BILL NUMBER: SB 110 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Senator Peace
DECEMBER 15, 1998
An act to amend Section 66645 of the Government Code, and
to amend Sections 25519, 25520, 25520.5, 25522, 25524.5, 25528,
25531, 25540, 25540.1, and 25540.4 of, and to repeal Sections 25502,
25502.3, 25503, 25504, 25504.5, 25505, 25506, 25506.5, 25507, 25508,
25509, 25509.5, 25510, 25511, 25512, 25512.5, 25513, 25513.3, 25514,
25514.3, 25514.5, 25515, 25516, 25516.1, 25516.5, 25516.6, and 30413
of, the Public Resources An act to amend Sections
25305, 25308.5, 25309, 25520, 25523, 25524, 25540.6, and 25541 of,
and to repeal Section 25523.5 of, the Public Resources Code,
relating to energy conservation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 110, as amended, Peace. Energy conservation: power facility
and site certification : notice of intention .
Existing law, the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Act, requires the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission to certify sufficient
sites and related facilities that are required to provide a supply of
electric power sufficient to accommodate projected demand for power
statewide. The act requires the commission to prepare and distribute
a specified draft electricity report setting forth its findings and
conclusions regarding the electric utilities' forecasts, and requires
that the 5- and 12-year forecasts or assessments established by the
commission serve as the basis for planning and certification of
electric transmission or thermal powerplant facilities.
This bill would eliminate the requirement that those 5- and
12-year forecasts established by the commission serve as the basis
for the planning and certification of electric transmission and
thermal powerplant facilities.
The existing act requires the commission, every 2 years, to
transmit to the Governor and the Legislature a comprehensive report
designed to identify emerging trends related to energy supply,
demand, and conservation and public health and safety factors, and to
provide the basis for state policy and actions in relation thereto,
including specified information.
This bill would make various changes with regard to the
information and analyses to be contained in that report, as
specified.
The act requires that an application for certification of a power
facility submitted to the commission pursuant to the act contain
specified information that the commission may require by regulation.
The act also requires that the commission prepare a written decision
after a public hearing on an application for certification, which
contains specified information.
This bill would make various changes with respect to the
information required to be provided in an application for
certification, and to be contained in the commission's written
decision concerning the application, as prescribed.
The existing act prohibits the commission from certifying any
facility contained in the application for certification, unless it
makes specified findings relating to conformity of the proposed
facility with an integrated assessment of need for the new facility.
This bill would eliminate that prohibition.
The existing act authorizes the commission to exempt from those
certification requirements thermal powerplants with a generating
capacity of up to 100 megawatts and modifications to existing
generating facilities that do not add capacity in excess of 100
megawatts, if the commission finds that no substantial adverse impact
on the environment or energy resources will result from the
construction or operation of the proposed facility or from the
modification, and that generating capacity will not be added that is
substantially in excess of the integrated assessment of need for new
resource additions, as determined.
This bill would eliminate, for purposes of that exemption, the
requirement that the commission find that generating capacity will
not be added that is substantially in excess of the integrated
assessment of need for new resource additions, as determined. The
bill would also make various related conforming changes.
certify sufficient sites and related facilities that are
required to provide a supply of electric power sufficient to
accommodate projected demand for electric power statewide, and
prescribes procedures for the certification of a person proposing to
construct a power facility, as specified. The act, among other
things, requires each person proposing to construct a thermal
powerplant or electric transmission line on a site to submit to the
commission a notice to file an application for the certification of
the site and related facility or facilities. The act requires the
notice of intention to file an application to contain specified
information relating to the proposed facility, and prescribes
procedures for the content and review of a notice of intention to
file an application.
This bill would eliminate those provisions requiring the
submission of the notice of intention to file an application for the
certification of a power facility to the commission, and the
provisions prescribing procedures for the content and review of a
notice, as specified. The bill would also make various related
conforming changes.
