41600. (a) The districts shall provide for, and shall periodically
revise as appropriate, the growth allowances necessary to accommodate
the net air quality impact, if any, of cogeneration technology
projects and resource recovery projects permitted pursuant to Section
42314, so that state and federal ambient air quality standards may
be achieved and maintained or that reasonable further progress be
made toward attainment.
(b) If appropriate, the districts shall submit to the state board,
for inclusion in the next state implementation plan revisions, the
necessary control measures for the growth allowances for federally
approved nonattainment pollutants and precursors required by
subdivision (a).
(c) Any district that lacks a federally approved demonstration of
attainment with the national ambient air quality standard for ozone
or nitrogen dioxide is not required to provide a growth allowance for
any pollutant under this section until two years after the district
makes both demonstrations. Federal approval shall be determined,
based on regulations adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency,
after public notice and opportunity for comment. After a district
demonstrates attainment, the district may establish a growth
allowance by allocating an air quality increment within the ambient
air quality standard or through adoption of further control measures.
41605. (a) The districts, in cooperation with the state board,
shall develop, adopt, and update, as necessary, a procedure to
determine the magnitude of the emissions from the existing electric
generating system in the air basin which would be displaced if
cogeneration technology projects and qualifying facilities were
constructed. The procedure shall be used once each year to determine
the utility displacement credits which shall be used in reviewing the
permit applications for new cogeneration technology projects and
qualifying facilities during the following year, and shall ensure
that the credits are real, permanent, quantifiable, enforceable, and
surplus.
(b) A district may reduce the emission offset requirement for a
cogeneration technology project or qualifying facility by the utility
displacement credits determined pursuant to subdivision (a). In all
cases in which a cogeneration technology project or qualifying
facility satisfies subdivision (c), a district shall reduce the
offset requirement for the project or facility by the utility
displacement credits determined pursuant to subdivision (a). A
district shall allocate at least 90 percent of the pounds of
emissions available in the form of utility displacement credits to
projects and facilities which satisfy the requirements of subdivision
(c).
(c) Utility displacement credits shall be granted to cogeneration
technology projects and qualifying facilities for those pollutants
for which net project or facility emissions, after offsets provided
pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a) of Section
42314, are lower, on a pounds of pollutant per unit of energy
produced basis, than the emissions which would be generated by the
fossil-fuel fired existing electric generating system in the air
basin in the absence of the project or facility.
(d) Utility displacement credits shall be credited to a project or
facility only to the extent necessary to satisfy district offset
requirements, and only after credit has been granted for offsets
provided pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a) of
Section 42314.
(e) The cogeneration technology project or qualifying facility
proponent, and the owner or operator of the purchasing utility, shall
provide to the state board or the district, as the case may be, the
information not publicly available from state or local agencies which
is necessary to make the determinations required by this section.
The information shall include, but is not limited to, all of the
following:
(1) Emission source test data.
(2) Chronological fuel use data.
(3) Chronological electric load data.
(f) In providing the utility displacement credits required by this
section, and for purposes of this section only, the utility, if not
an applicant, shall not be required to furnish emission offsets on a
case-by-case basis for the project. This section does not permit a
district on a case-by-case basis to limit the ability of the utility
to operate its existing hydrocarbon combustion facilities in
accordance with the requirements of the Public Utilities Commission
or the governing body of a public utility owned by a municipality or
other political subdivision of the state.
41605.5. (a) In considering the offset requirement for a project
facility which utilizes agricultural waste products, forest waste
products, or similar organic wastes as biomass fuel in a steam
generator (boiler), to produce electrical energy, or to be used as a
digester feedstock in a cogeneration facility, the district shall
include the incremental emissions benefit that occurs because those
wastes are not disposed of by open field burning or by forest land
burning if the biomass fuel would ordinarily or otherwise be burned
in that manner in the same air basin. The emissions credit shall be
offset at a ratio of 1.2 to 1 for nonattainment pollutants if within
15 miles, and at a ratio of 2 to 1 if further than 15 miles within
the same air basin.
(b) The districts and the state board, in cooperation, shall
develop and, on or before July 1, 1988, and at least once every two
years thereafter, reevaluate a procedure to determine the
availability and magnitude of the offsets resulting from the
incremental emissions benefits, including an accounting of the
quantity of biomass material credits calculated for purposes of
Section 42314.5 as necessary to ensure that state and federal ambient
air quality standards may be achieved and maintained, or that
reasonable further progress be made toward attainment.
