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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6851
January Session, 2023
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 1
31, 2024, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shall 2
develop and approve a hydrogen strategic plan. The hydrogen 3
strategic plan shall include recommendations for policies, programs 4
and regulations to grow the state's hydrogen economy, consistent with 5
the greenhouse gas reduction goals established in section 22a-200a of 6
the general statutes, the Integrated Resources Plan approved pursuant 7
to section 16a-3a of the general statutes and the Comprehensive 8
Energy Strategy prepared pursuant to section 16a-3d of the general 9
statutes. The strategic plan shall (1) encourage the use of hydrogen 10
produced from renewable energy, (2) prioritize the application of 11
hydrogen produced from renewable energy to aviation, maritime 12
shipping, ferry transportation, heavy-duty trucking and high-13
temperature industrial processes, and (3) describe the current and 14
projected cost differences between powering such sectors and 15
processes with hydrogen produced from renewable energy compared 16
to powering such sectors and processes with fossil fuels. 17
(b) Not later than December 31, 2024, the Department of Energy and 18
Environmental Protection shall adopt regulations, in accordance with 19 Substitute Bill No. 6851
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the provisions of chapter 54 of the general statutes, defining "clean 20
hydrogen" for purposes of section 31-53d of the general statutes, as 21
amended by this act. 22
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 31-53d of the general statutes is 23
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 24
1, 2023): 25
(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: 26
(1) "Covered project" means a renewable energy project [that is 27
situated on land in this state, commences construction on or after July 28
1, 2021, and has] with a total nameplate capacity of two megawatts or 29
more that is situated on land in the state, or, on and after January 1, 30
2025, a clean hydrogen project. "Covered project" does not include (A) 31
any renewable energy project (i) selected in a competitive solicitation 32
conducted by (I) the Department of Energy and Environmental 33
Protection, or (II) an electric distribution company, as defined in 34
section 16-1, and (ii) approved by the Public Utilities Regulatory 35
Authority prior to January 1, 2022, [or] (B) any renewable energy 36
project under contract with another entity and approved by the 37
relevant regulatory authority, as applicable, prior to January 1, 2022, or 38
(C) any renewable energy project that commenced construction before 39
July 1, 2021; 40
(2) "Renewable energy project" means a Class I renewable energy 41
source, as defined in section 16-1. "Renewable energy project" does not 42
include any offshore wind facility procured pursuant to section 16a-3h, 43
16a-3m or 16a-3n; 44
(3) "Clean hydrogen project" means any project that produces, 45
processes, transports, stores or uses clean hydrogen, as defined in 46
regulations adopted by the Department of Energy and Environmental 47
Protection pursuant to section 1 of this act; 48
[(3)] (4) "Community benefits agreement" means an agreement 49
between (A) the developer of a covered project, and (B) community-50 Substitute Bill No. 6851
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based organizations or a coalition of such organizations, that details 51
the project's contributions to the community in which it is or will be 52
sited and the aspects of the project that will mitigate adverse 53
conditions of such community and create opportunities for local 54
businesses, communities and workers; 55
[(4)] (5) "Labor organization" means any organization, other than a 56
company union, that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of 57
collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning 58
grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid 59
or protection, including, but not limited to, (A) bona fide labor 60
organizations that are certified or recognized as the organization of 61
jurisdiction representing the workers involved, (B) bona fide building 62
and construction trades councils or district councils, and (C) state and 63
local labor federations comprised of local unions certified or 64
recognized as the representative of the workers; and 65
[(5)] (6) "Workforce development program" means a program 66
pursuant to which newly hired employees and existing employees are 67
given the opportunity to develop skills that will enable such 68
employees to qualify for higher paying jobs on a covered project. A 69
workforce development program includes: (A) Apprenticeship 70
training through an apprenticeship program registered with the Labor 71
Department or a federally recognized state apprenticeship agency that 72
complies with the requirements under 29 CFR 29 and 29 CFR 30, as 73
each may be amended from time to time, and (B) preapprenticeship 74
training that will enable students to qualify for registered 75
apprenticeship training. 76
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Energy 77
and Environmental Protection shall, in consultation with the Governor, 78
the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and the 79
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, seek 80
opportunities for federal funding of projects or activities that advance 81
clean hydrogen in the state. The Commissioner of Economic and 82
Community Development shall identify the state's share of the projects 83 Substitute Bill No. 6851
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or activities required to meet the matching requirements of the federal 84
acts making the funds available to the state. The Commissioner of 85
Economic and Community Development is authorized to transfer 86
funds appropriated to the Department of Economic and Community 87
Development and the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental 88
Protection is authorized to accept such funds for the purpose of 89
funding the state's share identified pursuant to this section. 90
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)
Sec. 3 from passage New section
ET Joint Favorable Subst.