Existing law requires the San Francisco Bay Conservation and
Development Commission to analyze each notice of intention to file an
application for certification of a site and related facilities
within the Suisun Marsh or the area of jurisdiction of the
commission, and to forward to the State Energy and Resources
Conservation and Development Commission a written report on the
suitability of the proposed site and related facilities specified in
that notice.
This bill would delete those provisions requiring the San
Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission to analyze each
notice, and report to the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission.
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. Section 66645 of the Government Code
SECTION 1. Section 25305 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
25305. Within nine months after receipt of the reports specified
in Section 25300, the commission shall prepare and distribute a draft
electricity report, setting forth its findings and conclusions
regarding the electric utilities' forecasts. The report shall be
based upon information and views presented in the comments received
under Section 25303 and the commission's independent analysis, and
shall contain all of the following:
(a) The commission's evaluation of the probable service area and
statewide, environmental, and economic impact and the health and
safety aspect of constructing and operating the facilities proposed
by the electric utilities and a description of the measures
considered necessary by the commission to avoid or ameliorate any
adverse impacts.
(b) Discussion of reasonable alternative technologies to those
proposed by the electrical utilities for consideration pursuant to
Section 25604.
(c) After consideration of the utility reports, public and agency
comments, and forecasts prepared by the commission staff, the
commission's 5-and 12-year forecasts of demand for electrical energy
and capacity. Conservation, load management, or other demand
reducing measures reasonably expected to occur shall be explicitly
taken into account only in the determinations made pursuant to this
subdivision, and shall not be considered as alternatives to a
proposed facility during the siting process specified in Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 25500).
(d) An analysis and evaluation of the means by which the projected
annual rate of demand growth of electrical energy may be reduced,
together with an estimate of the amount of the reduction to be
obtained by each of the means analyzed and evaluated, including a
statement of the impact of the reduction on the factors reviewed by
the commission set forth in Section 25304 and subdivision (a).
(e) A statement of the level of statewide and service area
electrical energy demand for the forthcoming 5- and 12-year forecast
or assessment period which, in the judgment of the commission, will
reasonably balance requirements of state and service area growth and
development, protection of public health and safety, preservation of
environmental quality, maintenance of a sound economy, and
conservation of energy and resources reasonably expected to occur.
The 5- and 12-year forecasts or assessments established by
the commission shall serve as the basis for planning and
certification of facilities.
(f) A statement, on a statewide and service area basis, of the
probable capacity additions consistent with the level of demand
determined by the commission pursuant to subdivision (e).
(g) The anticipated level of statewide and service area electrical
energy demand for 20 years, which shall serve as the basis for
recommendations by the commission to the Governor, the Legislature,
and other appropriate public and private agencies in all of the
following categories:
(1) Demand-reducing policies.
(2) Conservation of energy.
(3) Development of potential sources of energy.
(4) Other policies and actions designed to affect the rate of
growth in demand for electrical energy.
(h) A list, including maps, of existing electrical power
generating sites, indicating those where the commission has
determined that expansion is feasible within the forthcoming 12-year
period.
(i) A list, including maps, of possible areas appropriate for
additional electrical generating sites, including the generating
capacity to be installed at the sites and the type of fuel and other
general characteristics of the facilities which, as determined by the
commission, will be required to meet the 12-year level of electrical
energy demand established by the commission pursuant to subdivision
(a).
(j) A list, including maps of sites and potential
multiple-facility sites which have been found to be acceptable by the
commission pursuant to Sections 25516 and 25516.5, including the
generating capacity to be installed at each site and the type of fuel
and other general characteristics of the facilities at each site.
SEC. 2. Section 25308.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
25308.5. (a) In developing the electricity report, the
commission shall, after providing an opportunity for parties to
submit recommendations, establish criteria for determining demand
conformance for the siting of facilities.
(b) In issuing the final electricity report, the
commission shall describe how the hearing record supports its policy
decisions , including, but not limited to, the demand and
supply forecasts and the demand conformance criteria .
