California Senate Bill SB1122 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1122AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 29, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 16, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Senator Rubio FEBRUARY 17, 2012 An act to amend, renumber, and add Section 701.3 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1122, as amended, Rubio. Energy: renewable biomass and biogas projects. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities. Existing law  , adopted prior to the enactment of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program,  provides that until the commission completes an electric generation procurement methodology that values the environmental and diversity costs and benefits associated with various generation technologies, the commission shall direct that a specific portion of future electrical generating capacity needed for California be reserved or set aside for renewable resources. This bill would  provide that unless and until the commission adopts   require the commission to adopt  a methodology  , by June 1, 2014,  that accounts for the benefits to ratepayers and the environment from reducing air pollution and global warming emissions by generating electricity from specified sources of biogas and biomass  , the commission shall, by June 1, 2013, direct electrical corporations, as defined, to collectively procure at least 250 megawatts of electrical generating capacity from small renewable biomass and biogas electrical generating projects, as specified  . 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 701.3 of the Public Utilities Code is amended and renumbered to read: 701.2. Until the commission completes an electric generation procurement methodology that values the environmental and diversity costs and benefits associated with various generation technologies, the commission shall direct that a specific portion of future electrical generating capacity needed for California be reserved or set aside for renewable resources. SEC. 2. Section 701.3 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read: 701.3. (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following: (1) New and emerging distributed renewable generation technologies can greatly reduce methane pollution in California while providing quantifiable benefits to California ratepayers and the environment, contributing to the state's local renewable energy and climate goals, and providing increased electric system reliability. (2) The commission has refused to account for the benefits of methane and other emissions reductions that result from the utilization of low-emission biomass and biogas technologies from landfills and organic waste diversion, waste water treatment plants, food and agricultural processing, animal waste facilities, and farms, and has failed to promote resource diversity in the renewable distributed generation programs it administers. (b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) "Electrical corporation" means an electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218, that furnishes electricity to more than 100,000 customers. (2) "Small biogas or biomass projects" means electrical generation projects that are no larger than five megawatts, and that comply with all applicable requirements of the State Air Resources Board and the air quality management or air pollution control district. (c)  Unless and until the commission adopts   By June 1, 2014, the commission shall adopt  a methodology that accounts for the benefits to ratepayers and the environment from reducing air pollution and global warming emissions by generating electricity from landfills and organic waste diversion, waste water treatment plants, food and agricultural processing, animal waste facilities, and farms  , the commission shall, by June 1, 2013, direct the electrical corporations to collectively procure at least 250 megawatts of electrical generating capacity from small renewable biomass or biogas projects  .  (d) In implementing this section, the commission shall do all of the following:   (1) Allocate the 250 megawatts identified in subdivision (c) among the electrical corporations.   (2) Direct each electrical corporation to, at least once a year, solicit electricity from small biomass or biogas electrical generating projects.   (3) Direct each electrical corporation, as part of the solicitation in paragraph (2), to issue a standard unilateral offer to small renewable biomass or biogas electrical generating projects that includes terms that are consistent with the operational characteristics of the projects, and provides a streamlined interconnection process.   (4) Select the offers that represent the least-cost, best-fit resources for the electrical corporation.