Renewable energy resources.

(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, as defined. Existing law requires every electrical corporation to file with the CPUC a standard tariff for electricity generated by an electric generation facility, as defined, that qualifies for the tariff, is owned and operated by a retail customer of the electrical corporation, and is located within the service territory of, and developed to sell electricity to, the electrical corporation. Existing law requires that, in order to qualify for the tariff, the electric generation facility: (1) have an effective capacity of not more than 3 megawatts, subject to the authority of the CPUC to reduce this megawatt limitation, (2) be interconnected and operate in parallel with the electric transmission and distribution grid, (3) be strategically located and interconnected to the electric transmission system in a manner that optimizes the deliverability of electricity generated at the facility to load centers, and (4) meet the definition of an eligible renewable energy resource under the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (RPS program) . Existing law requires that the tariff provide for payment for every kilowatthour of electricity purchased from an electric generation facility for a period of 10, 15, or 20 years, as authorized by the CPUC, and requires that the payment be the market price referent established by the CPUC pursuant to the RPS program and requires the price to include all current and anticipated environmental compliance costs. Existing decisions of the CPUC refer to a tariff adopted pursuant to these requirements as a feed-in tariff. Existing law requires a local publicly owned electric utility that sells electricity at retail to 75,000 or more customers to adopt and implement a feed-in tariff for electricity purchased from an electric generation facility meeting certain size, deliverability, and interconnection requirements and to consider certain factors. This bill would require a state agency, as defined, generating electricity from an electric generation facility that operates under a feed-in tariff adopted pursuant to these requirements, and that is owned by, operated by, or on property under the control of, the state agency, to take the total annual amount of kilowatthours exported to the grid into consideration when determining whether the state agency has achieved the policy goals and objectives established by law or executive order for the state agency. (2) Decisions of the CPUC adopted the California Solar Initiative. Existing law requires the CPUC to undertake certain steps in implementing the California Solar Initiative including the requirement that the CPUC authorize the award of monetary incentives for up to the first megawatt of alternating current generated by solar energy systems, as defined, that meet the eligibility criteria established by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) . This bill, until January 1, 2013, would require the CPUC to authorize the award of monetary incentives for up to 5 megawatts of alternating current generated by an eligible state solar energy system, as defined. The bill would require the CPUC to limit any incentives provided for eligible state solar energy systems to an aggregate of 26 megawatts of alternating current.