SEC. 3. Section 25309 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
25309. Beginning May 1, 1985, and every two years thereafter,
notwithstanding Section 7550.5 of the Government Code, the
commission shall transmit to the Governor and the Legislature a
comprehensive report designed to identify emerging trends related to
energy supply, demand, and conservation and public health and safety
factors, and to provide the basis for state policy and actions in
relation thereto, including, but not limited to, approval of new
sites for additional facilities. The report shall include, but not
be limited to, all of the following:
(a) An overview, looking 20 years ahead, of statewide growth and
development as they relate to future requirements for energy,
including patterns of urban metropolitan expansion, statewide and
service area economic growth, shifts in transportation modes,
modifications in building types and design, and other trends and
factors which, as determined by the commission, will significantly
affect energy consumption and need to be considered in formulating
state energy policy and programs.
(b) The commission's integrated assessment of the need
for new resource additions, as determined pursuant to subdivisions
(a) to (f), inclusive, of Section 25305 and adopted in its final
report pursuant to Section 25308, which shall be used as the basis of
planning and approval of new resource additions, including the level
of statewide and service area electrical energy demand for the
forthcoming 5- and 12-year forecasts or assessment periods which, in
the judgment of the commission, will reasonably balance the
requirements of state and service area growth and development, the
protection of the public health and safety, the preservation of
environmental quality, the maintenance of a sound economy, and the
conservation of resources.
(c) A statement, on a statewide and service area basis, of the
probable capacity additions consistent with the level of demand
determined by the commission pursuant to Sections 25305 to 25308,
inclusive.
(d) The anticipated level of statewide and service area
electrical energy demand for 20 years, which shall serve as the basis
for recommendations by the commission to the Governor, the
Legislature, and other appropriate public and private agencies.
(e)
(c) Based upon the commission's 20-year forecasts or
assessment of growth trends in energy consumption and production,
identification of potential adverse social, economic, or
environmental impacts which might be imposed by continuation of the
present trends, including, but not limited to, the costs of
electricity and other forms of energy to consumers, significant
increases in air, water, and other forms of pollution, threats to
public health and safety, and loss of scenic and natural areas.
(f)
(d) Assessment of the energy resources available to the
state, including , among others, fossil fuels and nuclear,
solar, geothermal, cogeneration, and purchased power resources and
power pooling; assessment of the potential of, and examination of the
availability of, commercially developable fuels, including imported
fuels, during the forthcoming 12- and 20-year periods; and
recommendations regarding measures to be applied to conserve energy
and fuels.
(g)
(e) An analysis and evaluation of the means by which the
projected annual rate of demand growth of energy may be reduced,
together with an estimate of the amount of the reduction to be
obtained by policies and programs evaluated pursuant to Section
25401.1.
(h)
(f) An indication of those technologies which merit
continued consideration or support in the commission's long range
assessment efforts and its research and development program. The
report shall also indicate those electrical generation and
nongeneration technologies which have been found to be commercially
available or reasonably expected to become available pursuant to
Section 25604.
(i)
(g) A description of the commission's responsibilities and
recommendations for emergency measures to be applied in the event of
impending serious shortage of electrical and other forms of energy as
provided in Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 25700) and evaluated
under subdivision (b) of Section 25358.
(j)
(h) Recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature for
administrative and legislative actions based on the results of
commission studies and evaluations.
SEC. 4. Section 25520 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
25520. The application shall contain all of the following
information and any other information that the commission by
regulation may require:
(a) A detailed description of the design, construction, and
operation of the proposed facility.
(b) Safety and reliability information, including, in addition to
documentation previously provided pursuant to Section 25511, planned
provisions for emergency operations and shutdowns.
(c) Available site information, including maps and descriptions of
present and proposed development and, as appropriate, geological,
aesthetic, ecological, seismic, water supply, population, and load
center data, and justification for the particular site proposed.
(d) Any other information relating to the design, operation, and
siting of the facility that the commission may specify.
(e) A statement of need providing information showing
compatibility of the proposed facility with the most recent
electricity report issued by the commission pursuant to Sections
25305 to 25308, inclusive, or, where applicable, information
pertinent to Section 25523.5 regarding the conformity of a
competitive solicitation for new generation resources with the
integrated assessment of need for new resource additions determined
pursuant to subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, of Section 25305 and
adopted pursuant to Section 25308, and in effect at the time that the
competitive solicitation for new generation resources, as described
in subdivision (f) of Section 25523, was developed.
