California Assembly Bill AB2390 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2390AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chesbro FEBRUARY 24, 2012  An act relating to electricity.   An act to add Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 25990) to Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, relating to electricity.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2390, as amended, Chesbro.  Biomass: incentive program.   Electricity: biomass: incentive programs.  Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission  (Energy Commission)  , to authorize electrical corporations to collect moneys for the self-generation incentive program (SGIP) at 2008 calendar year levels through December 31, 2014. Existing law requires the PUC to require electrical corporations to administer the SGIP, until January 1, 2016. Existing law limits eligibility for SGIP incentives to distributed energy resources that the PUC, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, determines will achieve reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. This bill would state legislative findings and declarations regarding the use of waste products from forest thinning and fire prevention activities to generate electricity at biomass facilities. The bill would  state the intent of the legislature   require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection,  to establish an incentive program to compensate  producers and collectors of  biomass  facilities for processing waste associated with forest thinning and fire prevention activities   material associated with forest fuel reduction and fire prevention activities that are delivered to eligible biomass facilities, as defined, for use as a fuel source  . Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no  yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1.  (a)    The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:  (1)   (a)  Prudent forest thinning and fire prevention activities are important for protecting public safety.  (2)   (b)  The utility of fire prevention activities can be supplemented by harnessing the energy potential of waste products  in the form of woody biomass material  from  those activities and   forest fuels reduction activities and  generating  renewable  electricity at biomass generation facilities.  (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to establish an incentive program to compensate biomass facilities for processing waste associated with forest thinning and fire prevention activities.   (c) Several large fires have resulted in significant costs to California investor owned utilities that affect electric rates. These costs include actual cost settlements with homeowners, fire suppression cost reimbursement to the state and federal emergency service agencies, transmission and distribution equipment replacement, and ever increasing costs of insuring utility infrastructure.   (d) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection estimates that almost 25 million acres of forest are considered high- and medium-priority landscapes at risk to wildfire.   (e) Ratepayers will benefit by reducing the risk and associated costs of fire related to the electric infrastructure.   SEC. 2.   Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 25990) is added to Division 15 of the  Public Resources Code   , to read:   CHAPTER 13. BIOMASS INCENTIVE PROGRAM 25990. For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) "Community scale biomass facilities" means an electric generation facility that uses biomass that has a generation capacity of under three megawatts and meets both of the following criteria: (1) The facility is located in an area identified by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as high- and medium-priority landscapes at risk to wildfire. (2) The facility uses as a fuel source only forest biomass materials, such as shrubs, limbs, and small trees, collected from a high- or medium-priority landscape considered at risk to wildlife, as determined by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, pursuant to a project consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) or the federal National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.), as applicable. (b) "Eligible biomass facility" means an electric generation facility that uses as a fuel source forest biomass materials, such as shrubs, limbs, and small trees, collected from a high- or medium-priority landscape considered at risk to wildlife, as determined by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. 25991. The commission shall, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, establish an incentive program to compensate producers and collectors of biomass material associated with forest fuel reduction and fire prevention activities that are delivered to eligible biomass facilities for use as a fuel source. 25992. In implementing the program, the commission shall encourage the maximum amount of hazardous forest fuels removal.