BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2713
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2713
(Chiu) - As Amended April 14, 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 creates 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, and to authorize the electronic signature on
all forms, applications, and other documentation in lieu of a
wet signature by an applicant.
AB 2713
Page 2
3)Prohibits any fee charged for the permitting or inspection of
an advanced energy storage installation to be 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 January 1, 2019, the Governor's Office
of Planning and Research to, in consultation with local
building officials, the State Fire Marshall, the storage
industry, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC),
and other stakeholders, and through review of any existing
streamlined permitting practices used by cities, counties, or
city and counties, create a California Energy Storage
Permitting Guidebook modeled substantially on the California
Solar Permitting Guidebook.
5)Defines "advanced energy storage" to mean energy storage
system, as specified, as well as any energy storage system
that is designed to provide backup energy services in the
event of a grid outage, that is limited to both of the
following:
a) Electrochemical energy storage in nonventing packages.
b) Customer sited installations.
6)Defines "customer sited" to mean the system is interconnected
to the electric grid through an existing retail customer
interconnection.
7)Defines "electronic submittal" to mean the utilization of one
or more of the following:
AB 2713
Page 3
a) Email;
b) The Internet;
c) Facsimile.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the CPUC, on or before March 1, 2012, to open a
proceeding to determine appropriate targets, if any, for each
load-serving entity to procure viable and cost-effective
energy storage systems to be achieved by December 31, 2015,
and December 31, 2020. As part of this proceeding, the CPUC
may consider a variety of possible policies to encourage the
cost-effective deployment of energy storage systems, including
refinement of existing procurement methods to properly value
energy storage systems. (Public Utilities Code Section 2836)
2)Defines "energy storage system," for purposes of energy
storage system targets, to mean commercially available
technology that is capable of absorbing energy, storing it for
a period of time, and thereafter dispatching the energy, as
specified. (Public Utilities Code Section 2835)
3)Allows an "energy storage system" to have any of the following
characteristics:
a) Be either centralized or distributed.
AB 2713
Page 4
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 is jointly owned by two or
more of the above. (Public Utilities Code Section 2835)
4)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. (Public Utilities Code
Section 2835)
5)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.
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
AB 2713
Page 5
energy generated from renewable resources for use at a
later time.
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. (Public
Utilities Code Section 2835)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
1)Author Statement: "Our state has been and should continue to
be the leader in energy storage technology. By capturing and
discharging energy from renewable sources at optimal times,
these solutions will help us achieve our state's clean energy
and greenhouse gas emissions goals, reduce our reliance on
high emission power sources and improve our air quality.
While this technology is not new and currently deployed in
some jurisdictions, most cities and counties' permitting
processes have not caught up to the technology. The
development of a California Energy Storage Guidebook will help
the industry and local governments get on the same page to
increase the deployment of this technology."
2)Background: In 2010, the Legislature passed AB 2514
(Skinner), Chapter 469, Statutes of 2010, which required the
CPUC to determine appropriate targets, for load serving
entities to procure energy storage system and require load
AB 2713
Page 6
serving entities to meet any targets adopted by the CPUC by
2015 and 2020. 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. In
October 2013, the CPUC issued a decision that required
California's three investor owned utilities to procure an
aggregate of 1,324 Megawatts of energy storage by the end of
2020, with installation by the end of 2024.
Because the amount of electric generation is relative fixed
over short periods of time, even though demand for electricity
fluctuates throughout the day, developing energy storage
technologies can help the state manage the electric grid
during peak demand periods. Energy storage devices can help
make renewable energy, which are energy outputs that cannot be
controlled by grid operators, easier to dispatch. The most
common form of energy storage devices are batteries, however,
there are no commercially available batteries that could
cost-effectively store the large amount of electricity that
can be produced by large scale wind and solar facilities.
Utilities are continuing to engage in projects to determine
the viability of different energy storage projects.
The author may wish to consider striking reference to
reliability, safety and resilience of the state's electrical
system in the intent language.
3)Energy Storage Permitting: According to the author two
critical elements are impeding the progress of energy storage
even as energy storage applications continue to increase,
"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."
AB 2713
Page 7
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 Web site, 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 the permitting or inspection of an advanced energy
storage installation to be calculated based on the value of
the installation or any other factor not directly associated
with the cost to issue the permit.
The author may wish to include a provision that allows the
cost of inspections as well as the cost of issuing a permit.
4)Advanced Energy Storage System. This bill specifies that an
advanced energy storage system means any energy storage system
that is designed to provide backup energy services in the
event of a grid outage and limited to electrochemical energy
storage in nonventing packages and customer sited
installations. As specified this means that thermal storage
systems are not included in the provisions of this bill. Nor
are batteries that require venting.
California Fire Code Section 608 requires ventilation systems
designed for stationary flooded lead-acid, flooded
Nickel-Cadmium and valve-regulated lead acid batteries to
limit the maximum concentration of hydrogen to 1% of the total
volume of the room or to provide continuous ventilation shall
be provided at a rate of not less than 1 cubic foot per minute
per square foot of floor area of the room. The code does not
require ventilation for lithium-ion and lithium metal polymer
batteries.