(c) The applicant shall provide the state board or a district, as
the case may be, the information not publicly available from state or
local agencies which is necessary to make the determinations
required by this section. The information shall include, but is not
limited to, the following:
(1) The quality of fuel or waste to be burned or used in the
facility.
(2) The type of fuel or waste to be burned or used in the
facility.
(3) The source of the fuel or waste to be burned or used in the
facility.
41606. (a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to reduce air
pollution from open field burning in the state and to improve air
quality and protect the public health through new incentives for
biomass facilities to increase their use of agricultural waste that
would otherwise be burned in open fields in the state.
(2) It is the further intent of the Legislature that the initial
incentives paid pursuant to this section provide an effective
incentive for the use of qualified agricultural biomass purchased
from July 1, 2003, through December 31, 2003, inclusive, in order to
maximize air quality benefits during the 2003-04 fiscal year.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Qualified agricultural biomass" means agricultural residues
that are purchased after July 1, 2003, that historically have been
open-field burned in the jurisdiction of the air district from which
the agricultural residues are derived, as determined by the air
district, excluding urban and forest wood products, that include
either of the following:
(A) Field and seed crop residues, including, but not limited to,
straws from rice and wheat.
(B) Fruit and nut crop residues, including, but not limited to,
orchard and vineyard pruning and removals.
(2) "Facility" means any facility located in California that meets
all of the following criteria:
(A) As of July 1, 2003, converted and continues to convert
qualified agricultural biomass to energy.
(B) Is permitted with best available control technology to reduce
emissions, has emissions control equipment in good working order, and
is in compliance with its operating permit, as determined by the air
pollution control district or air quality management district in
which the facility operates.
(C) Demonstrates a significant net increase in utilization of
qualified agricultural biomass as compared to usage without grant
moneys pursuant to this section. A "significant net increase" means
an increase of at least 10 percent in purchases of qualified
agricultural biomass above the average annual tonnage purchased by
the facility in the previous five years of operation prior to the
implementation of the Agricultural Biomass-to-Energy Incentive Grant
Program pursuant to former Part 3 (commencing with Section 1101) of
Division 1 of the Food and Agricultural Code, as repealed by the act
adding this section.
(c) (1) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission shall, upon determining that a facility is eligible for
funding, provide incentives to the facility, consistent with this
section.
(2) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission shall complete the issuance of incentive payments for
qualified agricultural biomass purchased from July 1, 2003, through
December 31, 2003, inclusive, within 90 days of the effective date of
this section.
(3) In providing incentives pursuant to this section, the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission shall
provide incentive payments in the amount of ten dollars ($10) for
each ton of qualified agricultural biomass received by a facility and
converted into energy. The State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission may increase the incentive payment for types
or sources of qualified agricultural biomass that require greater
incentives to achieve meaningful increases in usage by facilities, as
determined by the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the receipt of
incentives pursuant to this section does not make a facility
ineligible for any other production subsidy, rebate, buydown, or
other incentive funded through electricity surcharges, except that
receipt of incentives funded through electricity surcharges shall
preclude receipt of biomass-to-energy incentives financed by the
General Fund.
(5) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission, in consultation with the California Environmental
Protection Agency, may adopt guidelines governing the incentives
authorized under this section at a publicly noticed meeting offering
all interested parties an opportunity to comment. Substantive changes
to the guidelines may not be adopted without at least 10 days'
written notice to the public. The public notice of meetings required
by this paragraph may not be less than 30 days. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, any guidelines adopted pursuant to this
section shall be exempt from the requirements of Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. Adoption of guidelines shall not delay the timing of
the payment of incentives that are required by paragraph (2).
(6) Awards made pursuant to this section are grants, subject to
appeal to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission upon a showing that factors other than those contained in
this section, and any guidelines adopted pursuant to this section,
were a substantial factor in making the award. Any actions taken by
an applicant to apply for, become, or remain eligible for an award,
shall not be the rendering of goods, services, or a direct benefit to
the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
(d) Facilities receiving incentive payments pursuant to this
section are not eligible to receive emission reduction credits for
any qualified agricultural biomass for which a facility has received
an incentive payment. Generators or suppliers of qualified
agricultural biomass may not receive emission reduction credits for
any qualified agricultural biomass for which a facility has received
an incentive payment. For purposes of this section, "emission
reduction credits" means a credit for a reduction in the emission of
an air contaminant that is banked and is available to offset
increases in emissions pursuant to Section 40709, and the regulations
adopted pursuant to that section.
