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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6851
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 5210
Referred to Committee on ENERGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Introduced by:
(ET)
AN ACT IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE HYDROGEN
TASK FORCE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) On or before December 31, 1
2024, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shall 2
develop and approve a clean hydrogen strategic plan. The clean 3
hydrogen strategic plan shall include recommendations for policies, 4
programs and regulations to grow the state's clean hydrogen economy, 5
consistent with the greenhouse gas reduction goals established in 6
section 22a-200a of the general statutes, the Integrated Resources Plan 7
approved pursuant to section 16a-3a of the general statutes and the 8
Comprehensive Energy Strategy prepared pursuant to section 16a-3d of 9
the general statutes. The strategic plan shall (1) prioritize the application 10
of clean hydrogen for end uses and sectors within the state that are the 11
most difficult to transition to being operated using electricity, and (2) 12
describe the current and projected cost differences between powering 13
such end uses and sectors with clean hydrogen compared to fossil fuels. 14
(b) Not later than December 31, 2024, the Department of Energy and 15 Raised Bill No. 6851
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Environmental Protection shall adopt regulations in accordance with 16
the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes defining "clean 17
hydrogen" for purposes of this section. 18
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 31-53d of the general statutes is 19
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 20
2023): 21
(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: 22
(1) "Covered project" means a renewable energy project that is 23
situated on land in this state, commences construction on or after July 1, 24
2021, and has a total nameplate capacity of two megawatts or more, or 25
a clean hydrogen project. "Covered project" does not include (A) any 26
renewable energy project (i) selected in a competitive solicitation 27
conducted by (I) the Department of Energy and Environmental 28
Protection, or (II) an electric distribution company, as defined in section 29
16-1, and (ii) approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority 30
prior to January 1, 2022, or (B) any renewable energy project under 31
contract with another entity and approved by the relevant regulatory 32
authority, as applicable, prior to January 1, 2022; 33
(2) "Renewable energy project" means a Class I renewable energy 34
source, as defined in section 16-1. "Renewable energy project" does not 35
include any offshore wind facility procured pursuant to section 16a-3h, 36
16a-3m or 16a-3n; 37
(3) "Clean hydrogen project" means any project that produces, 38
processes, transports, stores or uses clean hydrogen, as defined in 39
regulations adopted by the Department of Energy and Environmental 40
Protection pursuant to section 1 of this act; 41
[(3)] (4) "Community benefits agreement" means an agreement 42
between (A) the developer of a covered project, and (B) community-43
based organizations or a coalition of such organizations, that details the 44
project's contributions to the community in which it is or will be sited 45
and the aspects of the project that will mitigate adverse conditions of 46 Raised Bill No. 6851
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such community and create opportunities for local businesses, 47
communities and workers; 48
[(4)] (5) "Labor organization" means any organization, other than a 49
company union, that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of 50
collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning 51
grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid 52
or protection, including, but not limited to, (A) bona fide labor 53
organizations that are certified or recognized as the organization of 54
jurisdiction representing the workers involved, (B) bona fide building 55
and construction trades councils or district councils, and (C) state and 56
local labor federations comprised of local unions certified or recognized 57
as the representative of the workers; and 58
[(5)] (6) "Workforce development program" means a program 59
pursuant to which newly hired employees and existing employees are 60
given the opportunity to develop skills that will enable such employees 61
to qualify for higher paying jobs on a covered project. A workforce 62
development program includes: (A) Apprenticeship training through 63
an apprenticeship program registered with the Labor Department or a 64
federally recognized state apprenticeship agency that complies with the 65
requirements under 29 CFR 29 and 29 CFR 30, as each may be amended 66
from time to time, and (B) [preapprenticeship] pre-apprenticeship 67
training that will enable students to qualify for registered 68
apprenticeship training. 69
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) The Commissioner of Energy 70
and Environmental Protection shall, in consultation with the Governor, 71
Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, Comptroller and Attorney 72
General, seek opportunities for federal funding of projects or activities 73
that advance clean hydrogen in the state. 74
(b) If the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 75
accepts an award of federal funds to implement projects or activities that 76
advance clean hydrogen in the state, the Commissioner of Energy and 77
Environmental Protection, or the commissioner's designee, shall notify 78 Raised Bill No. 6851
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the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development of such 79
acceptance. Not later than ninety days after receiving such notice, the 80
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development shall award 81
a grant to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in 82
an amount equal to not more than twenty million dollars, or the state's 83
share of the programs or activities, as determined by the Commissioner 84
of Economic and Community Development, required to meet the 85
matching requirements of the federal acts making the funds available to 86
the state, whichever is less. 87
Sec. 4. Subdivision (117) of section 12-412 of the general statutes is 88
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 89
2023): 90
(117) (A) Sales and use of solar energy electricity generating systems, 91
[and] passive or active solar water or space heating systems, [and] 92
geothermal resource systems, and clean hydrogen projects, as defined 93
in section 31-53d, as amended by this act, including equipment related 94
to such systems or projects, and sales of services relating to the 95
installation of such systems or projects. 96
(B) Sales of and the storage, use or other consumption of machinery, 97
equipment, tools, materials, supplies and fuel used directly in the 98
renewable energy and clean energy technology industries. As used in 99
this subdivision, "renewable energy and clean energy technology 100
industries" means industries that apply technologies to produce, 101
improve or develop solar energy electricity generating systems, passive 102
or active solar water or space heating systems, geothermal resource 103
systems, [and] wind power electric generation systems, or clean 104
hydrogen projects, as defined in section 31-53d, as amended by this act, 105
including equipment related to such systems or projects. 106
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 31-53d(a) Raised Bill No. 6851
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Sec. 3 from passage New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2023 12-412(117)
Statement of Purpose:
To implement recommendations of the hydrogen task force.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]