor)
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Westlands Water District (Sponsor)
Agricultural Energy Consumers Association
City of Hanford
Defenders of Wildlife
Natural Resources Defense Council
Westlands Solar Park, LLC
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
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