Enacts the clean energy investment act of 2019 to promote energy efficiency, energy conservation and the installation of clean energy technologies; reduce energy consumption and energy costs; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; support sustainable community development; and create local New York job opportunities in the energy fields of tomorrow.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3593
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 11, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni-
cations
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law and the environmental conser-
vation law, in relation to emission allowance programs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "clean
2 energy investment act of 2019".
3 § 2. Legislative intent. It is the intent of this legislation to:
4 1. promote energy efficiency, energy conservation and the installation
5 of renewable energy technologies;
6 2. reduce energy consumption and energy costs;
7 3. reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
8 4. support sustainable community development; and
9 5. create local New York job opportunities in the energy fields of
10 tomorrow.
11 § 3. Subdivision 18 of section 1854 of the public authorities law, as
12 added by chapter 488 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
13 18. Emission allowance programs. (a) To continue to receive from the
14 department of environmental conservation or other regulatory authority
15 or agency, and to make available for sale or auction, emission or envi-
16 ronmental allowances or credits, however denominated; to use the
17 proceeds of such sales to promote the purposes of the programs under
18 which the emissions or environmental allowances or credits were
19 received, including, but not limited to, promoting and implementing
20 programs for energy efficiency, renewable or non-carbon emitting tech-
21 nologies, innovative carbon emissions abatement technologies, reducing
22 greenhouse gas emissions in the power sector, and other programs to
23 benefit consumers and the public; and to enter into agreements and
24 understandings with any entity to assist the authority in carrying out
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09568-01-9
S. 3593 2
1 the purposes of the programs. The authority shall amend or adopt such
2 rules and regulations as necessary to accomplish the purposes of this
3 subdivision.
4 (b) To provide for the deposit of all or a portion of the proceeds
5 collected by the authority from the auction or sale of emission allow-
6 ances allocated by the department of environmental conservation to the
7 authority pursuant to regulations adopted by the department of environ-
8 mental conservation to a green jobs-green New York fund to be estab-
9 lished in the custody of the commissioner of taxation and finance. The
10 monies in such fund shall be available for the green jobs-green New York
11 program pursuant to title nine-A of this article [eight of this chap-
12 ter].
13 § 4. (a) Should the emissions cap established under part 242 of title
14 6 of the New York code, rules and regulations be lowered in such a
15 manner that results in increased proceeds associated with the sale or
16 auction of emission allowances subject to such part, for fiscal years
17 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, the New York state energy research
18 and development authority shall allocate all proceeds in excess of
19 sixty-six million dollars per fiscal year collected from such auction or
20 sale for energy efficiency programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
21 Energy efficiency programs may include, but shall not be limited to: (1)
22 efficiency and load management programs; (2) demand response programs;
23 (3) programs for research, development and commercialization of products
24 of processes which are more energy-efficient than those generally avail-
25 able; (4) programs for development of markets for such products and
26 processes, including recommendations for new appliance and product effi-
27 ciency standards; (5) programs providing support for energy use assess-
28 ment, real time monitoring systems, engineering studies and services
29 related to new construction or major building renovation, including
30 integration of such assessments, systems, studies and services with
31 building energy codes programs and processes, or those regarding the
32 development of high performance or sustainable buildings that exceed
33 code; (6) programs for the design, manufacture, commercialization and
34 purchase of energy-efficient appliances and heating, air conditioning
35 and lighting devices; (7) programs for planning and evaluation; (8)
36 programs providing commercial, industrial and institutional customers
37 with greater flexibility and control over demand side investments funded
38 by the programs at their facilities; and (9) programs for public educa-
39 tion regarding energy efficiency and demand management; provided, howev-
40 er, that not more than 10 percent of such funds shall be expended for
41 paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subdivision collectively.
42 (b) For each fiscal year thereafter, such authority shall allocate all
43 proceeds collected from such auction or sale of such allowances allo-
44 cated by the department of environmental conservation as follows: (1) at
45 least seventy percent of such proceeds for energy efficiency and innova-
46 tive carbon abatement programs approved by such authority's members; and
47 (2) up to thirty percent of such proceeds for programs to reduce green-
48 house gas emissions in the power sector through the development and
49 installation of renewable electricity generation.
50 § 5. Section 19-0301 of the environmental conservation law is amended
51 by adding a new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
52 6. In addition to existing authority for the regulation of greenhouse
53 gas emissions, including through the establishment of a market-based,
54 multi-state emission allowance trading program with mechanisms for the
55 auctioning of emission allowances and the setting of a reserve price,
S. 3593 3
1 provided in this article and articles one and three of this chapter, the
2 department shall:
3 a. in cooperation with the department of public service and the New
4 York state energy research and development authority, amend part 242 of
5 title 6 of the New York code, rules and regulations to, in a manner that
6 is consistent with federal law, cover electricity imported into the
7 state, regulate by the imposition of equivalent fees on the carbon
8 intensity of electricity imported into the state, or otherwise, to the
9 extent deemed necessary, maintain the environmental integrity of the
10 multi-state program in which the state participates that was established
11 as a means of reducing emissions from electric generating facilities as
12 provided in such part 242;
13 b. amend part 242 of title 6 of the New York code, rules and regu-
14 lations, to reduce New York's allowance allocations in an amount that
15 would be consistent with its allowance under a regional cap of eighty-
16 five million tons;
17 c. require that at the end of each compliance period all unsold allow-
18 ances be retired;
19 d. link with other jurisdictional programs; and
20 e. increase the reserve price to ten dollars per allowance and estab-
21 lish a cost containment ceiling price for the sale or auction of emis-
22 sion allowances, as deemed appropriate by the department.
23 § 6. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
24 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
25 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
26 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
27 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
28 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
29 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
30 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
31 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
32 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
