BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2713
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair
AB 2713
(Chiu) - As Amended April 6, 2016
SUBJECT: Land use: local ordinances: energy systems.
SUMMARY: Requires cities and counties to accept electronic
submissions of permit applications for advanced energy storage
installations, and requires the creation of a California Energy
Storage Permitting Guidebook. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires, on or before September 30, 2017, every city, county,
or city and county with a population of 200,000 or more
residents, and on or before January 31, 2018, every city,
county, or city and county with a population of less than
200,000 residents, to make all documentation and forms
associated with the permitting of advanced energy storage
available on a publicly accessible Internet Web site, if the
city, county, or city and county has an Internet Web site.
2)Requires every city, county, or city and county to allow for
electronic submission of a permit application and associated
documentation for advanced energy storage installations, and
to authorize the electronic signature on all forms,
applications, and other documentation in lieu of a wet
signature by an applicant.
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3)Prohibits any fee charged for the permitting or inspection of
an advanced energy storage installation from being calculated
based on the value of the installation or any other factor not
directly associated with the cost to issue the permit.
4)Requires, on or before September 30, 2017, the Governor's
Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to create a California
Energy Storage Permitting Guidebook (Energy Storage Guidebook)
modeled substantially on the California Solar Permitting
Guidebook (Solar Guidebook), in consultation with local
building officials, the State Fire Marshall, the storage
industry, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and other
stakeholders, and through review of any existing streamlined
permitting practices used by cities, counties, or city and
counties.
5)Provides the following definitions:
a) "Advanced energy storage" means an energy storage
system, as defined in current law governing energy storage
procurement targets for load-serving entities and
publicly-owned utilities, as well as an energy storage
system that is designed to provide backup energy services
in the event of a grid outage, that is limited to either of
the following:
i) Electrochemical energy storage in nonventing
packages; or,
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ii) Customer sited installations.
b) "Customer sited" means the system is interconnected to
the electrical grid through an existing retail customer
interconnection.
c) "Electronic submittal" means the utilization of one or
more of the following: Email, the Internet, or facsimile.
6)Makes the following findings:
a) It is the policy of the state to promote and encourage
the installation of advanced energy storage and to limit
obstacles to its use in order to increase the reliability,
safety, and resilience of the state's electrical system.
b) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the
applicable state agencies, including OPR, extend and expand
the existing initiative being conducted by the PUC to
further note best practices in the safe permitting of
advanced energy storage. That effort should ultimately
produce an Energy Storage Guidebook, taking advantage of
the efforts and lessons learned in creating the streamlined
permitting processes and modeling in part after the Solar
Guidebook.
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7)Provides that no reimbursement is required by this bill,
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California
Constitution, because a local agency has the authority to levy
service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for
the program or level of service mandated by this bill.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides for the adoption and administration of zoning laws,
ordinances, rules, and regulations by counties and cities.
2)Requires every city or county to adopt an ordinance that
creates an expedited permitting process for small, residential
rooftop solar energy systems and for electric vehicle charging
stations.
3)Requires the PUC to determine appropriate targets, if any, for
load serving entities to procure energy storage systems,
requires load serving entities to meet any targets adopted by
the PUC by 2015 and 2020, and requires publicly-owned
utilities to set their own targets for the procurement of
energy storage and meet those targets by 2016 and 2021.
4)Defines, for the purposes of energy storage system targets,
"energy storage system" to mean a commercially available
technology that is capable of absorbing energy, storing it for
a period of time, and thereafter dispatching the energy.
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5)Allows an energy storage system to have any of the following
characteristics:
a) Be either centralized or distributed; and,
b) Be either owned by a load-serving entity or local
publicly-owned electric utility, a customer of a
load-serving entity or local publicly-owned electric
utility, or a third party, or jointly owned by two or more
of the above.
6)Requires an energy storage system to be cost effective and
either reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, reduce demand for
peak electrical generation, defer or substitute for an
investment in generation, transmission, or distribution
assets, or improve the reliable operation of the electrical
transmission or distribution grid.
7)Requires an energy storage system to do one or more of the
following:
a) Use mechanical, chemical, or thermal processes to store
energy that was generated at one time for use at a later
time;
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b) Store thermal energy for direct use for heating or
cooling at a later time in a manner that avoids the need to
use electricity at that later time;
c) Use mechanical, chemical, or thermal processes to store
energy generated from renewable resources for use at a
later time; or,
d) Use mechanical, chemical, or thermal processes to store
energy generated from mechanical processes that would
otherwise be wasted for delivery at a later time.
FISCAL EFFECT: This bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS:
1)Bill Summary. This bill requires cities and counties to make
all documentation and forms associated with permitting of
advanced energy storage available on the city or county
website, if it has one. Cities with 200,000 or more residents
would have to comply by September 30, 2017, while cities with
less than 200,000 residents have until January 31, 2018, to
comply. This bill also requires cities and counties to allow
for electronic submission of permit applications and
associated documentation for advanced energy storage
installations, including electronic signatures. This bill
prohibits any fee charged for permitting or inspection of an
advanced energy storage installation from being calculated
based on the value of the installation or any other factor not
directly associated with the cost to issue the permit.