41600. (a) The districts shall provide for, and shall periodically
revise as appropriate, the growth allowances necessary to accommodate
the net air quality impact, if any, of cogeneration technology
projects and resource recovery projects permitted pursuant to Section
42314, so that state and federal ambient air quality standards may
be achieved and maintained or that reasonable further progress be
made toward attainment.
(b) If appropriate, the districts shall submit to the state board,
for inclusion in the next state implementation plan revisions, the
necessary control measures for the growth allowances for federally
approved nonattainment pollutants and precursors required by
subdivision (a).
(c) Any district that lacks a federally approved demonstration of
attainment with the national ambient air quality standard for ozone
or nitrogen dioxide is not required to provide a growth allowance for
any pollutant under this section until two years after the district
makes both demonstrations. Federal approval shall be determined,
based on regulations adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency,
after public notice and opportunity for comment. After a district
demonstrates attainment, the district may establish a growth
allowance by allocating an air quality increment within the ambient
air quality standard or through adoption of further control measures.
41605. (a) The districts, in cooperation with the state board,
shall develop, adopt, and update, as necessary, a procedure to
determine the magnitude of the emissions from the existing electric
generating system in the air basin which would be displaced if
cogeneration technology projects and qualifying facilities were
constructed. The procedure shall be used once each year to determine
the utility displacement credits which shall be used in reviewing the
permit applications for new cogeneration technology projects and
qualifying facilities during the following year, and shall ensure
that the credits are real, permanent, quantifiable, enforceable, and
surplus.
(b) A district may reduce the emission offset requirement for a
cogeneration technology project or qualifying facility by the utility
displacement credits determined pursuant to subdivision (a). In all
cases in which a cogeneration technology project or qualifying
facility satisfies subdivision (c), a district shall reduce the
offset requirement for the project or facility by the utility
displacement credits determined pursuant to subdivision (a). A
district shall allocate at least 90 percent of the pounds of
emissions available in the form of utility displacement credits to
projects and facilities which satisfy the requirements of subdivision
(c).
(c) Utility displacement credits shall be granted to cogeneration
technology projects and qualifying facilities for those pollutants
for which net project or facility emissions, after offsets provided
pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a) of Section
42314, are lower, on a pounds of pollutant per unit of energy
produced basis, than the emissions which would be generated by the
fossil-fuel fired existing electric generating system in the air
basin in the absence of the project or facility.
(d) Utility displacement credits shall be credited to a project or
facility only to the extent necessary to satisfy district offset
requirements, and only after credit has been granted for offsets
provided pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a) of
Section 42314.
(e) The cogeneration technology project or qualifying facility
proponent, and the owner or operator of the purchasing utility, shall
provide to the state board or the district, as the case may be, the
information not publicly available from state or local agencies which
is necessary to make the determinations required by this section.
The information shall include, but is not limited to, all of the
following:
(1) Emission source test data.
(2) Chronological fuel use data.
(3) Chronological electric load data.
(f) In providing the utility displacement credits required by this
section, and for purposes of this section only, the utility, if not
an applicant, shall not be required to furnish emission offsets on a
case-by-case basis for the project. This section does not permit a
district on a case-by-case basis to limit the ability of the utility
to operate its existing hydrocarbon combustion facilities in
accordance with the requirements of the Public Utilities Commission
or the governing body of a public utility owned by a municipality or
other political subdivision of the state.
41605.5. (a) In considering the offset requirement for a project
facility which utilizes agricultural waste products, forest waste
products, or similar organic wastes as biomass fuel in a steam
generator (boiler), to produce electrical energy, or to be used as a
digester feedstock in a cogeneration facility, the district shall
include the incremental emissions benefit that occurs because those
wastes are not disposed of by open field burning or by forest land
burning if the biomass fuel would ordinarily or otherwise be burned
in that manner in the same air basin. The emissions credit shall be
offset at a ratio of 1.2 to 1 for nonattainment pollutants if within
15 miles, and at a ratio of 2 to 1 if further than 15 miles within
the same air basin.
(b) The districts and the state board, in cooperation, shall
develop and, on or before July 1, 1988, and at least once every two
years thereafter, reevaluate a procedure to determine the
availability and magnitude of the offsets resulting from the
incremental emissions benefits, including an accounting of the
quantity of biomass material credits calculated for purposes of
Section 42314.5 as necessary to ensure that state and federal ambient
air quality standards may be achieved and maintained, or that
reasonable further progress be made toward attainment.
