Directs the public service commission to adopt rules and regulations requiring electric corporations to develop and utilize clean energy technologies which annually reduce the pollution generated; establishes fines for failure to comply with such rules and regulations; such provisions shall apply to the power authority of the state of New York and the Long Island power authority.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
976
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 8, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, COLTON, ORTIZ -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. CAHILL, COOK, HOOPER, PERRY -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Energy
AN ACT to amend the public service law and the public authorities law,
in relation to clean energy development
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section
2 66-o to read as follows:
3 § 66-o. Clean energy development. 1. For the purposes of this section,
4 the following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "Clean energy" means electric energy supplied to consumers through
6 a transmission or distribution system using clean energy technologies.
7 (b) "Clean energy technologies" means electricity generation technolo-
8 gies that produce electricity using solar thermal energy, photovoltaics,
9 wind, fuel cells, geothermal, methane waste and sustainably managed
10 biomass and thermal energy produced by solar technologies and thermal
11 energy transfer from surface water, ground water or the earth. If after
12 the effective date of this section, new energy technologies emerge that
13 were unforeseeable at the time of such effective date the commissioner
14 of environmental conservation may designate such technologies as clean
15 energy technologies based upon a finding that the air, water, ecosystem,
16 public health and waste disposal impacts of such new technologies are
17 comparable to those of the clean energy technologies otherwise listed in
18 this paragraph. Any such designation shall only take place following a
19 complete opportunity for public review and comment consistent with the
20 state administrative procedure act.
21 (c) "Load serving entity" means any person, corporation, company,
22 partnership, association, private, municipal and state utilities, or
23 other legal entity selling electric power to end-use customers.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05987-02-5
A. 976 2
1 (d) "Solid waste" shall have the same meaning as is ascribed to such
2 term pursuant to section 27-0501 of the environmental conservation law.
3 (e) "Sustainably managed biomass" means anaerobic digestion of any
4 waste or combustion of any of the following substances: captured land-
5 fill methane, secondary wood waste (which shall include only non-treated
6 wood waste and shall be limited to sawdust, wood chips and wood shavings
7 produced as by-products in the milling, processing or manufacturing of
8 wood products), woody agricultural waste and sustainable bio-crops. Such
9 term shall not include combustion or pyrolysis of solid wastes, timber,
10 forest floor sweepings and herbaceous crop residues, whether or not
11 energy is recovered therefrom.
12 2. Within twelve months of the effective date of this section, the
13 commission shall adopt clean energy rules and regulations requiring each
14 load serving entity in this state to ensure that, on or before July
15 first, two thousand seventeen no less than one-half of one percent of
16 the electric energy such entity has supplied to each customer in the
17 previous twelve month period was generated using clean energy technolo-
18 gies. The commission shall increase the required percentage of clean
19 energy required by one-half of one percent each year on July first,
20 until the amount of clean energy supplied to customers in this state
21 reaches six percent, and by one percent each year thereafter until the
22 amount of energy supplied to customers in this state reaches ten percent
23 or such later date as the commission shall determine, provided however
24 that the commission shall not decrease the required percentage of clean
25 energy required at any time.
26 3. The commission shall review electricity products sold by each load
27 serving entity in the state on a periodic basis to ensure that the
28 requirements set forth in this section are met. The commission shall
29 review its regulations and requirements for environmental disclosure
30 labels to ensure that information provided to customers concerning clean
31 energy is not confusing and to consider whether it is appropriate to
32 require all disclosure labels to indicate the minimum percentage of
33 clean energy required pursuant to this section.
34 4. A load serving entity may satisfy the requirements of this section
35 by entering into conversion transactions established pursuant to the
36 commission's environmental disclosure program or such other trading
37 program that the commission may establish. The commission shall estab-
38 lish a compliance protocol that permits load serving entities to enter
39 into conversion transactions or purchase credits for clean energy
40 supplied by load serving entities on or before the July first, two thou-
41 sand seventeen compliance date. Such program shall allow banking of
42 credits for clean energy supplied in excess of requirements for a period
43 of two years, and may allow compliance to be demonstrated within three
44 months of the end of the calendar year in order to allow for compliance
45 via the trading program.
46 5. The commission shall require any load serving entity that fails to
47 meet its obligations under this section to pay a fine to the commission
48 in an amount equal to the product of two cents and the difference
49 between kilowatt-hours of clean energy it is required to supply to each
50 customer in the previous twelve month period and the amount of clean
51 energy actually supplied or secured via purchase of credits in the trad-
52 ing program described in subdivision four of this section. The contrib-
53 ution shall be reduced to one and one-half cent four years after the
54 start of the clean energy requirement and further reduced to one cent
55 and one-half cent eight and twelve years after the start of the clean
56 energy requirement respectively.
A. 976 3
1 § 2. Section 1005 of the public authorities law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 25 to read as follows:
3 25. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, to
4 comply with the provisions of section sixty-six-o of the public service
5 law.
6 § 3. Section 1020-s of the public authorities law, as amended by chap-
7 ter 388 of the laws of 2011, is amended by adding a new subdivision 3 to
8 read as follows:
9 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the provisions
10 of section sixty-six-o of the public service law shall be applicable to
11 the authority.
12 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
