SB 1122: Bioenergy Feed-in Tariff

Background:

In September 2012, Gov. Brown signed SB 1122 (Rubio, 2012) into law, requiring an incremental 250 MW of renewable Feed-in Tariff (FIT) procurement from small-scale bioenergy projects that commence operation on or after June 1, 2013.

The statute requires that each of California’s three large investor owned utilities (PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E) must procure a share of the statute’s 250 MW requirement based on the ratio of each utility’s peak demand to statewide peak demand. Additionally, the statute orders the CPUC to allocate the 250 MW procurement requirement among the following categories:

(i)  For biogas from wastewater treatment, municipal organic waste diversion, food processing, and codigestion, 110 megawatts.

(ii) For dairy and other agricultural bioenergy, 90 megawatts.

(iii) For bioenergy using byproducts of sustainable forest management, 50 megawatts.

Current Status:

The CPUC is currently in the process of implementing SB 1122. Check back soon for more information about procedural next steps.

Earlier in 2013, Energy Division staff launched an informal process to engage the public and the bioenergy industry to better inform its efforts to assist in SB 1122 implementation. Energy Division worked with consulting firm Black & Veatch to develop a draft study titled, “Small-Scale Bioenergy: resource potential, costs, and feed-in tariff implementation assessment.” That study was released earlier this year, followed by a public workshop to review the draft and solicit feedback and input from the market.