BILL NUMBER: AB 982 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Skinner
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to add Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 25990) to the
Public Resources Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 982, as introduced, Skinner. Energy: Solar Energy Parks
Program.
Existing law, with respect to the California Solar Initiative,
requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission (Energy Commission), in consultation with the Public
Utilities Commission, local publicly owned electric utilities, and
interested members of the public, to establish eligibility criteria
for solar energy systems receiving ratepayer funded incentives.
This bill would enact the Solar Energy Parks Act that would
establish a program for solar energy parks on state lands for the
advancement, development, assessment, and installation of commercial
concentrating solar power energy systems. The bill would require the
Energy Commission, in consultation with the State Lands Commission
and the Public Utilities Commission, to determine lands that are
suitable for the installation of concentrating solar power energy
systems based on specified criteria.
This bill would require the Energy Commission, in consultation
with the State Lands Commission, to consult with the United States
Secretary of the Interior for possible exchange of lands to be used
in the program, and to establish criteria for application processes
for project developers of the solar energy parks. The bill would
establish a rental fee for a commercial solar energy park development
right-of-way grant, and a lease term of not less than 30 years.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 25990) is added to
Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 13. SOLAR ENERGY PARKS PROGRAM
25990. (a) This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Solar Energy Parks Act.
(b) It is the policy of the state to promote a program for solar
energy parks on state lands for the advancement, development,
assessment, and installation of commercial concentrating solar power
energy systems.
25991. (a) By April 1, 2012, the commission and the State Lands
Commission shall submit to the Governor both of the following:
(1) A determination of federal lands managed by the federal Bureau
of Land Management (BLM), and which are not already encumbered by
applications or rights of way, that may be suitable for the
installation of projects for 10 gigawatts (GW) of commercial
concentrating solar power energy systems.
(2) A determination of state-owned lands equal in size to the
federal lands identified in paragraph (1), and which are not already
encumbered by applications or rights of way, that may be exchanged
with the BLM lands, which would thereafter become state-owned lands.
(b) The commission shall make the determination of site
suitability for the installation of commercial concentrating solar
power energy systems in consultation with the State Lands Commission
and the Public Utilities Commission.
(1) A site shall be assessed for all of the following:
(A) Existence of high insolarity.
(B) Access to water.
(C) Access to existing or planned transmission lines and natural
gas pipelines.
(D) Avoidance of wilderness areas, areas of critical environmental
concern, United States Park System lands, and other environmentally
sensitive areas.
(E) Suitability for a variety of concentrating solar power
technologies.
(2) Each site identified as suitable for the installation of
commercial concentrating solar power systems shall be sufficient for
the installation of at least 1 GW.
(3) In aggregate, sites determined suitable by the commission,
with the concurrence of the State Lands Commission, shall be
sufficient for the installation of 10 GW of concentrating solar
power.
25992. (a) The commission and the State Lands Commission shall
consult with the United States Secretary of the Interior on the
implementation of the exchange of lands for concentrating solar
energy parks of 10 GW. The commission shall make best efforts to
complete the exchange of lands within 180 days after the
identification of those lands and formal consultation with the United
States Secretary of the Interior.
(b) Prior to the transfer of title to the state, the commission,
in consultation with the State Lands Commission, shall establish
criteria for individual application processes for project developers
and shall establish project development milestones to ensure due
diligence in the development of the solar energy parks.
(c) The commission, in consultation with the State Lands
Commission, shall complete all necessary environmental surveys, and
compliance and permitting processes for a programmatic right of way
pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13
(commencing with Section 21000)), within one year of the exchange of
lands with the BLM.
25993. (a) The commission shall ensure that all solar energy park
project applications submitted by individual developers or
applicants pursuant to this chapter are permitted utilizing expedited
permitting processes and shall approve or deny lease applications
within six months. Any additional costs created by utilizing
expedited permitting processes, and any environmental mitigation
costs incurred to develop solar power on these lands, shall be
recoverable from applicants who are developing projects within the
solar energy parks. An application for use of state-owned land may
not be approved by the commission unless the applicant has a power
purchase agreement with a utility with a term of at least 10 years
and a pending or approved application with a permitting authority
having jurisdiction to provide all necessary permits for the
construction and operation of the solar energy project.
(b) The rental fee for a commercial solar energy park development
right-of-way grant is established at two hundred dollars ($200) per
acre for the first year of operation, increasing 25 percent after the
first five years, and increasing 25 percent in the 10th year of the
program, to be paid in annual payments commencing on the day of
operation. During the development and construction phase of a
project, the rental fee shall be waived. A lease for a project within
the concentrating solar energy parks program shall be for a term of
not less than 30 years.
25994. The commission shall, in consultation with the State Lands
Commission, the Public Utilities Commission, the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, affected utility industries and authorities,
and other interested agencies and persons, identify necessary gas and
electric transmission upgrades to the identified solar energy parks
pursuant to this chapter.