Biomass electrical generation facilities: contract extension requirements.

Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities are under the direction of their governing boards. Existing law requires electrical corporations, by December 1, 2016, to procure, through financial commitments of 5 years, their proportionate shares of 125 megawatts of cumulative rated generating capacity from bioenergy projects commencing operation prior to June 1, 2013, that each produces its generation using specified minimum percentages of certain types of forest feedstock. Pursuant to this requirement, the commission has adopted resolutions establishing fuel or feedstock procurement requirements for generation from bioenergy projects intended to reduce wildfire risks that are applicable to the state's 3 largest electrical corporations. Existing law additionally requires local publicly owned electric utilities serving more than 100,000 customers to procure their proportionate shares of 125 megawatts of cumulative rated generating capacity from those kinds of bioenergy projects subject to terms of at least 5 years. Existing law requires an electrical corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, or community choice aggregator with a contract to procure electricity generated from biomass pursuant to statutory requirements or commission resolutions, that is operative at any time in 2018, and expires or expired on or before December 31, 2023, to seek to amend the contract to include, or seek approval for a new contract that includes, an expiration date 5 years later than the expiration date in the contract that was operative in 2018, so long as the contract extension follows the feedstock requirements and sources fuel material in California. Existing law exempts biomass facilities located in federal severe or extreme nonattainment areas for particulate matter or ozone from these requirements. This bill would repeal the exemption from these contract extension requirements for biomass facilities located in federal severe or extreme nonattainment areas for particulate matter or ozone.