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This bill also requires OPR to create an Energy Storage
Guidebook by September 30, 2017. This guidebook must be
modeled substantially on the existing Solar Guidebook and
developed in consultation with local building officials, the
State Fire Marshall, the storage industry, the PUC, and other
stakeholders. Review of any existing streamlined permitting
practices used by cities or counties must also be included in
the process of developing the Energy Storage Guidebook.
This bill is sponsored by the California Energy Storage
Alliance.
2)Author's Statement. According to the author, "Across cities
and counties in California, applications to install energy
storage projects are increasing but two critical elements are
missing. First, the state lacks a 'handbook' for uniform best
practices of energy storage permitting. Second, in some
cities and counties across the state it remains difficult to
access and submit the necessary documents and forms associated
with the permitting of energy storage systems. The 'handbook'
and online resources will help further the deployment
of energy storage solutions while continuing to support the
state's renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions goals."
3)Background. At the end of 2010, the California Legislature
enacted AB 2514, directing the PUC to set energy storage
procurement targets for California investor-owned utilities
(IOUs) and other load serving entities. In October 2013, the
PUC issued Decision 13-10-040 requiring the three California
IOUs to procure an aggregate of 1,325 MW of energy storage by
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the end of 2020, with installations by the end of 2024. AB
2514 also required publicly-owned utilities to set their own
targets for the procurement of energy storage and meet those
targets by 2016 and 2021.
One of the distinctive characteristics of the electric power
sector is that the amount of electricity that can be generated
is relatively fixed over short periods of time, although
demand for electricity fluctuates throughout the day.
Developing technology to store electricity so it can be
available to meet demand whenever needed represents a major
breakthrough in electricity distribution. Helping to try and
meet this goal, electricity storage devices can manage the
amount of power required to supply customers at times when
need is greatest, which is during peak load. These devices
can also help make renewable energy, the output of which
cannot be controlled by grid operators, smooth and easy to
dispatch. Storage devices can provide frequency regulation to
maintain the balance between the network's load and power
generated. Thus, energy storage holds substantial promise for
transforming the electric power industry. There are several
types of energy storage. This bill is limited to battery
storage only.
4)Related Legislation. AB 2868 (Gatto) of 2016 would require
the PUC, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board
and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission, to direct electrical corporations to file
applications for programs and investments to accelerate
widespread deployment of distributed energy storage systems,
as defined.
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5)Previous Legislation. AB 1236 (Chiu and Low), Chapter 598,
Statutes of 2015, required counties and cities, including
charter cities, to create an expedited permitting and
inspection process for electric vehicle charging stations.
AB 2188 (Muratsuchi), Chapter 521, Statutes of 2014, required
every city or county to adopt an ordinance that creates an
expedited permitting process for small, residential rooftop
solar energy systems, altered the definition of what is a
reasonable restriction on a solar energy system, and made
additional changes to the Solar Rights Act of 1978.
AB 2514 (Skinner), Chapter 469, Statutes of 2010, required the
PUC to determine appropriate targets, if any, for load serving
entities to procure energy storage systems, required load
serving entities to meet any targets adopted by the PUC by
2015 and 2020, and required publicly-owned utilities to set
their own targets for the procurement of energy storage and
meet those targets by 2016 and 2021.
6)Committee Amendments. The Committee may wish to amend this
bill as follows:
a) OPR Guidebook Due Date. This bill requires OPR to
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develop an Energy Storage Guidebook by September 30, 2017.
However, OPR's guidebook addressing rooftop solar took
between two and three years for OPR to complete. The
Committee may wish to change the due date for the OPR
Energy Storage Guidebook to January 1, 2019.
b) Technical Amendment. There is an error in the bill's
definition of advanced energy storage, which should be
amended to read: "Advanced energy storage" means an energy
storage system, as defined in current law governing energy
storage procurement targets for load-serving entities and
publicly-owned utilities, as well as an energy storage
system that is designed to provide backup energy services
in the event of a grid outage, that is limited to either
both of the following:
i) Electrochemical energy storage in nonventing
packages; and,
ii) Customer sited installations.
7)Arguments in Support. The California Energy Storage Alliance,
sponsor of this bill, writes, "As a fast-responding and
flexible asset, energy storage solutions will play a key role
in helping California achieve its clean energy and greenhouse
gas emissions goals by capturing and discharging energy from
renewables, empowering customers to make smart decisions with
their energy use, supporting grid needs such as ramping and
voltage support, and reducing the need to rely on high
emissions power sources.
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"California's existing procurement requirement for energy
storage has attracted significant investment and progress in
new projects, driving new in-state job creation and the need
for greater statewide collaboration. AB 2713 provides a
timeframe for the state to develop a handbook of permitting
best practices which will help cities and counties to advance
and streamline their own permitting processes. Additional
stipulations in the bill, such as reasonable application fees
will support the smoother, safer and timely deployments of
energy storage."
8)Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
9)Double-Referral. This bill is double-referred to the
Utilities and Commerce Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Energy Storage Alliance [SPONSOR]
Ice Energy
AB 2713
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SolarCity
Stem
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958