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AB-2587 Energy: firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources: procurement. (2021-2022)

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Date Published: 05/20/2022 04:00 AM
AB2587:v96#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  May 19, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 18, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 28, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2587

Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia

February 18, 2022

An act to amend Sections 25216.7 and 25305.5 of the Public Resources Code, and to add Section 380.7 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2587, as amended, Eduardo Garcia. Energy: firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources: procurement.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, the Independent System Operator, and the State Air Resources Board, on or before December 31, 2023, to submit to the Legislature an assessment of the firm zero-carbon resources that support a clean, reliable, and resilient electrical grid in California and will achieve the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 100% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2045, as specified. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to prepare an integrated energy policy report every 2 years and to timely incorporate firm zero-carbon resources into the integrated energy policy report. Existing law requires the commission to adopt a process for each load-serving entity, as defined, to file an integrated resource plan and a schedule for periodic updates to the plan to ensure that load-serving entities accomplish specified objectives.
This bill would require the Energy Commission to additionally include firm renewable energy resources in the above-described assessment and to incorporate firm renewable energy resources into the integrated energy policy report. The bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to include the findings and recommendations related to the availability and need for procurement of firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources made in the above-described assessment in the above-described integrated resource plan process no later than 6 months from the time the assessment is presented to the Legislature. The bill would require authorize the Public Utilities Commission, as part of including the findings and recommendations, to consider whether to adopt additional programs, measures, and requirements to increase the procurement and deployment of firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources, and to consider emerging technologies, as specified.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the Public Utilities Commission is a crime.
Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and because a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the Public Utilities Commission implementing the bill’s requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The Public Utilities Commission recognized the need for more firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources in Decision 21-06-035 (June 30, 2021) Requiring Procurement to Address Mid-Term Reliability (2023-2026), (2023–2026), which requires the procurement of 1,000 megawatts of new, firm renewable power and 1,000 megawatts of long-duration energy storage to come online by 2026.
(2) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission in its SB 100 Joint Agency Report evaluated generic zero-carbon firm resources as a proxy for emerging zero-carbon technologies, and found that California may need 15,000 megawatts of baseload or dispatchable firm renewable or zero-carbon resources.
(3) Increasing firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources can provide power when intermittent renewables are not available, and may reduce overall power costs as the state moves toward 100 percent 100-percent clean energy.
(4) Quickly and cost-effectively deploying firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources may provide reliability and resiliency benefits for the state’s electrical grid and communities, benefits to electricity ratepayers, and broad environmental cobenefits, including supporting lithium extraction from the Salton Sea, reducing short-lived climate pollutants, and providing benefits to those communities disproportionately impacted by pollution.
(5) There are a number of established and emerging firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources that offer promise to help the state meet its clean energy goals cost-effectively and reliably. Different programs, measures, or requirements are appropriate to support established versus emerging resources.
(6) Increasing firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources may provide jobs and economic development in disadvantaged communities and rural communities around the state.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to accelerate deployment of firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources in the state in order to support a cost-effective, 100 percent clean, reliable, and resilient electrical grid.

SEC. 2.

 Section 25216.7 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25216.7.
 (a) On or before December 31, 2023, the commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, Independent System Operator, and State Air Resources Board, shall submit to the Legislature an assessment of firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources that support a clean, reliable, and resilient electrical grid in California and will achieve the policy described in Section 454.53 of the Public Utilities Code.
(b) The assessment shall do all of the following:
(1) Identify all available, commercially feasible and near-commercially feasible firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources that could support a clean, reliable, and resilient electrical grid, and distinguish which resources are capable of addressing system reliability needs and local reliability needs, with an emphasis on reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases, toxic air contaminants, and criteria air pollutants.
(2) Evaluate the magnitude of potential needs for and role of firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources using a reasonable range of resource cost and performance assumptions that reflect emerging technology trends in order to help integrate generation from eligible renewable energy resources into the electrical grid on a daily, multiday, and seasonal basis.
(3) Identify barriers to the development of firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources and possible solutions to address those barriers, including pathways for additional procurement of those resources by load-serving entities, including joint procurements by electrical corporations, community choice aggregators, direct access customers, local publicly owned electric utilities, and other public entities, or a central procurement entity.
(4) Recommend changes to research and development projects, demonstration projects, and energy incentives to support the contributions of firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources to the near-, mid-, and long-term reliability and resiliency of California’s electrical grid, consistent with California’s goals to reduce localized air pollutants and emissions of greenhouse gases, including early priority in disadvantaged communities.
(5) Evaluate the reliability of load-serving entities’ integrated resource plans under multiday extreme and atypical weather events, which shall include, at minimum, events with extended periods of low renewable energy generation and events that occur in all seasons at least as frequently as once per 10 years.
(6) Evaluate the use of long-duration and multiday energy storage to achieve the goals pursuant to this section.
(c) The assessment shall not affect the process any load-serving entity uses to develop or procure resources to serve its customers.
(d) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Eligible renewable energy resources” has the same meaning as defined in Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities Code.
(2) “Firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources” are electrical resources that can individually, or in combination, deliver renewable or zero-carbon electricity with high availability for the expected duration of multiday extreme or atypical weather events, including periods of low renewable energy generation, and facilitate integration of eligible renewable energy resources into the electrical grid and the transition to a zero-carbon electrical grid.
(3) “Load-serving entities” has the same meaning as defined in Section 380 of the Public Utilities Code.
(e) (1) The assessment to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2026.

SEC. 3.

 Section 25305.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25305.5.
 (a) The commission shall timely incorporate firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources into the integrated energy policy report prepared pursuant to Section 25302.
(b) For purposes of this section, “firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources” are electrical resources that can individually, or in combination, deliver renewable or zero-carbon electricity with high availability for the expected duration of multiday extreme or atypical weather events, including periods of low renewable energy generation, and facilitate integration of eligible renewable energy resources into the electrical grid and the transition to a zero-carbon electrical grid.

SEC. 4.

 Section 380.7 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

380.7.
 (a) The commission shall include the findings and recommendations related to the availability and need for procurement of firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources made in the assessment required pursuant to Section 25216.7 of the Public Resources Code in the integrated resource plan process adopted pursuant to Section 454.52 of the Public Utilities Code.
(b) The inclusion of the findings and recommendations shall take place no later than six months from the time the assessment is presented to the Legislature.
(c) As part of the inclusion of the findings and recommendations, the commission shall may consider whether to adopt additional programs, measures, and requirements to increase the procurement and deployment of firm renewable energy resources and firm zero-carbon resources during the years including, but not limited to, 2026 to 2040, inclusive.
(d) As part of the inclusion of the findings and recommendations, the commission shall may consider emerging technologies, with an emphasis on technologies that have the potential to significantly improve reliability during periods of low renewable energy production and extreme weather events, lower long-term system costs, and reduce land-use impacts.

SEC. 5.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.