(c) The applicant shall provide the state board or a district, as
the case may be, the information not publicly available from state or
local agencies which is necessary to make the determinations
required by this section. The information shall include, but is not
limited to, the following:
(1) The quality of fuel or waste to be burned or used in the
facility.
(2) The type of fuel or waste to be burned or used in the
facility.
(3) The source of the fuel or waste to be burned or used in the
facility.
41606. (a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to reduce air
pollution from open field burning in the state and to improve air
quality and protect the public health through new incentives for
biomass facilities to increase their use of agricultural waste that
would otherwise be burned in open fields in the state.
(2) It is the further intent of the Legislature that the initial
incentives paid pursuant to this section provide an effective
incentive for the use of qualified agricultural biomass purchased
from July 1, 2003, through December 31, 2003, inclusive, in order to
maximize air quality benefits during the 2003-04 fiscal year.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Qualified agricultural biomass" means agricultural residues
that are purchased after July 1, 2003, that historically have been
open-field burned in the jurisdiction of the air district from which
the agricultural residues are derived, as determined by the air
district, excluding urban and forest wood products, that include
either of the following:
(A) Field and seed crop residues, including, but not limited to,
straws from rice and wheat.
(B) Fruit and nut crop residues, including, but not limited to,
orchard and vineyard pruning and removals.
(2) "Facility" means any facility located in California that meets
all of the following criteria:
(A) As of July 1, 2003, converted and continues to convert
qualified agricultural biomass to energy.
(B) Is permitted with best available control technology to reduce
emissions, has emissions control equipment in good working order, and
is in compliance with its operating permit, as determined by the air
pollution control district or air quality management district in
which the facility operates.
(C) Demonstrates a significant net increase in utilization of
qualified agricultural biomass as compared to usage without grant
moneys pursuant to this section. A "significant net increase" means
an increase of at least 10 percent in purchases of qualified
agricultural biomass above the average annual tonnage purchased by
the facility in the previous five years of operation prior to the
implementation of the Agricultural Biomass-to-Energy Incentive Grant
Program pursuant to former Part 3 (commencing with Section 1101) of
Division 1 of the Food and Agricultural Code, as repealed by the act
adding this section.
(c) (1) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission shall, upon determining that a facility is eligible for
funding, provide incentives to the facility, consistent with this
section.
(2) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission shall complete the issuance of incentive payments for
qualified agricultural biomass purchased from July 1, 2003, through
December 31, 2003, inclusive, within 90 days of the effective date of
this section.
(3) In providing incentives pursuant to this section, the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission shall
provide incentive payments in the amount of ten dollars ($10) for
each ton of qualified agricultural biomass received by a facility and
converted into energy. The State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission may increase the incentive payment for types
or sources of qualified agricultural biomass that require greater
incentives to achieve meaningful increases in usage by facilities, as
determined by the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the receipt of
incentives pursuant to this section does not make a facility
ineligible for any other production subsidy, rebate, buydown, or
other incentive funded through electricity surcharges, except that
receipt of incentives funded through electricity surcharges shall
preclude receipt of biomass-to-energy incentives financed by the
General Fund.
(5) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission, in consultation with the California Environmental
Protection Agency, may adopt guidelines governing the incentives
authorized under this section at a publicly noticed meeting offering
all interested parties an opportunity to comment. Substantive changes
to the guidelines may not be adopted without at least 10 days'
written notice to the public. The public notice of meetings required
by this paragraph may not be less than 30 days. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, any guidelines adopted pursuant to this
section shall be exempt from the requirements of Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. Adoption of guidelines shall not delay the timing of
the payment of incentives that are required by paragraph (2).
(6) Awards made pursuant to this section are grants, subject to
appeal to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission upon a showing that factors other than those contained in
this section, and any guidelines adopted pursuant to this section,
were a substantial factor in making the award. Any actions taken by
an applicant to apply for, become, or remain eligible for an award,
shall not be the rendering of goods, services, or a direct benefit to
the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
(d) Facilities receiving incentive payments pursuant to this
section are not eligible to receive emission reduction credits for
any qualified agricultural biomass for which a facility has received
an incentive payment. Generators or suppliers of qualified
agricultural biomass may not receive emission reduction credits for
any qualified agricultural biomass for which a facility has received
an incentive payment. For purposes of this section, "emission
reduction credits" means a credit for a reduction in the emission of
an air contaminant that is banked and is available to offset
increases in emissions pursuant to Section 40709, and the regulations
adopted pursuant to that section.
