BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1900
Author: Gatto (D), et al.
Amended: 8/6/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, UTIL. & COMMUNIC. COMM. : 11-0, 6/25/12
AYES: Padilla, Fuller, Berryhill, Corbett, De Le�n,
DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Kehoe, Pavley, Rubio, Wright
NO VOTE RECORDED: Simitian, Strickland
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 7/2/12
AYES: Simitian, Strickland, Blakeslee, Hancock, Kehoe,
Lowenthal, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/16/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-1, 5/31/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Renewable energy resources: biomethane
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Office of Health Hazard
Assessment (OEHHA), the California Energy Commission (CEC)
and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to take actions
related to the delivery of biomethane gas within the state
for the purposes of electricity generation.
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ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires the PUC to specify the maximum amount of vinyl
chloride that may be found in landfill gas.
2. Prohibits a gas producer from knowingly selling,
supplying, or transporting to a gas corporation, and a
gas corporation from knowingly purchasing, landfill gas
containing vinyl chloride in a concentration exceeding
the maximum amount determined by the PUC.
3. Requires a person who produces, sells, supplies, or
releases landfill gas for sale offsite to a gas
corporation to sample and test, bimonthly, the gas at
the point of distribution for chemicals known to the
state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.
4. Requires the OEHHA to evaluate the environmental and
health risks posed by various hazardous substances.
The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission)
and requires it to prepare an integrated energy policy
report on or before November 1, 2003, and every two years
thereafter. The Act requires the report to contain an
overview of major energy trends and issues facing the
state, including, but not limited to, supply, demand,
pricing, reliability, efficiency, and impacts on public
health and safety, the economy, resources, and the
environment.
This bill:
1. Requires OEHHA to identify all constituents that may be
found in landfill gas that is to be injected into a
common carrier pipeline and that could adversely impact
the health and safety of the public, and to specify the
maximum amount of those constituents that may be found
in that landfill gas.
2. Requires the PUC to develop reasonable and prudent
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testing protocols for gas collected from a solid waste
landfill that is to be injected into a common carrier
pipeline to determine if the gas contains any of the
identified constituents at levels that exceed the
standards set by OEHHA.
3. Prohibits a gas producer from knowingly selling,
supplying, transporting, or purchasing gas collected
from a hazardous waste landfill.
4. Requires the Energy Commission to hold public hearings
to identify impediments that limit procurement of
electricity generated from biomethane in California,
including, but not limited to, impediments to
interconnection.
5. Require the Energy Commission to offer solutions to
those impediments as part of the above-mentioned report.
6. Require the PUC to adopt policies and programs that
promote the in-state production and distribution of
biomethane.
Background
Biomethane in California . Biomethane is a renewable fuel
that is produced at several types of facilities, including
dairy farms and landfills. The gas can be collected and
then transported to a generation facility where it can be
used to make electricity. Transportation of biofuels via
truck or rail is not economically feasible. Transport via
pipeline is the preferred method. This energy release
allows biogas to be used as a fuel. The methane can also
be used onsite, such as at dairies, in anaerobic digesters
where it is typically used in a combustion engine to
convert the energy in the gas into electricity and heat.
As a result of state law, California's major gas
corporations, Sempra Utilities and Pacific Gas and Electric
(investor-owned utilities or IOUs), operate common carrier
pipelines but will not allow biomethane from landfills to
be injected into the pipelines they operate.
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Landfill gas may have constituents present that could
adversely impact human health. Some constituents (e.g.
lead, arsenic, cadmium) could cause cancer or birth
defects. Since the delivery of the gas to a household
appliance could inadvertently provide close exposure to
these constituents, IOUs do not allow landfill or dairy gas
into their pipelines. IOUs are also concerned about
potential damage to the pipelines themselves, depending
upon what is in the gas - moisture, for example, could
cause corrosion.