AB 2713
Page 8
Thus, the provisions of this bill apply to lithium-ion and
lithium metal polymer batteries unless the code is later
modified to allow other battery types to be installed in a
nonvented manner.
5)Energy Storage Permitting Guidebook: The California Solar
Permitting Guidebook was developed for local governments and
permitting agencies to facilitate installation of small solar
energy systems. The guidebook provides recommendations in
which local governments can reduce permit processing times and
increase their output while facilitating local economic
development.
This bill requires, on or before January 1, 2019, the
Governor's Office of Planning and Research to, in consultation
with local building officials, the State Fire Marshall, the
storage industry, the CPUC, and other stakeholders, and
through review of any existing streamlined permitting
practices used by cities, counties, or city and counties,
create a California Energy Storage Permitting Guidebook
modeled substantially on the California Solar Permitting
Guidebook.
The author may wish to consider an amendment that includes
representatives from labor, the utility and construction
industries, licensed electrical contractors, electrical
corporations, and publicly owned utilities ,
The author may wish to consider an amendment specifying that
the Guidebook is consistent with applicable provisions of the
California Building Code, the California Electrical Code, or
any other model code adopted by the State Building Standards
Commission pursuant to the California Building Standards Law.
6)Arguments in Support: According to the California Energy
Storage Alliance, the sponsor of the bill, "This bill will
AB 2713
Page 9
significantly advance California's ability to safely and
efficiently deploy energy storage solutions ? 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. 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."
7)Related Legislation:
AB 2868 (Gatto) 2016: Requires the CPUC, in consultation with
the State Air Resources Board and the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission, to direct electrical
corporation to file applications for programs and investments
to accelerate widespread deployment of distributed energy
storage system. Pending in Assembly Utilities and Commerce
Committee.
8)Prior Legislation:
AB 1236 (Chiu), Chapter 598, Statutes of 2015: Requires
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: Requires
every city or county to adopt an ordinance that creates an
expedited permitting process for small, residential rooftop
AB 2713
Page 10
solar energy systems, altered the definition of what is a
reasonable restriction on a solar energy system.
AB 2514 (Skinner), Chapter 469, Statutes of 2010: Requires
the CPUC to determine appropriate targets, for load serving
entities to procure energy storage system and require load
serving entities to meet any targets adopted by the CPCU by
2015 and 2020. Also requires publicly owned utilities to set
their own targets for the procurement of energy storage and
meet those targets by 2016 and 2021.
9)Suggested Amendments:
Amend Section 65850.8 as follows:
65850.8. (a) The Legislature finds and declares both of the
following:
(1) 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 .
(2) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the
applicable state agencies, including the Governor's Office of
Planning and Research, extend and expand the existing
initiative being conducted by the Public Utilities Commission
to further note best practices in the safe permitting of
advanced energy storage. That effort should ultimately produce
an Advanced Energy Storage Permitting Guidebook, taking
advantage of the efforts and lessons learned in creating the
streamlined permitting processes and modeling in part after
the California Solar Permitting Guidebook.
(b) On or before September 30, 2017, every city, county, or
city and county with a population of 200,000 or more
AB 2713
Page 11
residents, and on or before January 31, 2018, every city,
county, or city and county with a population of less than
200,000 residents, shall 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. The
city, county, or city and county shall allow for electronic
submission of a permit application and associated
documentation, and shall authorize the electronic signature on
all forms, applications, and other documentation in lieu of a
wet signature by an applicant.
(c) Any fee charged for the permitting or inspection of an
advanced energy storage installation shall not be calculated
based on the value of the installation or any other factor not
directly associated with the cost to issue the permit and
inspect the advanced energy storage installation.
(d) On or before January 1, 2019, the Governor's Office of
Planning and Research shall, in consultation with local
building officials, the State Fire Marshall, the storage
industry, labor representatives from the utility and
construction industries, licensed electrical contractors,
electrical corporations, publicly owned utilities , the Public
Utilities Commission, and other stakeholders, and through
review of any existing streamlined permitting practices used
by cities, counties, or city and counties, create a California
Energy Storage Permitting Guidebook modeled substantially on
the California Solar Permitting Guidebook.
(e) In developing the California Energy Storage Permitting
Guidebook, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research
shall not include provisions that are in conflict with or are
inconsistent with provisions of the California Building Code,
the California Electrical Code, or any other model code
adopted by the State Building Standards Commission pursuant to
the California Building Standards Law.
(e) (f) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(1) "Advanced energy storage" means an energy storage system,
as defined in Section 2835 of the Public Utilities Code, as
well as an energy storage system that is designed to provide
AB 2713
Page 12
backup energy services in the event of a grid outage, that is
limited to both of the following:
(A) Electrochemical energy storage in nonventing packages.
(B) Customer sited installations.
(2) "Customer sited" means the system is interconnected to the
electrical grid through an existing retail customer
interconnection.
(3) "Electronic submittal" means the utilization of one or
more of the following:
(A) Email.
(B) The Internet.
(C) Facsimile.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Energy Storage Alliance (Sponsor)
Brightline
Stem
Opposition
None on file.
AB 2713
Page 13
Analysis Prepared by:Edmond Cheung / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083