41600. (a) The districts shall provide for, and shall periodically
revise as appropriate, the growth allowances necessary to accommodate
the net air quality impact, if any, of cogeneration technology
projects and resource recovery projects permitted pursuant to Section
42314, so that state and federal ambient air quality standards may
be achieved and maintained or that reasonable further progress be
made toward attainment.
(b) If appropriate, the districts shall submit to the state board,
for inclusion in the next state implementation plan revisions, the
necessary control measures for the growth allowances for federally
approved nonattainment pollutants and precursors required by
subdivision (a).
(c) Any district that lacks a federally approved demonstration of
attainment with the national ambient air quality standard for ozone
or nitrogen dioxide is not required to provide a growth allowance for
any pollutant under this section until two years after the district
makes both demonstrations. Federal approval shall be determined,
based on regulations adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency,
after public notice and opportunity for comment. After a district
demonstrates attainment, the district may establish a growth
allowance by allocating an air quality increment within the ambient
air quality standard or through adoption of further control measures.
41605. (a) The districts, in cooperation with the state board,
shall develop, adopt, and update, as necessary, a procedure to
determine the magnitude of the emissions from the existing electric
generating system in the air basin which would be displaced if
cogeneration technology projects and qualifying facilities were
constructed. The procedure shall be used once each year to determine
the utility displacement credits which shall be used in reviewing the
permit applications for new cogeneration technology projects and
qualifying facilities during the following year, and shall ensure
that the credits are real, permanent, quantifiable, enforceable, and
surplus.
(b) A district may reduce the emission offset requirement for a
cogeneration technology project or qualifying facility by the utility
displacement credits determined pursuant to subdivision (a). In all
cases in which a cogeneration technology project or qualifying
facility satisfies subdivision (c), a district shall reduce the
offset requirement for the project or facility by the utility
displacement credits determined pursuant to subdivision (a). A
district shall allocate at least 90 percent of the pounds of
emissions available in the form of utility displacement credits to
projects and facilities which satisfy the requirements of subdivision
(c).
(c) Utility displacement credits shall be granted to cogeneration
technology projects and qualifying facilities for those pollutants
for which net project or facility emissions, after offsets provided
pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a) of Section
42314, are lower, on a pounds of pollutant per unit of energy
produced basis, than the emissions which would be generated by the
fossil-fuel fired existing electric generating system in the air
basin in the absence of the project or facility.
(d) Utility displacement credits shall be credited to a project or
facility only to the extent necessary to satisfy district offset
requirements, and only after credit has been granted for offsets
provided pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a) of
Section 42314.
(e) The cogeneration technology project or qualifying facility
proponent, and the owner or operator of the purchasing utility, shall
provide to the state board or the district, as the case may be, the
information not publicly available from state or local agencies which
is necessary to make the determinations required by this section.
The information shall include, but is not limited to, all of the
following:
(1) Emission source test data.
(2) Chronological fuel use data.
(3) Chronological electric load data.
(f) In providing the utility displacement credits required by this
section, and for purposes of this section only, the utility, if not
an applicant, shall not be required to furnish emission offsets on a
case-by-case basis for the project. This section does not permit a
district on a case-by-case basis to limit the ability of the utility
to operate its existing hydrocarbon combustion facilities in
accordance with the requirements of the Public Utilities Commission
or the governing body of a public utility owned by a municipality or
other political subdivision of the state.
41605.5. (a) In considering the offset requirement for a project
facility which utilizes agricultural waste products, forest waste
products, or similar organic wastes as biomass fuel in a steam
generator (boiler), to produce electrical energy, or to be used as a
digester feedstock in a cogeneration facility, the district shall
include the incremental emissions benefit that occurs because those
wastes are not disposed of by open field burning or by forest land
burning if the biomass fuel would ordinarily or otherwise be burned
in that manner in the same air basin. The emissions credit shall be
offset at a ratio of 1.2 to 1 for nonattainment pollutants if within
15 miles, and at a ratio of 2 to 1 if further than 15 miles within
the same air basin.
(b) The districts and the state board, in cooperation, shall
develop and, on or before July 1, 1988, and at least once every two
years thereafter, reevaluate a procedure to determine the
availability and magnitude of the offsets resulting from the
incremental emissions benefits, including an accounting of the
quantity of biomass material credits calculated for purposes of
Section 42314.5 as necessary to ensure that state and federal ambient
air quality standards may be achieved and maintained, or that
reasonable further progress be made toward attainment.
