SB 1213, as introduced, Wieckowski. Renewable energy: biosolids: matching grants.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation Commission to administer various grant programs, including a program to provide incentives for liquid fuels fermented from biomass and biomass-derived resources.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms to achieve its goals. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
This bill would require the commission to develop and implement the Biosolids to Clean Energy Grant Program to provide 50% matching funds to local wastewater agencies for biosolids to clean energy capital projects. The bill would continuously appropriate $20,000,000 annually from the fund to the commission for purposes of the program. The bill would, for the 2016-17 fiscal year, appropriate an additional $12,000,000 from the fund to the Bay Area Biosolids to Energy Coalition for the design and construction of a regional biosolids to clean energy project located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) California wastewater agencies generate 2.75 million tons
4of biosolids each year.
5(b) Biosolids management primarily consists of agricultural
6land application and landfill disposal.
7(c) Agricultural land application is discouraged by many local
8governments, leading to increased landfill disposal and methane
9emissions. Most agricultural land application sites are located far
10from urban areas and wastewater treatment facilities, causing
11biosolids to be trucked many miles, resulting in increased
12petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
13(d) The Legislature, pursuant to Section 41780.01 of the Public
14Resources Code, established the policy goal of the state that not
15less than 75 percent of solid waste generated be source reduced,
16recycled, or composted by year 2020, and annually thereafter.
17(e) In his 2015 inaugural address, the Governor called upon the
18state to reduce fuel consumption by 50 percent by 2030.
19(f) In the San Francisco Bay area, hauling of biosolids by only
2019 wastewater agencies contributes to one million trucking miles
21and consumption of 153,000 gallons of petroleum.
22(g) Chapter 547 of the Statutes of 2015 requires electric utilities,
23by 2030, to increase to 50 percent the amount of electricity derived
24from renewable resources.
25(h) Biosolids are a renewable resource for energy generation
26and can be converted to energy and useful byproducts without
27incineration using various technologies, including, but not limited
28to, supercritical water oxidation technology, which utilizes oxygen
29and high pressure to create steam or hot water which, in turn, can
30generate electricity.
P3 1(i) Biosolids are generated locally and biosolids to energy
2projects can be deployed regionally as part of expanded regional
3distributed generation projects serving local microgrids.
4(j) California leads the nation in innovation and research and
5development. Conversion of biosolids to energy has been proven
6on a small scale. A public-private partnership among local
7agencies, state government, and private enterprises to demonstrate
8a commercial scale biosolids to energy project is
consistent with
9California’s leadership in promoting and creating renewable
10energy.
Section 39719.3 is added to the Health and Safety
12Code, to read:
Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government
14Code, the sum of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) annually
15is hereby continuously appropriated from the fund to the State
16Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
17for the Biosolids to Clean Energy Grant Program developed
18pursuant to Chapter 7.8 (commencing with Section 25680) of
19Division 15 of the Public Resources Code.
Chapter 7.8 (commencing with Section 25680) is added
21to Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
22
For purposes of this chapter, “biosolids to clean energy
26capital project” or “project” means a capital project that uses
27biosolids to generate useful heat energy or electricity, liquid or
28gaseous fuels, or useful byproducts using nonincineration
29technology in a manner or location that also reduces the emissions
30of greenhouse gases as compared with biosolids management
31practices in use at the time of the enactment of this chapter, such
32as through a reduction in trucking biosolids to offsite landfill or
33land application sites.
The commission shall develop and implement the
35Biosolids to Clean Energy Grant Program to award, on a
36competitive basis, grants to local wastewater agencies providing
3750-percent matching funds for biosolids to clean energy capital
38projects.
An applicant for a grant shall submit to the commission
40an application on a form prescribed by the commission. The
P4 1applicant shall specify the sources of the matching funds for the
2project.
In awarding a grant pursuant to this chapter, the
4commission shall consider the following:
5(a) The cost-effectiveness of the project.
6(b) Any other factors deemed appropriate by the commission.
The commission shall implement this chapter using
8moneys appropriated pursuant to Section 39719.3 of the Health
9and Safety Code and from any other moneys appropriated for
10purposes of this chapter.
(a) In addition to the amount appropriated pursuant
12to Section 39719.3 of the Health and Safety Code, for the 2016-17
13fiscal year, the sum of twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) is
14hereby appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund,
15established pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government Code,
16to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
17Commission to provide 50-percent matching funds to the Bay Area
18Biosolids to Energy Coalition for the design and construction of
19a regional biosolids to clean energy project located in the San
20Francisco Bay area.
21(b) For purposes of this section, “biosolids to clean energy
22project” means a project that generates electricity by creating steam
23or hot water
through the conversion of biosolids without
24incineration using supercritical water oxidation technology utilizing
25oxygen and high pressure.
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