BILL NUMBER: AB 2231INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez FEBRUARY 18, 2010 An act to add Section 25405.8 to the Public Resources Code, relating to energy. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2231, as introduced, V. Manuel Perez. Energy: Renewable Energy Action Team. The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to conduct an ongoing assessment of the opportunities and constraints presented by all forms of energy. The commission is required to encourage the balanced use of all sources of energy to meet the state's needs and to seek to avoid possible undesirable consequences of reliance on a single source of energy. This bill would require the commission to convene the Renewable Energy Action Team, which would consist of representatives from the commission, the Department of Fish and Game, and the Natural Resources Agency. The bill would require the commission also to request the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management to participate in the team. The team would be required to develop and adopt the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan to identify renewable energy zones based on renewable energy development potential and environmental, wildlife, and conservation criteria. The bill would specify required components of the plan. The bill would require the commission, in conjunction with development of the plan, to prepare or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, a master environmental impact report or a program environmental impact report that encompasses all of the renewable energy resources that may be developed in the renewable energy zones identified in the plan. 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. Section 25405.8 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read: 25405.8. (a) The commission shall convene the Renewable Energy Action Team, which shall consist of representatives from the commission, the Department of Fish and Game, and the Natural Resources Agency. (b) The commission shall request the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management to participate in the Renewable Energy Action Team. (c) The Renewable Energy Action Team, in consultation with relevant federal, state, and local agencies, California Native American tribes, renewable energy developers, environmental and wildlife organizations, and other interested parties, shall develop and adopt the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan to identify renewable energy zones based on renewable energy development potential and environmental, wildlife, and conservation criteria. (d) The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan shall contain all of the following: (1) Identification of areas most suitable and acceptable for renewable energy development, including renewable energy generation and transmission and renewable energy zones, and areas most suitable for regional multispecies and habitat conservation. (2) Development of mitigation incentive options in association with renewable energy zones. (3) Determination of appropriate permitting mechanisms under the Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code) and the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.). (4) Guidelines to assist solar and other renewable energy developers in designing and siting renewable energy projects in an environmentally suitable manner. (e) In conjunction with the development of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, the commission shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, a master environmental impact report or a program environmental impact report that encompasses all of the renewable energy resources that may be developed in the renewable energy zones identified in the plan.