(c) The applicant shall provide the state board or a district, as
the case may be, the information not publicly available from state or
local agencies which is necessary to make the determinations
required by this section. The information shall include, but is not
limited to, the following:
(1) The quality of fuel or waste to be burned or used in the
facility.
(2) The type of fuel or waste to be burned or used in the
facility.
(3) The source of the fuel or waste to be burned or used in the
facility.
41606. (a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to reduce air
pollution from open field burning in the state and to improve air
quality and protect the public health through new incentives for
biomass facilities to increase their use of agricultural waste that
would otherwise be burned in open fields in the state.
(2) It is the further intent of the Legislature that the initial
incentives paid pursuant to this section provide an effective
incentive for the use of qualified agricultural biomass purchased
from July 1, 2003, through December 31, 2003, inclusive, in order to
maximize air quality benefits during the 2003-04 fiscal year.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Qualified agricultural biomass" means agricultural residues
that are purchased after July 1, 2003, that historically have been
open-field burned in the jurisdiction of the air district from which
the agricultural residues are derived, as determined by the air
district, excluding urban and forest wood products, that include
either of the following:
(A) Field and seed crop residues, including, but not limited to,
straws from rice and wheat.
(B) Fruit and nut crop residues, including, but not limited to,
orchard and vineyard pruning and removals.
(2) "Facility" means any facility located in California that meets
all of the following criteria:
(A) As of July 1, 2003, converted and continues to convert
qualified agricultural biomass to energy.
(B) Is permitted with best available control technology to reduce
emissions, has emissions control equipment in good working order, and
is in compliance with its operating permit, as determined by the air
pollution control district or air quality management district in
which the facility operates.
(C) Demonstrates a significant net increase in utilization of
qualified agricultural biomass as compared to usage without grant
moneys pursuant to this section. A "significant net increase" means
an increase of at least 10 percent in purchases of qualified
agricultural biomass above the average annual tonnage purchased by
the facility in the previous five years of operation prior to the
implementation of the Agricultural Biomass-to-Energy Incentive Grant
Program pursuant to former Part 3 (commencing with Section 1101) of
Division 1 of the Food and Agricultural Code, as repealed by the act
adding this section.
(c) (1) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission shall, upon determining that a facility is eligible for
funding, provide incentives to the facility, consistent with this
section.
(2) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission shall complete the issuance of incentive payments for
qualified agricultural biomass purchased from July 1, 2003, through
December 31, 2003, inclusive, within 90 days of the effective date of
this section.
(3) In providing incentives pursuant to this section, the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission shall
provide incentive payments in the amount of ten dollars ($10) for
each ton of qualified agricultural biomass received by a facility and
converted into energy. The State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission may increase the incentive payment for types
or sources of qualified agricultural biomass that require greater
incentives to achieve meaningful increases in usage by facilities, as
determined by the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the receipt of
incentives pursuant to this section does not make a facility
ineligible for any other production subsidy, rebate, buydown, or
other incentive funded through electricity surcharges, except that
receipt of incentives funded through electricity surcharges shall
preclude receipt of biomass-to-energy incentives financed by the
General Fund.
(5) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission, in consultation with the California Environmental
Protection Agency, may adopt guidelines governing the incentives
authorized under this section at a publicly noticed meeting offering
all interested parties an opportunity to comment. Substantive changes
to the guidelines may not be adopted without at least 10 days'
written notice to the public. The public notice of meetings required
by this paragraph may not be less than 30 days. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, any guidelines adopted pursuant to this
section shall be exempt from the requirements of Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. Adoption of guidelines shall not delay the timing of
the payment of incentives that are required by paragraph (2).
(6) Awards made pursuant to this section are grants, subject to
appeal to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission upon a showing that factors other than those contained in
this section, and any guidelines adopted pursuant to this section,
were a substantial factor in making the award. Any actions taken by
an applicant to apply for, become, or remain eligible for an award,
shall not be the rendering of goods, services, or a direct benefit to
the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
(d) Facilities receiving incentive payments pursuant to this
section are not eligible to receive emission reduction credits for
any qualified agricultural biomass for which a facility has received
an incentive payment. Generators or suppliers of qualified
agricultural biomass may not receive emission reduction credits for
any qualified agricultural biomass for which a facility has received
an incentive payment. For purposes of this section, "emission
reduction credits" means a credit for a reduction in the emission of
an air contaminant that is banked and is available to offset
increases in emissions pursuant to Section 40709, and the regulations
adopted pursuant to that section.