(f) A description of the facility, the cost of the
facility, the fuel to be used, the source of fuel, fuel cost, plant
service life and capacity factor, and generating cost per kilowatt
hour.
(g)
(f) A description of any electric transmission lines,
including the estimated cost of the proposed electric transmission
line; a map in suitable scale of the proposed routing showing details
of the rights-of-way in the vicinity of settled areas, parks,
recreational areas, and scenic areas, and existing transmission lines
within one mile of the proposed route; justification for the route,
and a preliminary description of the effect of the proposed electric
transmission line on the environment, ecology, and scenic, historic,
and recreational values.
SEC. 5. Section 25523 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
25523. The commission shall prepare a written decision after the
public hearing on an application, which includes all of the
following:
(a) Specific provisions relating to the manner in which the
proposed facility is to be designed, sited, and operated in order to
protect environmental quality and assure public health and safety.
(b) In the case of a site to be located in the coastal zone,
specific provisions to meet the objectives of Division 20 (commencing
with Section 30000) as may be specified in the report submitted by
the California Coastal Commission pursuant to subdivision (d) of
Section 30413, unless the commission specifically finds that the
adoption of the provisions specified in the report would result in
greater adverse effect on the environment or that the provisions
proposed in the report would not be feasible.
(c) In the case of a site to be located in the Suisun Marsh or in
the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and
Development Commission, specific provisions to meet the requirements
of Division 19 (commencing with Section 29000) of this code or Title
7.2 (commencing with Section 66600) of the Government Code as may be
specified in the report submitted by the San Francisco Bay
Conservation and Development Commission pursuant to subdivision (d)
of Section 66645 of the Government Code, unless the commission
specifically finds that the adoption of the provisions specified in
the report would result in greater adverse effect on the environment
or the provisions proposed in the report would not be feasible.
(d) (1) Findings regarding the conformity of the proposed site and
related facilities with standards adopted by the commission pursuant
to Section 25216.3 and subdivision (d) of Section 25402, with public
safety standards and the applicable air and water quality standards,
and with other relevant local, regional, state, and federal
standards, ordinances, or laws. If the commission finds that there
is noncompliance with any state, local, or regional ordinance or
regulation in the application, it shall consult and meet with the
state, local, or regional governmental agency concerned to attempt to
correct or eliminate the noncompliance. If the noncompliance cannot
be corrected or eliminated, the commission shall inform the state,
local, or regional governmental agency if it makes the findings
required by Section 25525.
(2) The commission shall not find that the proposed facility
conforms with applicable air quality standards pursuant to paragraph
(1) unless the applicable air pollution control district or air
quality management district certifies that complete emissions offsets
for the proposed facility have been identified and will be obtained
by the applicant prior to the commission's licensing of the project,
to the extent that the proposed facility requires emission offsets to
comply with local, regional, state, or federal air quality
standards.
(e) Provision for restoring the site as necessary to protect the
environment, if the commission denies approval of the application.
(f) Findings regarding the conformity of the proposed
facility with the integrated assessment of need for new resource
additions determined pursuant to subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive,
of Section 25305 and adopted pursuant to Section 25308 or, where
applicable, findings pursuant to Section 25523.5 regarding the
conformity of a competitive solicitation for new generation resources
with the integrated assessment of need for new resource additions
determined pursuant to subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, of Section
25305 and adopted pursuant to Section 25308 that was in effect at
the time that the solicitation was developed.
(g) In the case of a geothermal site and related
facility, findings on whether there are sufficient commercial
quantities of geothermal resources available to operate the proposed
facility for its planned life.
(h)
(g) In the case of a site and related facility using
resource recovery (waste-to-energy) technology, specific conditions
requiring that the facility be monitored to ensure compliance with
paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 42315
of the Health and Safety Code.
