BILL NUMBER: SB 297 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Cannella
FEBRUARY 14, 2011
An act to amend Sections 399.11 and 399.12 of the Public Utilities
Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 297, as introduced, Cannella. Renewable energy resources.
Existing law establishes the California Renewables Portfolio
Standard Program, which requires the Public Utilities Commission to
implement annual procurement targets for the procurement of eligible
renewable energy resources, as defined, for all retail sellers, as
defined, to achieve the targets and goals of the program.
This bill would make technical and nonsubstantive changes to the
program's legislative findings and declarations and definitions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 399.11 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
399.11. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) In order to attain a target of generating 20 percent of total
retail sales of electricity in California from eligible renewable
energy resources by December 31, 2010, and for the purposes of
increasing the diversity, reliability, public health and
environmental benefits of the energy mix, it is the intent of the
Legislature that the commission and the State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Energy
Commission implement the California Renewables Portfolio Standard
Program described in this article.
(b) Increasing California's reliance on eligible renewable energy
resources may promote stable electricity prices, protect public
health, improve environmental quality, stimulate sustainable economic
development, create new employment opportunities, and reduce
reliance on imported fuels.
(c) The development of eligible renewable energy resources and the
delivery of the electricity generated by those resources to
customers in California may ameliorate air quality problems
throughout the state and improve public health by reducing the
burning of fossil fuels and the associated environmental impacts and
by reducing in-state fossil fuel consumption.
(d) The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program is
intended to complement the Renewable Energy Resources Program
administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Energy Commission and established
pursuant to Chapter 8.6 (commencing with Section 25740) of Division
15 of the Public Resources Code.
(e) New and modified electric transmission facilities may be
necessary to facilitate the state achieving its renewables portfolio
standard targets.
SEC. 2. Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
399.12. For purposes of this article, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(a) "Conduit hydroelectric facility" means a facility for the
generation of electricity that uses only the hydroelectric potential
of an existing pipe, ditch, flume, siphon, tunnel, canal, or other
manmade conduit that is operated to distribute water for a beneficial
use.
(b) "Delivered" and "delivery" have the same meaning as provided
in subdivision (a) of Section 25741 of the Public Resources Code.
(c) "Eligible renewable energy resource" means an electrical
generating facility that meets the definition of an "in-state
renewable electricity generation facility" in Section 25741 of the
Public Resources Code, subject to the following limitations:
(1) (A) An existing small hydroelectric generation facility of 30
megawatts or less shall be eligible only if a retail seller or local
publicly owned electric utility owned or procured the electricity
from the facility as of December 31, 2005. A new hydroelectric
facility is not an eligible renewable energy resource if it will
cause an adverse impact on instream beneficial uses or cause a change
in the volume or timing of streamflow.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a conduit hydroelectric
facility of 30 megawatts or less that commenced operation before
January 1, 2006, is an eligible renewable energy resource. A conduit
hydroelectric facility of 30 megawatts or less that commences
operation after December 31, 2005, is an eligible renewable energy
resource so long as it does not cause an adverse impact on instream
beneficial uses or cause a change in the volume or timing of
streamflow.
(2) A facility engaged in the combustion of municipal solid waste
shall not be considered an eligible renewable energy resource unless
it is located in Stanislaus County and was operational prior to
September 26, 1996.
(d) "Procure" means to acquire through ownership or contract. For
purposes of meeting the renewables portfolio standard procurement
requirements, a retail seller or local publicly owned electric
utility may procure either delivered electricity generated by an
eligible renewable energy resource that it owns or for which it has
entered into an electricity purchase agreement. Nothing in this
article is intended to imply that the purchase of electricity from
third parties in a wholesale transaction is the preferred method of
fulfilling a retail seller's obligation to comply with this article
or the obligation of a local publicly owned electric utility to meet
its renewables portfolio standard implemented pursuant to Section
387.
(e) (1) "Renewable energy credit" means a certificate of proof
associated with the generation of electricity from an eligible
renewable energy resource, issued through the accounting system
established by the Energy Commission pursuant to Section 399.13, that
one unit of electricity was generated and delivered by an eligible
renewable energy resource.
(2) "Renewable energy credit" includes all renewable and
environmental attributes associated with the production of
electricity from the eligible renewable energy resource, except for
an emissions reduction credit issued pursuant to Section 40709 of the
Health and Safety Code and any credits or payments associated with
the reduction of solid waste and treatment benefits created by the
utilization of biomass or biogas fuels.
(3) No electricity Electricity
generated by an eligible renewable energy resource attributable to
the use of nonrenewable fuels, beyond a de minimis quantity used to
generate electricity in the same process through which the facility
converts renewable fuel to electricity, shall not result
in the creation of a renewable energy credit. The Energy Commission
shall set the de minimis quantity of nonrenewable fuels for each
renewable energy technology at a level of no more than 2 percent of
the total quantity of fuel used by the technology to generate
electricity. The Energy Commission may adjust the de minimis quantity
for an individual facility, up to a maximum of 5 percent, if it
finds that all of the following conditions are met:
(A) The facility demonstrates that the higher quantity of
nonrenewable fuel will lead to an increase in generation from the
eligible renewable energy facility that is significantly greater than
generation from the nonrenewable fuel alone.
(B) The facility demonstrates that the higher quantity of
nonrenewable fuels will reduce the variability of its electrical
output in a manner that results in net environmental benefits to the
state.
(C) The higher quantity of nonrenewable fuel is limited to either
natural gas or hydrogen derived by reformation of a fossil fuel.
(f) "Renewables portfolio standard" means the specified percentage
of electricity generated by eligible renewable energy resources that
a retail seller is required to procure pursuant to this article or
the obligation of a local publicly owned electric utility to meet its
renewables portfolio standard implemented pursuant to Section 387.
(g) "Retail seller" means an entity engaged in the retail sale of
electricity to end-use customers located within the state, including
any of the following:
(1) An electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218.
(2) A community choice aggregator. The commission shall institute
a rulemaking to determine the manner in which a community choice
aggregator will participate in the renewables portfolio standard
program subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to an
electrical corporation.
(3) An electric service provider, as defined in Section 218.3, for
all sales of electricity to customers beginning January 1, 2006. The
commission shall institute a rulemaking to determine the manner in
which electric service providers will participate in the renewables
portfolio standard program. The electric service provider shall be
subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to an electrical
corporation pursuant to this article. Nothing in this
This paragraph shall
does not impair a contract entered into between an electric
service provider and a retail customer prior to the suspension of
direct access by the commission pursuant to Section 80110 of the
Water Code.
(4) "Retail seller" does not include any of the following:
(A) A corporation or person employing cogeneration technology or
producing electricity consistent with subdivision (b) of Section 218.
(B) The Department of Water Resources acting in its capacity
pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water
Code.
(C) A local publicly owned electric utility.