The CEC estimates that 358 megawatts (MW) is potentially
available from new landfill gas development. Of these
landfills, some are small and are therefore unlikely to be
developed for gas by 2020. Many are not near a gas
transmission line. According to the Assembly Natural
Resources Committee, of 10 landfills operated by Waste
Management, four are sufficiently close to a suitable
pipeline with a sufficient volume of gas to be considered
for development for landfill gas. Waste Management
estimates around 150 MW of in-state gas that could be
developed in California for delivery to a generation
facility. There is also the potential to produce
electricity at a landfill if it were equipped with a small
generation facility (such as a fuel cell). As electricity
generators these facilities would count toward a utility's
requirements under the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS).
Owners and developers of landfill gas facilities can also
bid into the utility RPS solicitations, the Reverse Auction
solicitations, and the Feed in Tariff. Some landfills
currently have fuel cells or combustion turbines and use
the electricity generated on site.
IOU procurement . California's three largest electric
utilities all have contracts in their renewable portfolios
which use biomethane gas onsite at dairies and landfills to
generate electricity. San Diego Gas and Electric has 13
landfill gas projects totaling almost 40 MW and a few small
dairy digester gas projects. Southern California Edison
advises that it has 14 landfill and dairy contracts with a
total capacity of 139 MW. Pacific Gas and Electric reports
eight dairy contracts for 10 MW and 13 landfill gas
contracts with a total capacity of 62 MW. The statewide
total is 48 contracts for a total capacity of 252 MW.
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2011 bioenergy action plan . A 2006 executive order set a
target of generating 20% of the state's renewable energy
from biopower (biomass to electricity) by 2010 and
maintaining this ratio through 2020. To achieve those
targets, the CEC developed an action plan in 2006 and
updated that plan last year with the "2011 Bioenergy Action
Plan." That plan summarized the barriers to deployment of
biomethane as:
California utilities do not have uniform biomethane
quality standards and the standards in place may not be
appropriate for biomethane, most standards were designed
for natural gas injection;
Current utility tariffs require project developers to
pay for the costs of the interconnection which is a
large cost barrier;
The commercially available conversion technologies,
such as anaerobic digestion, are generally limited to
high moisture (non-woody) feedstocks;
New technologies are in development, but have high
capital costs and other economic, regulatory, and
development barriers; and
Statute currently prohibits the injection of landfill
gas, despite allowing landfill gas from out-of-state to
be scheduled into California; other states allow
landfill gas to be injected into their systems that
deliver gas into the California system.
Related legislation . AB 2196 (Chesbro) clarifies the
definition of an eligible renewable electrical generation
facility to include a facility that generates electricity
utilizing biomethane delivered through a common carrier
pipeline if the source and delivery of the fuel can be
verified by the CEC.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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$139,000 in 2012-13 and 2013-14 from the Public Utilities
Reimbursement Account to OEHHA for a health and safety
study of landfill gas.
$100,000 in 2012-13 and 2013-14 from the Energy
Resources Programs Account (General Fund) to the CEC for
hearings to identify impediments to interconnections and
to develop solutions.
$150,000 in 2012-13 and 2013-14 from the Public
Utilities Reimbursement Account to the PUC to set
standards for landfill gas, adopt testing protocols and
policies that promote in-state production and
distribution of biomethane, $120,000 annually thereafter
to monitor standards, protocols and, as necessary, pilot
projects.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/12)
Biofuels Energy
Bloom Energy
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
California Municipal Utilities Association
California State Association of Electrical Workers
California State Council of Laborers
California State Pipe Trades Council
Californians Against Waste
Cambrian Energy
City of San Diego
Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas
Cornerstone Environmental Group
County of Nevada
County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County
First Southwest Company
Glendale Water and Power
Pasadena Water and Power
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
SCS Energy
Sonoma County Water Agency
South Coast Air Quality Management District
Union of Concerned Scientists
Waste Management
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-1, 5/31/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer,
Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Halderman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Hagman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Cedillo, Fletcher,
Mansoor, Mendoza, Norby, Valadao
RM:k 8/20/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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