California Assembly Bill AB590 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 590AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 9, 2015 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 16, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 28, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Dahle and Salas (Coauthors: Assembly Members Brough, Chvez, Gomez, Gordon, Olsen, Mark Stone, and Wood) FEBRUARY 24, 2015 An act to add Section 16428.81 to the Government Code, relating to greenhouse gases. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 590, as amended, Dahle. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. This bill would provide that moneys in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, upon appropriation, may be made available for expenditure by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission for the purposes of maintaining the current level of biomass power generation  or geothermal energy generation  in the state and revitalizing currently idle facilities in strategically located regions. The bill would establish requirements for an applicant to receive available funding for a facility's eligible electrical generation. 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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) California leads the nation in bioenergy production, with one-half of the industry located in this state, which has an abundant supply of bioenergy resources. (b) Biomass power generation  provides   and geothermal energy generation provide  electric ratepayers with clean, renewable energy that supplies the grid 24 hours a day, seven days a week regardless of atmospheric conditions. These benefits are paid for through contracts with the state's electric utilities. (c) Biomass power generation also provides valuable, environmentally preferred wood waste disposal service for the disposal of 7.5 to 8 million tons of California's annual solid waste stream and the avoidance of 1.5 to 3.5 million tons annually of biogenic CO2 emissions. By diverting biomass residues away from open burning, landfill burial, and accumulation in forests, the state benefits from reduced criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, landfill capacity use, forest and watershed improvement, rural employment and economic development, and energy diversity and security. These services have been provided without compensation in the past, as the electricity market was able to fully underwrite the cost. (d) Numerous studies have shown a link between particulate matter (PM) exposure and asthma morbidity outcomes in children, and between exposure to ambient PM and increased heart and lung disease and death and health effects on the central nervous system. The latest study was provided by scientists at the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Diverting wood material from open burning to biomass power production is an essential PM reduction strategy for many air districts around the state. (e) The environmental services provided by biomass power production are clearly valuable to society and therefore provide the rationale for a state policy to pay for biomass power generation commensurate with its provision of waste disposal services. (f) Biomass power generation fits in the Cap and Trade Auction Proceeds Investment Plan in the categories of forest and ecosystem management, agricultural management, and waste diversion, and is identified as a recommended investment. SEC. 2. Section 16428.81 is added to the Government Code, to read: 16428.81. (a) Moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, may be made available to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission for expenditure for the purposes of maintaining the current level of biomass power generation  and geothermal energy generation  in the state and revitalizing currently idle facilities in strategically located regions. Protecting these existing resources will help the state meet its goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect existing jobs, and provide waste disposal benefits. (b) To be eligible for funding, a  facility's solid fuel biomass electrical generation   generation facility  shall satisfy all of the following requirements: (1) The energy is generated on and after January 1, 2016. (2) The energy is generated using biomass wood wastes and  residues,   residues or geothermal resources,  and is sold to a load-serving entity. (3) The energy is generated at a facility with a generation capacity of over three megawatts. (4) The energy is generated within the state and sold to customers within the state.  (c) In prioritizing projects eligible for grants pursuant to this section, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission shall maximize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions achieved by a project for each dollar awarded.   (d) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, working in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, shall ensure that projects receiving funding pursuant to this section achieve net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.   (c)   (e)  A facility seeking available funding shall submit an application to the commission that demonstrates that it is a solid fuel biomass facility  or a geothermal energy facility  and is California Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Program certified. An applicant shall submit monthly invoices to the commission to document eligible generation. The commission shall review the submitted invoices and make monthly incentive payments to each applicant based on the eligible generation and the applicable production incentive rate.