Decarbonized gaseous fuels., the official text

An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 43875) to Chapter 4 of Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to air resources.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law regulates the emission of air contaminants, including the oxides of nitrogen, into the atmosphere. Existing law generally vests regulatory jurisdiction over stationary sources of air pollution to the air pollution control districts and air quality management districts and regulatory jurisdiction over mobile sources of air pollution to the State Air Resources Board.
This bill would require, on or before December 31, 2029, the state board to conduct an assessment of the amount of decarbonized gaseous fuels that will be needed to decarbonize hard-to-electrify end uses and maintain reliability in the electricity sector and to post the assessment on its internet website. The bill would require the assessment to include an assessment of the need for decarbonized gaseous fuels for each hard-to-electrify end use, as defined. The bill would require the state board, in assessing the policies and incentives, to consider, among other things, how to incentivize the increased production and use of decarbonized gas in California and how to maximize the benefits of decarbonized gas production and use in California, as provided.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Article 7 (commencing with Section 43875) is added to Chapter 4 of Part 5 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
7.
Decarbonized Gaseous Fuels43875.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) To meet California’s climate targets, all sectors of the economy will need to decarbonize.
(b) While California has made significant progress increasing the use of renewable electricity and low-carbon transportation fuels, little progress has been made to decarbonize hard-to-electrify sectors of the economy.
(c) California has increased the procurement of renewable electricity substantially since the first renewables portfolio standard was enacted, but has only reduced natural gas used for electricity generation by 3 percent and has seen a rapid increase in diesel backup generators for electricity reliability.
(d) In California, hard-to-electrify sectors and fossil fuels used for electricity reliability together contribute more than one-third of California’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
(e) Decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors and the electricity sector itself will require the production and use of decarbonized gas, sustainable aviation and shipping fuels, and other decarbonized fuels.
(f) The 2022 climate change scoping plan calls for significant increases in the production and use of decarbonized hydrogen and bioenergy to decarbonize hard-to-electrify end uses and provide carbon negative emissions needed to reach the state’s goal of carbon neutrality by midcentury.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature to develop additional policies and incentives to accelerate the production and use of decarbonized gas in California.
(h) Increasing the production and use of decarbonized gas in California may help protect public health by reducing air and water pollution from fossil fuels, especially the particulate matter and toxic air contaminant emissions from diesel.
(i) Increasing the production of decarbonized fuels generated from organic waste in California may also help to mitigate wildfires, meet the landfill diversion requirements of Section 39730.6, and meet the methane and black carbon reduction requirements of Section 39730.5.

43875.1.
(a) On or before December 31, 2029, the state board shall conduct an assessment of the amount of decarbonized gaseous fuels that will be needed to decarbonize hard-to-electrify end uses and maintain reliability in the electricity sector, and shall post that assessment on its internet website. That assessment shall include all of the following:
(1) An assessment of the need for, and economic viability of, decarbonized gaseous fuels for each hard-to-electrify end use.
(2) An assessment of the need for, and cost associated with, decarbonized gaseous fuels for electricity reliability and resilience.
(3) An assessment of current and potential policies and incentives to accelerate the production and use of decarbonized gaseous fuels in California.
(4) An assessment of opportunities for, and economic viability of, using agricultural and forest residues to help decarbonize hard-to-electrify end uses.
(b) In assessing the policies and incentives described in subdivision (a), the state board shall consider all of the following:
(1) Whether the policies necessary to decarbonize hard-to-electrify end uses and to maintain electricity reliability are consistent with the carbon reductions in the 2022 and 2027 scoping plans.
(2) How to incentivize the increased production and use of decarbonized gas in California.
(3) How to maximize the benefits of decarbonized gas production and use in California, including, but not limited to, opportunities to mitigate wildfire, reduce pile burning of forest and agricultural residues, reduce landfill waste, use renewable energy that may otherwise be curtailed, and create jobs and economic development in the state.
(4) Policies to ensure that decarbonized gases are displacing fossil fuel use.
(5) The cost implications and economic impacts of using alternatives to fossil gas for both impacted businesses and end-use consumers.
(c) For purposes of this section, “hard-to-electrify end uses” means those end uses, except onroad transportation, that cannot technically, economically, or practically convert to electricity due to their need for high heat, high energy density, or other operational factors. The state board shall identify hard-to-electrify end uses with the highest potential to achieve emissions reductions using decarbonized gaseous fuels.