(i)
(h) In the case of a facility, other than a resource
recovery facility subject to subdivision (h)
(g) , specific conditions requiring the facility to be
monitored to ensure compliance with toxic air contaminant control
measures adopted by an air pollution control district or air quality
management district pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 39666 or
Section 41700 of the Health and Safety Code, whether the measures
were adopted before or after issuance of a determination of
compliance by the district.
SEC. 6. Section 25523.5 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.
25523.5. The commission shall make an affirmative finding
pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 25523 if the proposed facility
is either of the following:
(a) The result of the Public Utilities Commission's Final Standard
Offer No. 4 auction on the Request for Bids issued in August 1993.
(b) The result of a utility's competitive solicitation for new
generation resources which limits the amount of new generation to an
amount of capacity or energy at or below the amount of capacity or
energy determined to be needed for the utility through the integrated
assessment of need for new resource additions determined pursuant to
subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, of Section 25305 and adopted
pursuant to Section 25308, and in effect at the time that the
solicitation was developed, provided that the application for
certification for the proposed facility is filed within 18 months
after contracts have been executed from the utility's competitive
solicitation.
SEC. 7. Section 25524 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
25524. (a) The commission shall not certify any facility
contained in the application, unless its findings with respect to
subdivision (f) of Section 25523 are in the affirmative.
(b) The commission shall not certify any geothermal site
and related facility unless it finds that the geothermal field
dedicated to the proposed powerplant is reasonably capable of
providing geothermal resources in sufficient commercial quantities to
supply the powerplant over its planned life.
SEC. 8. Section 25540.6 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
25540.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
notice of intention is required, and the commission shall issue its
final decision on the application, as specified in Section 25523,
within 12 months after the filing of the application for
certification of the powerplant and related facility or facilities,
or at any later time as is mutually agreed by the commission and the
applicant, for any of the following:
(1) A thermal powerplant which will employ cogeneration
technology, a thermal powerplant which is the result of a
competitive solicitation or negotiation for new generation resources
and that will employ natural gas-fired
technology, or a solar thermal powerplant.
(2) A modification of an existing facility.
(3) A thermal powerplant which it is only technologically or
economically feasible to site at or near the energy source.
(4) A thermal powerplant with a generating capacity of up to 100
megawatts.
(5) A thermal powerplant designed to develop or demonstrate
technologies which have not previously been built or operated on a
commercial scale. Such a research, development, or commercial
demonstration project may include, but is not limited to, the use of
renewable or alternative fuels, improvements in energy conversion
efficiency, or the use of advanced pollution control systems. Such a
facility may not exceed 300 megawatts unless the commission, by
regulation, authorizes a greater capacity. Section 25524 does not
apply to such a powerplant and related facility or facilities.
(b) Projects exempted from the notice of intention requirement
pursuant to paragraph (1), (4), or (5) of subdivision (a) shall
include, in the application for certification, a discussion of the
applicant's site selection criteria, any alternative sites that the
applicant considered for the project, and the reasons why the
applicant chose the proposed site. That discussion shall not be
required for cogeneration projects at existing industrial sites. The
commission may also accept an application for a noncogeneration
project at an existing industrial site without requiring a discussion
of site alternatives if the commission finds that the project has a
strong relationship to the existing industrial site and that it is
therefore reasonable not to analyze alternative sites for the
project.
SEC. 9. Section 25541 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
25541. The commission may exempt from this chapter thermal
powerplants with a generating capacity of up to 100 megawatts and
modifications to existing generating facilities which
that do not add capacity in excess of 100
megawatts, if the commission finds both of the following:
(a) No that no substantial adverse impact on
the environment or energy resources will result from the construction
or operation of the proposed facility or from the modifications.
(b) Generating capacity will not be added which is substantially
in excess of the integrated assessment of need for new resource
additions determined pursuant to subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive,
of Section 25305 and adopted pursuant to Section 25308 which would be
applicable to the project pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section
25523. _____________________________________ All
matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as
introduced in the Senate, December 15, 1998 (JR 11)
____________________________________