CHAPTER
8.5. Carbon Capture Technology Demonstration Project Grant program
25730.
For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:(a) “Eligible entity” means an owner of an existing industrial facility, a natural gas electric generation facility, or a biomass electric generation facility.
(b) “Industrial facility” means an industrial facility in the state that generates emissions of greenhouse gases, including, but not limited to, an ethanol production facility, a hydrogen production facility, and a cement production facility.
(c) “Natural gas” means a fuel consisting in whole or in part of any of the following:
(1) Natural gas.
(2) Synthetic gas derived from natural gas liquids.
(3) A mixture of natural gas and synthetic gas derived from natural gas liquids.
(4) Biomethane.
(d) “Natural gas electric generation facility” means a facility in the state that generates electric energy using natural gas as the fuel and includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(1) A simple cycle plant.
(2) A combined cycle plant.
(3) A combined heat and power plant.
(4) A steam methane reformer that produces hydrogen from natural gas for use in the production of electric energy.
(e) “Program” means the Carbon Capture Technology Demonstration Project Grant Program established by the commission pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25731. this chapter.
(f) “Project labor agreement” has the same meaning as set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 2500 of the Public Contract Code.
(g) “Skilled and trained workforce” has the same meaning as
set forth in Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.
25731.
(a) On or before September 30, 2024, the commission shall establish, consistent with Section 25732, the Carbon Capture Technology Demonstration Project Grant Program to deploy and commercialize carbon capture technologies that will significantly improve the efficiency, effectiveness, cost, emissions reductions, and environmental performance of existing industrial facilities, natural gas electric generation facilities, and biomass electric generation facilities.(b) The commission shall develop goals and objectives for the program, taking into consideration all of the following:
(1) Using carbon capture, sequestration,
or utilization technologies to decrease the carbon dioxide emissions, and the environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions, from existing industrial facilities, natural gas electric generation facilities, and biomass electric generation facilities, including by doing any of the following:
(A) Accelerating the deployment and commercialization of technologies to capture, sequester, or utilize carbon dioxide emissions.
(B) Supporting sites for safe geological storage of large volumes of anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide and the development of the infrastructure needed to support a carbon dioxide storage industry.
(C) Lowering, to the maximum extent practicable, greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel
production, generation, delivery, and use.
(D) Further reducing noncarbon dioxide air emissions.
(2) Accelerating the deployment and commercialization of technologies to significantly decrease emissions from existing manufacturing facilities and industrial facilities, including from any of the following facilities:
(A) A nontraditional fuel manufacturing facility, including an ethanol or other biofuel production plant or hydrogen production plant.
(B) An energy-intensive manufacturing facility that produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct of the facility’s operations.
(3) Identifying barriers to the
commercial deployment of emerging technologies for the capture or utilization of carbon dioxide produced by existing industrial facilities, natural gas electric generation facilities, and biomass electric generation facilities.
(c) In establishing the program, including the goals and objectives required pursuant to subdivision (b), the commission shall coordinate with all of the following:
(1) The Geologic Energy Management Division.
(2) The California Geological Survey, Department of Conservation.
(3) The State Air Resources Board.
(4) The State Water Resources Control Board.
(5) The Department of Fish and Wildlife.
(6) The State Lands Commission.
(7) The Natural Resources Agency.
(8) Local air quality management districts and local air pollution control districts.
(9) Regional water quality control boards.
(10) Any other relevant local, state, or federal agency, as identified by the commission.
(d) The rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) do not apply to the commission’s establishment of the program, including, but not limited to, the commission’s development of the program goals and objectives pursuant to this section and the grant eligibility guidelines and criteria pursuant to Section 25732.
(e) The establishment of the program by the commission shall be contingent upon an appropriation of funds by the Legislature for purposes of the program.
25732.
(a) On or before January 1, 2025, the commission shall provide grants to eligible entities for three projects that each capture or utilize carbon dioxide from an existing industrial facility, natural gas electric generation facility, or biomass electric generation facility, consistent with the program purpose, goals, and objectives outlined in this chapter.(b) The commission shall develop guidelines and criteria for eligible entities to apply for and receive grants pursuant to the program. The guidelines and criteria shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) (A) A
competitive, merit-based process for eligible entities to apply for and receive grants.
(B) The commission shall give priority to eligible entities that are applying to the United States Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management for federal funding for carbon capture technology projects pursuant to Section 16292 of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(C) The commission shall give priority to projects that substantially improve the efficiency, effectiveness, cost, emissions reductions, and environmental performance of carbon capture or utilization technologies for power, industrial, and other commercial applications.
(2) Requirements
that ensure that grants are awarded to a broad geographic distribution of projects throughout the state and a broad selection of existing industrial facilities, natural gas electric generation facilities, and biomass electric generation facilities.
