Bill Text: CA AB3100 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended


Bill Title: State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission: Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California: report.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-05-05 - Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. [AB3100 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB3100-Amended.html

Amended  IN  Assembly  May 04, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 3100


Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia

February 21, 2020


An act to amend Section 379.9 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity. add Section 25232 to the Public Resources Code, relating to public resources.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 3100, as amended, Eduardo Garcia. Self-generation incentive program. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission: Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California: report.
Existing law establishes in the Resources Agency the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, consisting of 5 members appointed by the Governor, as specified. Existing law requires the commission to undertake a continuing assessment of trends in the consumption of electrical energy and other forms of energy and analyze the social, economic, and environmental consequences of these trends, and to carry out, or cause to be carried out, under contract or other arrangements, research and development into alternative sources of energy, improvements in energy generation, transmission, and siting, fuel substitution, and other topics related to energy supply, demand, public safety, ecology, and conservation that are of particular statewide importance.
This bill would require, on or before March 1, 2021, the commission to establish and convene the Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California, with specified members appointed as prescribed. The bill would require the Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California to review, investigate, and analyze certain issues regarding lithium extraction and use in California, and to consult, if feasible, with the United States Environmental Protection Agency in performing these tasks. The bill would require the Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California to submit, on or before October 1, 2022, a report to the Legislature discussing and documenting its findings and recommendations.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, requires electrical corporations to administer, subject to commission supervision, a self-generation incentive program to increase the development of distributed generation resources and energy storage technologies. Existing law requires the commission to allocate at least 10% of the annual collection for the self-generation incentive program in the 2020 calendar year for the installation of energy storage and other distributed energy resources for customers that operate critical facilities or critical infrastructure serving communities in high fire threat districts to support resiliency during a deenergization event.

This bill would make nonsubstantive revisions to the requirement that the commission allocate at least 10% of the annual collection for the self-generation incentive program in the 2020 calendar year for the installation of energy storage and other distributed energy resources for customers that operate critical facilities or critical infrastructure serving communities in high fire threat districts to support resiliency during a deenergization event.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) World demand for lithium is expected to grow as much as tenfold in the next decade, but virtually none is produced in the United States. Instead, almost all of the global lithium supply is currently mined in Argentina, Chile, China, and Australia.
(b) The Salton Sea geothermal resource area is well-positioned to become a competitive source of supply that could satisfy more than one-third of today’s worldwide lithium demand, but no mining companies will invest in this resource until the technology to recover lithium from geothermal brine on a commercial scale is proven and can occur without certain risks and uncertainties.
(c) There is a national security rationale for developing a domestic supply of lithium. Lithium was listed in the Federal Register as a critical mineral “essential to the economic and national security of the United States” pursuant to the 2017 presidential Executive Order 13187 titled “A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals.”
(d) The opportunity for lithium production in California has the potential to unleash billions of dollars of new economic infrastructure development.

SEC. 2.

 Section 25232 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25232.
 (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Commission” means the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
(2) “Blue Ribbon Commission” means the Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California established pursuant to this section.
(b) On or before March 1, 2021, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission shall establish and convene the Blue Ribbon Commission on Lithium Extraction in California. The Blue Ribbon Commission shall be comprised of the following members:
(1) A member appointed by the commission.
(2) A member of the Public Utilities Commission, appointed by the Public Utilities Commission.
(3) A member appointed by the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency.
(4) A member, appointed by the commission, who represents the lithium extraction industry.
(5) A member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(6) A member appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
(7) A member, appointed by the commission, who represents a vehicle manufacturer.
(8) A member, appointed by the commission, who represents an environmental organization.
(9) A member appointed by the Governor.
(c) The Blue Ribbon Commission shall review, investigate, and analyze the following issues:
(1) Methods of advanced procurement of geothermal power through integrated resources planning to create new market opportunities for lithium extraction from geothermal brine and the potential benefits of this process to the state and United States, including grid stability, reliability, and resiliency.
(2) The value of geothermal projects through integration of emerging technologies and the added value from lithium extraction from geothermal brine.
(3) Methods of overcoming technical and economic challenges currently limiting lithium production.
(4) Safe environmental methods and standards for lithium extraction.
(5) The importance of, and opportunities for, state and federal investments to facilitate lithium extraction.
(6) Development of a centralized tracking system for lithium project permitting by state regulatory agencies.
(7) Recommended reports from state regulators on the status of lithium project permitting.
(8) Recommended training for state regulators on the lithium extraction process.
(d) In conducting the tasks described in subdivision (c), the Blue Ribbon Commission shall consult, when feasible, with the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(e) On or before October 1, 2022, the Blue Ribbon Commission shall submit a report to the Legislature discussing and documenting its findings and recommendations developed after conducting the review and analyses required pursuant to subdivision (c).
(1) The report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) The requirement to submit a report pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2025.

SECTION 1.Section 379.9 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:
379.9.

(a)In administering the self-generation incentive program pursuant to Section 379.6, the commission shall allocate at least 10 percent of the annual collection for the program in the 2020 calendar year for the installation of energy storage and other eligible distributed energy resources as determined by the commission pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 379.6 for customers that operate a critical facility or critical infrastructure serving communities in high fire threat districts to support resiliency during a deenergization event. Eligible customers may include, but are not limited to, emergency responders, emergency operations centers, emergency shelters, water suppliers, wastewater agencies, fire stations, and police stations.

(b)In allocating funds pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission shall do all of the following:

(1)Adjust the rules of the self-generation incentive program, if necessary, for the amount allocated pursuant to subdivision (a) to allow for the use of backup electrical resources when electricity is shut off due to wildfire risk.

(2)Prioritize funding to projects for eligible customers that do all of the following:

(A)Demonstrate a financial need.

(B)Operate a critical facility or critical infrastructure serving communities in high fire threat districts during a deenergization event.

(C)Demonstrate coordination with the electrical corporation serving the customer’s community, relevant local governments, and the Office of Emergency Services for emergency and disaster planning and preparedness.

(3)Ensure that customers receiving funding pursuant to subdivision (a) are informed of the potential limitations of the energy storage and distributed energy resources system to provide reliable backup electricity, particularly for unplanned and extended losses of electricity.

(4)Include an evaluation of the performance and impact of the projects funded pursuant to subdivision (a) in a relevant self-generation incentive program evaluation report no later than December 31, 2022. The evaluation shall include a list of customers receiving funding and the type of customer operating each project. For a representative sampling of projects, the evaluation shall also include the known and expected performance of each project as a source of backup electricity; the impact of the project on greenhouse gas emissions; the communities served by the critical facility or critical infrastructure; customer coordination with the Office of Emergency Services, the electrical corporation serving the community, and relevant local governments; and any other information the commission deems useful.

(c)The commission may prioritize funding for additional customers located in high fire threat districts and may continue to prioritize self-generation incentive program funding for customers that operate critical facilities or critical infrastructure serving communities in high fire threat districts in subsequent years.

(d)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to allow for the use of incentives from the self-generation incentive program for generation technologies using nonrenewable fuels on or after January 1, 2020.

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