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Stoel Rives’ Energy Team has been monitoring and providing summaries of key energy-related bills introduced by California legislators since the beginning of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. Legislators have been busy moving bills through the legislative process since reconvening from the Summer Recess. For any bill not identified as a two-year bill, the deadline for each house to pass the bill and present it to the Governor for signature or veto was September 15, 2017. Below is a summary and status of bills we have been following.

An enrolled bill is one that has been through the proof-reading process and is sent to the Governor to take action. A two-year bill is a bill taken out of consideration during the first year of a regular legislative session, with the intent of taking it up again during the second half of the session.

  • Of particular note here is SB 100, California’s pitch for 100 percent renewable energy, failed to move to the next stage of the process and is kicked to next year.
  • Our next blog post, after October 15, will provide an update on whether those bills sent to Governor Brown were signed or vetoed.

Continue Reading Updates to Energy Related Bills in the 2017-2018 California Legislative Session

As we approach the critical September 22  vote of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) for the U.S. solar industry, here is a brief review of how we arrived at this point and what to expect.  This vote will constitute the injury determination in the ITC global safeguard investigation into the effect of imported crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) products on the U.S. domestic solar manufacturing industry.

Overview

As reported widely in the solar industry press, on August 15, 2017, the ITC in Washington D.C. conducted a public hearing for the injury phase of the trade investigation (Inv. No. 201-075) into CSPV product imports.  The hearing generated more than 400 pages of hearing transcript and thousands of pages of briefing materials and statements submitted both in support and in opposition of the need for trade protection remedies to  support the U.S. domestic solar manufacturing industry.  A public version of some hearing testimony is available here.  The stakes are high.  This investigation could lead to  increased tariffs, quotas, or both, against all U.S. imports globally of CSPV cells whether or not partially or fully assembled into other products. CSPV cells are the most common form of raw power-generating material used in solar panels.  This investigation is being conducted pursuant to U.S. trade statutes and U.S. obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) terms of the Agreement on Safeguards.
Continue Reading ITC Prepares to Vote on the Suniva/SolarWorld proceeding re Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells

Stoel Rives’ Energy Team has been monitoring and providing summaries of key energy-related bills introduced by California legislators since the beginning of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. June 2, 2017 was the deadline by which the legislature was required to pass bills out of the house of origin.  Failing to meet that deadline does not automatically prevent a bill from proceeding through the legislative process; however, such failure will prevent the bill from being considered by the full legislature or the Governor during the first half of the Legislative Session.  Below is a summary of bills we have been following that have most recently changed.  We will continue to monitor and update these energy-related bills as the legislative session proceeds.

Assembly Bills

AB 79 (Levine, D): Electrical generation: hourly greenhouse gas emissions: electricity from unspecified sources.
STATUS: Ordered to Senate June 1, 2017.

  • Initially introduced as a bill to decrease the amount energy consumed from coal-fired generation resources, AB 79 was revamped to require, by January 1, 2019, the State Air Resources Board (CARB), in consultation with the Independent System Operator (ISO), to regularly update its methodology for the calculation of emissions of greenhouse gases associated with electricity from unspecified sources. The bill would require the CPUC and the CEC to incorporate the methodology into programs addressing the disclosure of the emissions of greenhouse gases and the procurement of electricity by entities under the respective jurisdiction of each.

Continue Reading Updates to Energy Related Bills in the 2017-2018 California Legislative Session

On April 6th, the energy storage market received a boost in California when state regulators authorized $196 million in new rebates for customers who install onsite (behind the meter) energy storage systems.

Background

The change occurs under the California Self Generation Incentive Program (“SGIP”). SGIP provides a financial rebate to energy customers who install new…

In our first post, the Stoel Rives’ Energy Team provided a summary of energy related bills introduced by California legislators during the first half of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. Provided below is a summary of changes to bills we have been following, as well as a list of energy related bills not included in our previous entry. We will continue to monitor and update all energy related bills as the legislative session proceeds.

Amended Bills

AB 35 (Quirk, D): Residential and nonresidential buildings: energy savings program.  
STATUS: Introduced December 15, 2016; amended March 23, 2017.

  • AB 35 was previously drafted to require agencies implementing energy efficiency programs to establish metrics and collect and use data systematically across those programs to increase the performance of those programs in low-income communities.
     
    • As amended, AB 35 now proposes changing the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission’s program to achieve greater energy savings in California’s existing residential and nonresidential building stock by adopting an update to the program at least once every five years instead of every three years.

AB 655 (O’Donnell, D): California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.    
STATUS: Introduced February 14, 2017; amended March 23, 2017.

  • The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires the CPUC to establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, so that the total kilowatt hours of these resources sold to their retail end-use customers achieves 25 percent of retail sales by December 31, 2016, 33 percent by December 31, 2020, 40 percent by December 31, 2024, 45 percent by December 31, 2027, and 50 percent by December 31, 2030. The program additionally requires each local publicly owned electric utility, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to achieve the procurement requirements established by the program. Further, existing law provides that a facility engaged in the combustion of municipal solid waste is not an eligible renewable energy resource, except as regards to generation before January 1, 2017, from a facility located in Stanislaus County prior to September 26, 1996.
     
    • This bill would provide that a facility engaged in the transformation of municipal solid waste is an eligible renewable energy resource, and can earn renewable energy credits, if it operates, on an annual basis, at not less than 20 percent below the permitted emissions of air contaminants, or toxic air contaminants concentration limits, for the facility and the operator of the facility has reported its emissions to the applicable air pollution control district or air quality management district for a period of not less than five years, as specified.

Continue Reading Updates to Energy Related Bills in the 2017-2018 California Legislative Session

On April 4, 2017 (NextEra Desert Center Blythe, LLC v. FERC, Case No. 16-1003 (“NextEra”)), the DC Circuit issued a decision remanding back to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) orders denying NextEra Desert Center Blythe, LLC’s (“NextEra”) complaint against the California Independent System Operator Corporation (“CAISO”) regarding the allocation of congestion revenue rights (“CRRs”) under the CAISO tariff. The DC Circuit’s ruling was narrow, based on finding ambiguity in the relevant contract and tariff provisions where FERC determined there was none. The court’s decision highlights the importance of addressing potential regulatory cost recovery options in a FERC-jurisdictional contract.
Continue Reading Generator Receives Another Shot at Obtaining CAISO Congestion Revenue Rights

If you’re looking for a new cleantech startup idea, the San Diego Regional Energy Innovation Network (SD-REIN) recently released a report that identifies cleantech market opportunities in the Southern California region.

The report, entitled “Regional Energy Technology Priorities and Needs,” was presented at an SD-REIN meeting on March 9, 2017. It will be…

Wyoming has one of the nation’s best wind resources.  But if a contingent of state senators and representatives there have their way, electric utilities located in the state will be slapped on the wrist for using it (or other renewables, for that matter).  Senate File 71, which has been introduced in the Wyoming State Senate…

With a goal to spur wind and solar development on public lands, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is expected to soon release a new rule that will streamline approval of new renewable energy projects.

First proposed for advance notice and comment in 2011, the rule would amend BLM regulations at 43 C.F.R. §§ 2800…

Minnesota Power released a Request for Proposals (RFP) yesterday for up to 300 MW of wind generation, with proposals due by September 7, 2016. A copy of the RFP and additional details are available at http://www.mnpower.com/Company/PowerSupplyRFP. Minnesota Power also filed its press release with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC).

Minnesota Power will also…