Major Solar, LNG, Life-Cycle Bills Pass Senate

More than a dozen significant energy bills moved through the Senate and await Assembly action this summer. The major bills include: SB 1: Aims to install solar photovoltaics on a million roofs. Authored by Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles), John Campbell (R-Costa Mesa), and 13 coauthors. It passed the Senate on a 30-5 vote. SB 15: Extends the comment period for California Public Utilities Commission alternate decisions from 10 days to 30 days. Authored by Martha Escutia (D-Montebello). It is to be heard in the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee June 13. SB 107: Accelerates the renewables portfolio standard from 2017 to 2010. Authored by Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) and Don Perata (D-Oakland). The Senate voted 25-14. SB 204: Allows removal of a CPUC or California Energy Commission member for financial conflicts of interest. Authored by Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey). The Senate voted 23-14. SB 250: Requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish specifications for hydrogen fuel and fuel cells. Authored by Campbell. The Senate voted 33-1. SB 426: Has the CEC conduct a liquefied natural gas ?needs? assessment as the commission staff already does with electricity. Authored by Simitian. The Senate voted 24-14. SB 441: Prohibits the CPUC from allowing advanced metering infrastructure unless the commission finds that installation will save customers more than it will cost. Authored by Nell Soto (D-Ontario) and sponsored by The Utility Reform Network. The Senate voted 23-12. SB 580: Expands the CPUC Low-Income Oversight Board?s jurisdiction to include water ratepayers. Authored by Escutia. The Senate voted 31-8. SB 769: Establishes an energy-efficient refrigerator replacement program to be administered by the CPUC for low-income consumers. Authored by Simitian. The Senate voted 34-3. SB 757: Among other fuel conservation measures, this authorizes the CEC to expand its oil industry price and supply reporting, monitoring, and analysis. Authored by Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego). The Senate voted 21-15. SB 816: Triples the cap for net metering for San Diego. Authored by Kehoe, sponsored by the city of San Diego and San Diego Gas & Electric. To be heard in the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee June 13. SB 1003: Authorizes the CEC to establish a permitting process for LNG terminals, establishes that the CEC is the lead agency for California Environmental Quality Act review, and requires the CPUC to monitor LNG terminal costs and determine whether those costs are in the best interests of ratepayers. The Senate voted 24-13. SB 1037: Requires utilities to first acquire all available energy efficiency and demand reduction before applying for new power plants, and requires the CPUC to consider efficiency alternatives before approving a transmission line. Authored by Kehoe, sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Senate voted 26-14. SB 1048: Promotes using oil drilling byproduct gas for fueling distributed energy. Authored by Michael Machado (D-Linden). The Senate voted 38-0. SB 1059: Authorizes the CEC to designate a transmission corridor zone for future development. Authored by Escutia and Bill Morrow (R-Carlsbad). The Senate voted 34-1. SCR 40: Calls on the president and Congress to preserve state and local authority over LNG facilities. Authored by Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach). The Senate voted 24-14. A couple of bills held on the Senate side but expected to head to the other side of the aisle following a waiver of the Senate rules include: SB 984: Would have life-cycle costs assessment and environmental impact assessments of all electric generation technologies, including nuclear, fossil, and renewables, performed by the CEC. The bill estimates the undertaking would cost $585 million. Authored by Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks). Held in the Senate Appropriations Committee May 26. SCR 34: Proclaims the West Coast Governors? Global Warming Initiative and urges the governor to adopt aggressive targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions. Authored by Kehoe. Hearing postponed by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee June 1. In addition to the stack of active energy bills, other pieces of legislation are dead, have been subsumed, or are two-year bills. Those include: SB 431: Encourages repowering existing QF power plants and allows credits for renewable output. Authored by Jim Battin (R-Palm Desert) and sponsored by the California Wind Energy Association. A two-year bill, it was last sent to Senate Appropriations April 27. SB 628: Makes it more difficult for unions to intervene in CEC siting procedures. Authored by Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) and sponsored by the Associated Builders and Contractors of California. It failed to pass the Senate energy committee April 19 and was granted reconsideration but is now dead, according to Dutton?s office. SB 669: Encourages private investment in cogeneration. Authored by Battin. A two-year bill, it was sent to the Rules Committee March 10. SB 1017: Continues exclusion for active solar installations for tax purposes as ?newly constructed? until 2018. Authored by Campbell. It had been a part of SB 1, but because of deadline considerations, its language was pulled out. By agreement among legislators, it is now an open item being contemplated in the budget process.

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Major Solar, LNG, Life-Cycle Bills Pass Senate

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