(3) Requirements that ensure that each project awarded a grant meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The project substantially improves the efficiency, effectiveness, cost, emissions reductions, and environmental performance of carbon capture or utilization technologies for power, industrial, and other commercial applications.
(B)
(A) The project furthers the deployment and commercialization of technologies to capture, sequester, or utilize carbon dioxide emissions from an existing industrial facility, natural gas electric generation facility, or biomass electric generation facility.
(C)
(B) The project receives financing, in part, from the private sector.
(D)
(C) The project, to the extent possible, leverages existing public-private partnerships and available federal resources.
(D) The project-related carbon reductions contribute to achieving the state’s greenhouse gas reduction targets to the maximum extent possible.
(4) Requirements that ensure that an eligible entity, as a condition of receiving a grant, does both of the following:
(A) Uses the carbon dioxide that is captured and stored as part of the project only for purposes of long-term storage or the manufacture
or conversion of a product that results in the net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and not for any other purposes, including, but not limited to, oil and gas recovery.
(B) Monitors and reduces criteria air pollutants emitted from the project, including the existing industrial facility, natural gas electric generation facility, or biomass electric generation facility that is the focus of the project, at a level determined by the commission in coordination with the local air pollution control district or local air quality management district for the area in which the project is sited.
(c) Receipt by an eligible entity of a grant pursuant to this chapter shall not impact the eligible entity’s
ability to generate, or render the eligible entity ineligible for, credits pursuant to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of Article 4 of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations). any program administered by the State Air Resources Board.
25733.
(a) A project that receives grant funding pursuant to this chapter is a public work for which prevailing wages are required to be paid pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.(b) As a condition of receiving a grant pursuant to this chapter, an eligible entity shall certify to the commission that a skilled and trained workforce will be used to perform all work on the project that falls within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades. All of the following requirements shall apply to the project:
(1) An eligible entity shall
require in all contracts for the performance of work that every contractor and subcontractor at every tier will individually use a skilled and trained workforce to complete the project.
(2) Every contractor and subcontractor at every tier shall use a skilled and trained workforce to complete the project.
(3) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an eligible entity shall provide to the commission, on a monthly basis while the project is being performed, a report demonstrating compliance with Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code. A monthly report provided to the commission under this subparagraph shall be a public record under the California Public Records Act (Part 1 (commencing with Section
7920.000) of Division 10 of Title 1 of the Government Code) and shall be open to public inspection. An eligible entity that fails to provide a monthly report demonstrating compliance with Chapter 2.9 (commencing with Section 2600) of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code shall be subject to a civil penalty of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per month for each month for which the report has not been provided. A contractor or subcontractor that fails to use a skilled and trained workforce shall be subject to a civil penalty of two hundred dollars ($200) per day for each worker employed in contravention of the skilled and trained workforce requirement. Penalties may be assessed by the Labor Commissioner within 18 months of completion of the project using the same procedures for issuance of civil wage and penalty assessments under Section 1741 of the Labor Code, and may be reviewed under the
same procedures in Section 1742 of the Labor Code. Penalties shall be paid to the State Public Works Enforcement Fund established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1771.3 of the Labor Code.
(B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply if all contractors and subcontractors at every tier performing work on the project are subject to a project labor agreement that requires compliance with the skilled and trained workforce requirement and provides for enforcement of that obligation through an arbitration procedure.
25734.
The commission shall convene a task force to provide technical and policy assistance to eligible entities to obtain permits and licenses necessary to deploy and commercialize carbon capture technologies consistent with the program purpose, goals, and objectives outlined in this chapter. The commission shall invite the agencies identified in subdivision (c) of Section 25731 to participate in the task force.25735.The establishment of the program by the commission shall be contingent upon an appropriation of funds by the Legislature for purposes of the program.
25735.
On or before January 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the commission shall publish on its internet website, at a minimum, all of the following information regarding the projects for which the commission awards program funds:(a) A detailed description of the project, including how the project meets the goals and objectives of the program developed by the commission pursuant to Section 25731 and the eligibility requirements established by the commission pursuant to Section 25732.
(b) A detailed update regarding the status of the construction, development, permitting, and operation of the project.
(c) If feasible based on available
data, an analysis of both of the following:
(1) The effectiveness of the project at capturing and decreasing carbon dioxide emissions from existing industrial facilities, natural gas electric generation facilities, and biomass electric generation facilities.
(2) The project’s impact on criteria air pollutants in the community or communities in which the project is located or near.
(d) An analysis of any obstacles to, or factors causing delay in, the permitting of the project, including recommendations for streamlining, expediting, and increasing the efficiency of the permitting process for carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects based on that analysis.
25736.
(a) Any state agency that establishes, on or after January 1, 2023, a grant program for carbon capture, utilization, or sequestration projects shall maximize available federal funding for purposes of establishing, implementing, and administering that grant program.(b) Pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission shall maximize available federal funding for purposes of establishing, implementing, and administering the program.