75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2009 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
LC 3295
 
                           A-Engrossed
 
                         House Bill 2940
                  Ordered by the House April 30
            Including House Amendments dated April 30
 
Sponsored by Representative C EDWARDS; Representative THATCHER
  (at the request of Oregon Forest Industries Council)
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure.
 
  Allows biomass electricity generating facility to comply with
renewable portfolio standard under certain conditions.
   { +  Authorizes full recovery of costs by public utilities in
prudent energy investments related to planning, financing,
construction and operation of hydrogen power stations. + }
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to renewable portfolio standards; creating new
  provisions; and amending ORS 469A.020 and 469A.025.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 469A.020 is amended to read:
  469A.020. (1) Except as provided in this section, electricity
may be used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard only if
the electricity is generated by a facility that becomes
operational on or after January 1, 1995.
  (2) Electricity from a generating facility, other than a
hydroelectric facility, that became operational before January 1,
1995, may be used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard
if the electricity is attributable to capacity or efficiency
upgrades made on or after January 1, 1995.
  (3) Electricity from a hydroelectric facility that became
operational before January 1, 1995, may be used to comply with a
renewable portfolio standard if the electricity is attributable
to efficiency upgrades made on or after January 1, 1995. If an
efficiency upgrade is made to a Bonneville Power Administration
facility, only that portion of the electricity generation
attributable to Oregon's share of the electricity may be used to
comply with a renewable portfolio standard.
  (4) Subject to the limit imposed by ORS 469A.025 (5),
electricity from a hydroelectric facility that is owned by an
electric utility and that became operational before January 1,
1995, may be used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard
if the facility is certified as a low-impact hydroelectric
facility on or after January 1, 1995, by a national certification
organization recognized by the State Department of Energy by
rule.
 
   { +  (5) Electricity from a generating facility that uses
biomass and that became operational before January 1, 1995, and
is located in this state may be used to comply with a renewable
portfolio standard if the facility meets the requirements for a
qualified facility under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies
Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-617) on the effective date of this 2009
Act. + }
  SECTION 2.  { + To facilitate the creation of hydrogen power
stations using anhydrous ammonia as a fuel source to comply with
the renewable portfolio standards under ORS 469A.005 to 469A.210,
the Public Utility Commission may allow full recovery of costs by
public utilities in prudent energy investments related to the
planning, financing, construction and operation of hydrogen power
stations. These investments include, but are not limited to:
  (1) Systems designed to synthesize anhydrous ammonia fuel using
electricity generated from renewable energy sources listed in ORS
469A.025;
  (2) Infrastructure designed to store anhydrous ammonia
generated from renewable energy sources as a nonpolluting fuel
for electric power generation and for other purposes;
  (3) Energy systems designed to use anhydrous ammonia generated
from renewable energy sources as a fuel to generate electric
power; and
  (4) Electronic control and management systems designed to
effectively integrate hydrogen power station processes into the
electric power grid. + }
  SECTION 3. ORS 469A.025 is amended to read:
  469A.025. (1) Electricity generated utilizing the following
types of energy may be used to comply with a renewable portfolio
standard:
  (a) Wind energy.
  (b) Solar photovoltaic and solar thermal energy.
  (c) Wave, tidal and ocean thermal energy.
  (d) Geothermal energy.
  (2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section,
electricity generated from biomass and biomass by-products may be
used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard, including but
not limited to electricity generated from:
  (a) Organic human or animal waste;
  (b) Spent pulping liquor;
  (c) Forest or rangeland woody debris from harvesting or
thinning conducted to improve forest or rangeland ecological
health and to reduce uncharacteristic stand replacing wildfire
risk;
  (d) Wood material from hardwood timber grown on land described
in ORS 321.267 (3);
  (e) Agricultural residues;
  (f) Dedicated energy crops; and
  (g) Landfill gas or biogas produced from organic matter,
wastewater, anaerobic digesters or municipal solid waste.
  (3) Electricity generated from the direct combustion of biomass
may not be used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard if
any of the biomass combusted to generate the electricity
includes:
  (a) Municipal solid waste; or
  (b) Wood that has been treated with chemical preservatives such
as creosote, pentachlorophenol or chromated copper arsenate.
  (4) Electricity generated by a hydroelectric facility may be
used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard only if:
  (a) The facility is located outside any protected area
designated by the Pacific Northwest Electric Power and
Conservation Planning Council as of July 23, 1999, or any area
protected under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, Public
Law 90-542, or the Oregon Scenic Waterways Act, ORS 390.805 to
390.925; or
 
  (b) The electricity is attributable to efficiency upgrades made
to the facility on or after January 1, 1995.
  (5) Up to 50 average megawatts of electricity per year
generated by an electric utility from certified low-impact
hydroelectric facilities described in ORS 469A.020 (4) may be
used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard, without
regard to the number of certified facilities operated by the
electric utility or the generating capacity of those facilities.
A hydroelectric facility described in this subsection is not
subject to the requirements of subsection (4) of this section.
  (6) Electricity generated from hydrogen gas { + , including
electricity generated by hydrogen power stations using anhydrous
ammonia as a fuel source,  + }  { - derived from any source of
energy described in subsections (1) to (5) of this section - }
may be used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard { +
if:
  (a) The energy is derived from:
  (A) Any source of energy described in subsections (1) and (2)
of this section; or
  (B) A hydroelectric facility that complies with subsection (4)
of this section and is from a certified low-impact hydroelectric
facility described in ORS 469A.020 (4); and
  (b) The output of the original source of energy is not also
used to comply with the renewable portfolio standard + }.
  (7) If electricity generation employs multiple energy sources,
that portion of the electricity generated that is attributable to
energy sources described in subsections (1) to (6) of this
section may be used to comply with a renewable portfolio
standard.
  (8) The State Department of Energy by rule may approve energy
sources other than those described in this section that may be
used to comply with a renewable portfolio standard. The
department may not approve petroleum, natural gas, coal or
nuclear fission as an energy source that may be used to comply
with a renewable portfolio standard.
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