Bill Text: NY A06214 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes that electric generating facilities that use biomass for more than 50% of its annual heat input shall not be required to obtain carbon dioxide allowances for carbon dioxide emissions attributable to the burning of biomass under the carbon dioxide budget trading program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-27 - referred to energy [A06214 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A06214-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6214 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 27, 2017 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MOYA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Energy AN ACT to amend the public service law, the public authorities law, and the environmental conservation law, in relation to biomass-fired elec- tric generating facilities subject to the regional greenhouse gas initiative and the CO2 budget trading program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and 2 declares that it is in the economic and environmental interests of the 3 citizens of the state of New York to support and encourage renewable 4 energy generation through the conversion of coal-fired electric generat- 5 ing facilities to biomass-fired facilities. The combustion of biomass 6 offers a sustainable and manageable carbon lifecycle since the materials 7 included in biomass generally absorb atmospheric carbon during their 8 lifecycle and then return it to the atmosphere during combustion. This 9 process mimics the natural lifecycle of plant life that can fall to the 10 forest floor, decompose and return its carbon to the atmosphere. 11 The legislature further finds and declares that biomass production 12 facilities support and sustain jobs, particularly in upstate New York, 13 where more than four thousand people are employed directly or indirectly 14 by the industry. In fact, many of the largest and most successful biom- 15 ass facilities are located in parts of New York state that have high 16 unemployment and are in desperate need of economic development. New York 17 state also possesses an abundance of biomass fuel due to the large 18 amount of untapped forest and agricultural land where biomass fuel can 19 be collected. Biomass is the equivalent of solar energy stored in organ- 20 ic matter and is environmentally friendly while costing around one third 21 of the cost of fossil fuels. 22 As such, to the extent that operators of electric generating facili- 23 ties in New York state are willing to convert formerly coal-fired facil- 24 ities (boilers, combustion turbines, or combined cycle systems) to 25 instead be fueled by biomass, state policy should encourage and support 26 such conversions rather than discourage them. While new biomass-fired EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07123-01-7A. 6214 2 1 electric generating facilities are not required to acquire CO2 allow- 2 ances under the regulations implementing the Regional Greenhouse Gas 3 Initiative (RGGI) in New York state, former coal-fired facilities that 4 convert to combusting biomass are still subject to RGGI's requirements 5 under existing regulations, which effectively discourages such conver- 6 sions. To remedy this situation, and consistent with the intent of RGGI 7 to encourage more renewable energy generation, the legislature declares 8 that formerly coal-fired electric generating facilities that convert to 9 primarily biomass-fired facilities shall be treated in the same manner 10 as a new biomass facility under the RGGI regulations. 11 § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 73 to 12 read as follows: 13 § 73. Cooperation with the New York state energy research and develop- 14 ment authority and the department of environmental conservation. The 15 department shall cooperate with the New York state energy research and 16 development authority and the department of environmental conservation 17 in the implementation of subdivision four of section 19-0312 of the 18 environmental conservation law relating to electric generating facili- 19 ties that are subject to the CO2 budget trading program (6 NYCRR Part 20 242) established by the department of environmental conservation in 21 connection with the regional greenhouse gas initiative. 22 § 3. Section 1854 of the public authorities law is amended by adding a 23 new subdivision 22 to read as follows: 24 22. Cooperation with the department of environmental conservation and 25 the department of public service. The authority shall cooperate with the 26 department of environmental conservation and the department of public 27 service in the implementation of subdivision four of section 19-0312 of 28 the environmental conservation law relating to electric generating 29 facilities that are subject to the CO2 budget trading program (6 NYCRR 30 Part 242) established by the department of environmental conservation in 31 connection with the regional greenhouse gas initiative. 32 § 4. Section 19-0312 of the environmental conservation law is amended 33 by adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows: 34 4. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation or policy to the contra- 35 ry, an electric generating facility including any boiler, combustion 36 turbine or combination cycle system, that a. was formerly fossil fuel- 37 fired due to the use of coal as its primary fuel, 38 b. is no longer authorized to combust coal under its air title V 39 facility permit issued by the department pursuant to 6 NYCRR subpart 40 201-6, 41 c. uses eligible biomass for more than fifty percent of its annual 42 heat input, and 43 d. uses fossil fuel for less than five percent of its annual heat 44 input, shall not be defined as fossil fuel-fired under the CO2 budget 45 trading program (6 NYCRR Part 242). For the purposes of this subdivi- 46 sion: 47 "Boiler", "combustion turbine", "combined cycle system", "eligible 48 biomass" and "fossil fuel" shall have the same meanings as ascribed to 49 such terms in 6 NYCRR § 242-1.2. 50 § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 51 have become a law and shall apply to all control periods commencing on 52 or after January 1, 2012; provided however, that effective immediately 53 the department of environmental conservation is authorized and directed 54 to amend, revise and/or repeal any rule, regulation or policy necessary 55 for the implementation of this act on or before such effective date.
