SENATE BILL REPORT
SB 6559
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent. |
As Reported by Senate Committee On:
Energy, Natural Resources & Marine Waters, February 2, 2012
Title: An act relating to modifying the definition of nonpower attributes in the energy independence act.
Brief Description: Modifying the definition of nonpower attributes in the energy independence act.
Sponsors: Senators Ranker, Hargrove and Shin.
Brief History:
Committee Activity: Energy, Natural Resources & Marine Waters: 2/02/12 [DPS].
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES & MARINE WATERS |
Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6559 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.
Signed by Senators Delvin, Ranking Minority Member; Morton, Ranking Minority Member; Hargrove, Stevens and Swecker.
Staff: William Bridges (786-7416)
Background: Approved by voters in 2006, the Energy Independence Act, also known as Initiative 937 (I-937), requires electric utilities with 25,000 or more customers to meet targets for energy conservation and for using eligible renewable resources. Utilities that must comply with I-937 are called qualifying utilities.
Eligible Renewable Resource Targets and Compliance Dates. Each qualifying utility must use eligible renewable resources or acquire equivalent renewable energy credits, or a combination of both, to meet the following annual targets:
at least 3 percent of its load by January 1, 2012, and each year thereafter through December 31, 2015;
at least 9 percent of its load by January 1, 2016, and each year thereafter through December 31, 2019; and
at least 15 percent of its load by January 1, 2020, and each year thereafter.
Eligible Renewable Resource. The term eligible renewable resource includes wind, solar, geothermal energy, landfill and sewage gas, wave and tidal power, and certain biodiesel fuels. The following biomass is also classified as an eligible renewable resource: animal waste; solid organic fuels from wood, forest, or field residues; and dedicated energy crops. The following biomass is not an eligible renewable resource: wood pieces that have been treated with chemical preservatives such as creosote, pentachlorophenol, or copper-chrome-arsenic; black liquor by-product from paper production; wood from old growth forests; and municipal solid waste.
Electricity produced from an eligible renewable resource must be generated in a facility that started operating after March 31, 1999. The facility must either be located in the Pacific Northwest or the electricity from the facility must be delivered into the state on a real-time basis. Incremental electricity produced from efficiency improvements at hydropower facilities owned by qualifying utilities is also an eligible renewable resource, if the improvements were completed after March 31, 1999.
Renewable Energy Credit (REC). A REC is a tradable certificate of proof, verified by the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System, of at least one megawatt hour of an eligible renewable resource, where the generation facility is not powered by fresh water. Under I-937, a REC represents all the nonpower attributes associated with the power. RECs can be bought and sold in the marketplace, and they may be used during the year they are acquired, the previous year, or the subsequent year.
Carbon Credits. In addition to RECs, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can be traded in the marketplace. When doing so, greenhouse gases are traded according to their carbon dioxide equivalent, which is a measure of a gas's global warming potential compared to carbon dioxide. Carbon benefits that come from displacing other potential fossil fuel resources through electricity generation are included in a REC; however, carbon credits related to the removal of methane from the atmosphere can be sold separately from a REC.
Summary of Bill (Recommended Substitute): Creating a REC Exception for Digesters and Others. Facilities that capture and destroy methane through a digester system, landfill gas collection system, or other mechanism are allowed to separate their nonpower attributes into RECs and other types of carbon reduction credits, offsets, or similar tradable commodities. However, these separate avoided emissions may not result in or otherwise have the effect of attributing greenhouse gas emissions to the electricity.
EFFECT OF CHANGES MADE BY ENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES & MARINE WATERS COMMITTEE (Recommended Substitute): Clarifies that when methane is captured, no greenhouse gas emissions are added to any electricity generated from burning the methane.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 31, 2012.
Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony: None.
Persons Testifying : No one.