BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1247|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1247
Author: Dutton (R), et al
Amended: 6/30/10
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENERGY, U.&C. COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/15/10
AYES: Padilla, Dutton, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Strickland,
Wright
NO VOTE RECORDED: Corbett, Cox, Florez, Oropeza, Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Rock Creek Powerhouse generation facility
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill defines as Renewables Portfolio
Standard eligible incremental increases gained from
efficiency improvements at the Rock Creek Powerhouse as
long as the efficiency improvements receive approval from
the State Water Resources Control Board.
ANALYSIS :
Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Progress
California's three large investor-owned utilities (IOUs)
collectively served 15 percent of 2009 retail electricity
sales with renewable power. The IOUs, which provide
service to about three-fourths of California utility
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customers, report the following individual RPS percentages:
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)14.4 percent
Southern California Edison (SCE)17.4 percent
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) 10.5 percent
In the last two years, the RPS program started to show
significant gains. In 2008, more renewable generation came
on line than in the entire 2003-07 time period (692
megawatts [MW]). Calendar year 2009 broke the 2008 record
with more than 1,000 MW coming on-line. Since the RPS
statute took affect in 2003, almost 1,600 MW of renewable
capacity has come on-line.
The generation mix also improved in 2009. New capacity in
2008 was almost entirely from wind and a good portion of
that was from out of state. In 2009, 71 percent of new
capacity was from in-state sources and included a mix of
biomass, biogas, geothermal, solar photovoltaic, small
hydroelectric, and wind.
Bids received by the IOUs for new generation also hit a
record in 2009 bringing in potential contracts for more
than half of the generation needed to meet a 33 percent
target in 2020. The IOUs have now contracted for more than
12,000 MW of renewable generation. To put this in context,
the statewide demand in a typical January is 25,000 to
30,000 MW. A July heat storm would drive that number up
over 50,000 MW.
The state's local publicly owned utilities report renewable
progress ranging from 1.7 percent to 61.2 percent.
Compliance data for 2009 recently submitted to the
committee collectively shows:
Northern California Power Authority20 percent
Sacramento Municipal Utility District21 percent
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power14 percent
Southern California Power Authority2-20 percent
Hydroelectric Power
Hydroelectric power is a major source of California's
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electricity. In 2007, hydroelectric power plants produced
43,625 gigawatt-hours of electricity, or 14.5 percent of
the total. Hydroelectric facilities are broken down into
two categories larger than 30 megawatts capacity are called
"large" hydro. Smaller than 30 MW capacity is considered
"small" hydro and can be RPS eligible. The amount of
hydroelectricity produced varies each year. It is largely
dependent on rainfall.
California has nearly 400 hydroelectric plants, which are
mostly located in the eastern mountain ranges and have a
total dependable capacity of approximately 14,000 MW. The
state also imports hydro-generated electricity from the
Pacific Northwest. Two types of conventional hydroelectric
facilities are dams and run-of-river. Dams raise the water
level of a stream or river to an elevation necessary to
create a sufficient elevation difference (water pressure,
or head). Dams can be constructed of earth, concrete,
steel or a combination of such materials. Run-of-river, or
water diversion, facilities typically divert water from its
natural channel to run it through a turbine, and then
usually return the water to the channel downstream of the
turbine.
Although hydroelectric generation is emissions-free, it was
excluded from RPS eligibility because of other adverse
environmental impacts associated with conventional
hydroelectric power generation and typical on-stream pumped
hydroelectric storage facilities:
Hydro Efficiency Improvements Do Count
Beginning in 2006, the Legislature passed a series of bills
that allow a utility to implement efficiency improvements
at a hydroelectric facility of any size and count the gain
in power toward the utility's RPS requirements. A typical
improvement would be the installation of new turbines that
would increase output but not impact the timing or volume
of streamflow.
This bill addresses a unique permitting situation at the
Rock Creek Powerhouse hydroelectric facility which makes it
ineligible for RPS credit for efficiency improvements as
are other hydroelectric facilities.
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Rock Creek Powerhouse
The 112 MW Rock Creek Powerhouse hydroelectric plant is
located on the North Fork of the Feather River and is owned
by PG&E. Under current law, this entire facility and its
impacts must be assessed by the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB) periodically and a certification
issued. That certification is one of the conditions of RPS
eligibility for efficiency improvements. However, due to
unique circumstances this plant last received certification
from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Because the Rock Creek facility does not have an SWRCB
certification, efficiency improvements at Rock Creek are
not eligible renewable resources under existing law. PG&E
reports that obtaining an SWRCB certification for the
entire Rock Creek hydroelectric generation facility at this
time is not practical or feasible, as it would involve
years of re-studying impacts that were already addressed in
the FERC license and which are not affected in any way by
the proposed efficiency improvements. Consequently this
bill allows PG&E to secure and use a limited review and
certification by the SWRCB to achieve RPS eligibility for
its improvements.
PG&E also reports that the efficiency improvements they are
considering will use the same amount of water that is
currently used, thus, there will be no changes in the
timing or volume of streamflow. The $37 million upgrade
will add about 11 MW of capacity. They estimate the rate
for the power generated through this efficiency gain to be
about eight cents per kilowatt hour. The California
Hydropower Reform Coalition has no concerns with this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/30/10)
Regional Council of Rural Counties
PG&E
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DLW:mw 6/30/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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