Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3145 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R11050 TRH-D
2	2	By: Gonzalez Toureilles H.B. No. 3145
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the goal for renewable energy capacity derived from
8	8	renewable energy technologies other than sources using wind energy.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 39.904, Utilities Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), and (o) and adding
12	12	Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
13	13	(a) It is the intent of the legislature that by January 1,
14	14	2015, an additional 5,000 megawatts of generating capacity from
15	15	renewable energy technologies will have been installed in this
16	16	state. The cumulative installed renewable capacity in this state
17	17	shall total 5,880 megawatts by January 1, 2015, and the commission
18	18	shall establish a goal [target] of 10,000 megawatts of installed
19	19	renewable capacity by January 1, 2020 [2025]. The cumulative
20	20	installed renewable capacity in this state shall total 2,280
21	21	megawatts by January 1, 2007, 3,272 megawatts by January 1, 2009,
22	22	4,264 megawatts by January 1, 2011, 5,256 megawatts by January 1,
23	23	2013, and 5,880 megawatts by January 1, 2015.
24	24	(a-1) It is the intent of the legislature that by January 1,
25	25	2020, the commission shall establish a goal of an additional 4,000
26	26	megawatts [Of the renewable energy technology generating capacity
27	27	installed to meet the goal of this subsection after September 1,
28	28	2005, the commission shall establish a target of having at least 500
29	29	megawatts] of capacity from a combination of renewable energy
30	30	technology other than a source using wind energy and small-scale
31	31	wind-powered generating installations with a capacity of less than
32	32	150 kilowatts each. The cumulative installed capacity to comply
33	33	with this subsection in this state shall total 500 megawatts by
34	34	January 1, 2012, 2,000 megawatts by January 1, 2015, and 4,000
35	35	megawatts by January 1, 2020.
36	36	(b) The commission shall establish a renewable energy
37	37	credits trading program. Any retail electric provider, municipally
38	38	owned utility, or electric cooperative that does not satisfy the
39	39	requirements of Subsections [Subsection] (a) and (a-1) by directly
40	40	owning or purchasing capacity using renewable energy technologies
41	41	shall purchase sufficient renewable energy credits to satisfy the
42	42	requirements by holding renewable energy credits in lieu of
43	43	capacity from renewable energy technologies.
44	44	(c) Not later than January 1, 2000, the commission shall
45	45	adopt rules necessary to administer and enforce Subsection (a), and
46	46	not later than January 1, 2010, the commission shall adopt rules
47	47	necessary to administer and enforce Subsection (a-1) [this
48	48	section]. At a minimum, the rules shall:
49	49	(1) establish the minimum annual renewable energy
50	50	requirement for each retail electric provider, municipally owned
51	51	utility, and electric cooperative operating in this state in a
52	52	manner reasonably calculated by the commission to produce, on a
53	53	statewide basis, compliance with the requirement prescribed by
54	54	Subsection (a) and the requirement prescribed by Subsection (a-1);
55	55	and
56	56	(2) specify reasonable performance standards that all
57	57	renewable capacity additions must meet to count against the
58	58	requirement prescribed by Subsection (a) and the requirement
59	59	prescribed by Subsection (a-1) and that:
60	60	(A) are designed and operated so as to maximize
61	61	the energy output from the capacity additions in accordance with
62	62	then-current industry standards; and
63	63	(B) encourage the development, construction, and
64	64	operation of new renewable energy projects at those sites in this
65	65	state that have the greatest economic potential for capture and
66	66	development of this state's environmentally beneficial renewable
67	67	resources.
68	68	(d) In this section:
69	69	(1) "Renewable energy technology" [, "renewable
70	70	energy technology"] means any technology that exclusively relies on
71	71	an energy source that is naturally regenerated over a short time and
72	72	derived directly from the sun, indirectly from the sun, or from
73	73	moving water or other natural movements and mechanisms of the
74	74	environment. Renewable energy technologies include those that rely
75	75	on energy derived directly from the sun, on wind, geothermal,
76	76	hydroelectric, wave, or tidal energy, or on renewable biomass or
77	77	renewable biomass-based waste products, including landfill gas. A
78	78	renewable energy technology does not rely on energy resources
79	79	derived from fossil fuels, waste products from fossil fuels, or
80	80	waste products from inorganic sources.
81	81	(2) "Renewable biomass or renewable biomass-based
82	82	waste product" means:
83	83	(A) planted crops and crop residue harvested from
84	84	agricultural land cleared or cultivated at any time before the
85	85	enactment of this subsection that is either actively managed or
86	86	fallow, and non-forested;
87	87	(B) planted trees and tree residue from actively
88	88	managed tree plantations on nonfederal land cleared at any time
89	89	before the enactment of this subsection, including land belonging
90	90	to an Indian tribe or Indian individual, that is held in trust by
91	91	the United States or subject to a restriction against alienation
92	92	imposed by the United States;
93	93	(C) animal waste material and animal byproducts;
94	94	(D) slash and pre-commercial thinning of
95	95	nonfederal forestlands, including forestlands belonging to an
96	96	Indian tribe or an Indian individual that are held in trust by the
97	97	United States or subject to a restriction against alienation
98	98	imposed by the United States, but not forests or forestlands that
99	99	are ecological communities with a global or state ranking of
100	100	critically imperiled, imperiled, or rare pursuant to a state
101	101	natural heritage program, old-growth forest, or late successional
102	102	forest;
103	103	(E) biomass obtained from the immediate vicinity
104	104	of buildings and other areas regularly occupied by people or public
105	105	infrastructures at risk from wildfire;
106	106	(F) algae; and
107	107	(G) separated yard or food waste including
108	108	recycled cooking and trap grease.
109	109	(o) The commission may establish an alternative compliance
110	110	payment. An entity that has a renewable energy purchase
111	111	requirement under this section may elect to pay the alternative
112	112	compliance payment instead of applying renewable energy credits
113	113	toward the satisfaction of the entity's obligation under this
114	114	section. The commission may establish a separate alternative
115	115	compliance payment for the goal of 500 megawatts of capacity from
116	116	renewable energy technologies other than wind energy. [The
117	117	alternative compliance payment for a renewable energy purchase
118	118	requirement that could be satisfied with a renewable energy credit
119	119	from wind energy may not be less than $2.50 per credit or greater
120	120	than $20 per credit. Prior to September 1, 2009, an alternative
121	121	compliance payment under this subsection may not be set above $5 per
122	122	credit. In implementing this subsection, the commission shall
123	123	consider:
124	124	[(1) the effect of renewable energy credit prices on
125	125	retail competition;
126	126	[(2) the effect of renewable energy credit prices on
127	127	electric rates;
128	128	[(3) the effect of the alternative compliance payment
129	129	level on the renewable energy credit market; and
130	130	[(4) any other factors necessary to ensure the
131	131	continued development of the renewable energy industry in this
132	132	state while protecting ratepayers from unnecessary rate
133	133	increases.]
134	134	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
135	135	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
136	136	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
137	137	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
138	138	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.