Amended in Assembly March 28, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1992

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk

February 20, 2014

An act to begin delete amend Section 25741 of the Public Resources end delete begin insert add Section 38568 to the Health and Safety end insert Code, relating to begin delete energy end delete begin insert greenhouse gases end insert .

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1992, as amended, Quirk. begin delete Energy: renewable energy resources. end delete begin insert California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: very low carbon liquid transportation fuels. end insert

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The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit to be achieved by 2020 equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels of 1990. The state board additionally is required to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Pursuant to the act, the state board has adopted the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard regulations.

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This bill would authorize the state board to establish a very low carbon fuel market commitment program that requires wholesalers, producers, importers, or any other entity that provides liquid transportation fuel to a retailer or sells liquid transportation fuel to a consumer to sell very low carbon liquid transportation fuel, as defined, up to a specified percentage not to exceed 2% of their fuel sales in the state. The bill would authorize the state board to declare this authorization inoperative 5 years after achieving the 2% objective and would require the state board to notify the Secretary of State of that determination.

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Existing law establishes the renewable energy resources program to increase the amount of electricity generated from eligible renewable energy resources. Existing law defines various terms for the purposes of the program.

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This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that provision.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

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(a) Low-carbon liquid transportation fuels are an important
element of the state’s greenhouse gas reduction policy and
increasing the supply of those fuels will help the state achieve its
greenhouse gas reduction goals.

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(b) Existing incentives for the development of low-carbon liquid
transportation fuels, including the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard
regulation (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of
Article 4 of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 17
of the California Code of Regulations), the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with
Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code), and AB 118
(Chapter 750 of the Statutes of 2007), have not resulted in sufficient
development of low-carbon liquid transportation fuels.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 38568 is added to the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

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begin insert 38568. end insert   

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:

(1) “Indirect land use change emission” means the carbon
emissions associated with changes in agricultural activity that
result from the market-mediated effects of using an agricultural
commodity that is a food product as feedstock for the production
of the liquid transportation fuel.

(2) “Very low carbon liquid transportation fuel” means a liquid
transportation fuel having no greater than 50 percent the carbon
intensity of the closest comparable petroleum fuel for that year,
as measured by the methodology in the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard
regulation (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of
Article 4 of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 17
of the California Code of Regulations). The carbon intensity for
the liquid transportation fuel shall include the indirect land use
change emission if an agricultural commodity that is a food product
is used as a feedstock for the production of the liquid transportation
fuel.

(b) The state board may establish a very low carbon fuel market
commitment program that requires a wholesaler, producer,
importer, or any other entity that provides liquid transportation
fuel to a retailer or sells liquid transportation fuel to a consumer
to include no less than one-quarter of one percent, as measured
in energy equivalent units, with a cap of no more than two percent
of very low carbon liquid transportation fuel as part of its fuel
sales in the state.

(c) When very low carbon liquid transportation fuel sales reach
two percent of all liquid transportation sales in the state, as
specified in subdivision (b), the state board shall notify the
Secretary of State that this section shall be inoperative five years
from that notification.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 25741 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

25741.  

As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meaning:

(a) “Renewable electrical generation facility” means a facility
that meets all of the following criteria:

(1) The facility uses biomass, solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind,
geothermal, fuel cells using renewable fuels, small hydroelectric
generation of 30 megawatts or less, digester gas, municipal solid
waste conversion, landfill gas, ocean wave, ocean thermal, or tidal
current, and any additions or enhancements to the facility using
that technology.

(2) The facility satisfies one of the following requirements:

(A) The facility is located in the state or near the border of the
state with the first point of connection to the transmission network
of a balancing authority area primarily located within the state.
For purposes of this subparagraph, “balancing authority area” has
the same meaning as defined in Section 399.12 of the Public
Utilities Code.

(B) The facility has its first point of interconnection to the
transmission network outside the state, within the Western
Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) service area, and
satisfies all of the following requirements:

(i) It commences initial commercial operation after January 1,
2005.

(ii) It will not cause or contribute to any violation of a California
environmental quality standard or requirement.

(iii) It participates in the accounting system to verify compliance
with the renewables portfolio standard once established by the
commission pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 399.25 of the
Public Utilities Code.

(C) The facility meets the requirements of clauses (ii) and (iii)
in subparagraph (B), but does not meet the requirements of clause
(i) of subparagraph (B) because it commenced initial operation
prior to January 1, 2005, if the facility satisfies either of the
following requirements:

(i) The electricity is from incremental generation resulting from
expansion or repowering of the facility.

(ii) Electricity generated by the facility was procured by a retail
seller or local publicly owned electric utility as of January 1, 2010.

(3) If the facility is outside the United States, it is developed
and operated in a manner that is as protective of the environment
as a similar facility located in the state.

(4) If eligibility of the facility is based on the use of landfill gas,
digester gas, or another renewable fuel delivered to the facility
through a common carrier pipeline, the transaction for the
procurement of that fuel, including the source of the fuel and
delivery method, satisfies the requirements of Section 399.12.6 of
the Public Utilities Code and is verified pursuant to the accounting
system established by the commission pursuant to 399.25 of the
Public Utilities Code, or a comparable system, as determined by
the commission.

(b) “Municipal solid waste conversion,” as used in subdivision
(a), means a technology that uses a noncombustion thermal process
to convert solid waste to a clean-burning fuel for the purpose of
generating electricity, and that meets all of the following criteria:

(1) The technology does not use air or oxygen in the conversion
process, except ambient air to maintain temperature control.

(2) The technology produces no discharges of air contaminants
or emissions, including greenhouse gases as defined in Section
38505 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) The technology produces no discharges to surface or
groundwaters of the state.

(4) The technology produces no hazardous wastes.

(5) To the maximum extent feasible, the technology removes
all recyclable materials and marketable green waste compostable
materials from the solid waste stream prior to the conversion
process and the owner or operator of the facility certifies that those
materials will be recycled or composted.

(6) The facility at which the technology is used is in compliance
with all applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances.

(7) The technology meets any other conditions established by
the commission.

(8) The facility certifies that any local agency sending solid
waste to the facility diverted at least 30 percent of all solid waste
it collects through solid waste reduction, recycling, and
composting. For purposes of this paragraph, “local agency” means
any city, county, or special district, or subdivision thereof that is
authorized to provide solid waste handling services.

(c) “Renewable energy public goods charge” means that portion
of the nonbypassable system benefits charge required to be
collected to fund renewable energy pursuant to the Reliable Electric
Service Investments Act (Article 15 (commencing with Section
399) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities
Code).

(d) “Report” means the report entitled “Investing in Renewable
Electricity Generation in California” (June 2001, Publication
Number P500-00-022) submitted to the Governor and the
Legislature by the commission.

(e) “Retail seller” means a “retail seller” as defined in Section
399.12 of the Public Utilities Code.

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