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California Public Resources Code Section 25744

Legal Research Home > California Lawyer > Public Resources Code > California Public Resources Code Section 25744

(a) Seventy-nine percent of the money collected pursuant to
the renewable energy public goods charge shall be used for a
multiyear, consumer-based program to foster the development of
emerging renewable technologies in distributed generation
applications.
   (b) Any funds used for emerging technologies pursuant to this
section shall be expended in accordance with this chapter, subject to
all of the following requirements:
   (1) Funding for emerging technologies shall be provided through a
competitive, market-based process that is in place for a period of
not less than five years, and is structured to allow eligible
emerging technology manufacturers and suppliers to anticipate and
plan for increased sale and installation volumes over the life of the
program.
   (2) The program shall provide monetary rebates, buydowns, or
equivalent incentives, subject to paragraph (3), to purchasers,
lessees, lessors, or sellers of eligible electricity generating
systems. Incentives shall benefit the end-use consumer of renewable
generation by directly and exclusively reducing the purchase or lease
cost of the eligible system, or the cost of electricity produced by
the eligible system. Incentives shall be issued on the basis of the
rated electrical generating capacity of the system measured in watts,
or the amount of electricity production of the system, measured in
kilowatthours. Incentives shall be limited to a maximum percentage of
the system price, as determined by the commission.  The commission
may establish different incentive levels for systems based on
technology type and system size, and may provide different incentive
levels for systems used in conjunction with energy-efficiency
measures.
   (3) Eligible distributed emerging technologies are fuel cell
technologies that utilize renewable fuels, including fuel cell
technologies with an emission profile equivalent or better than the
State Air Resources Board 2007 standard, and that serve as backup
generation for emergency, safety, or telecommunications systems.
Eligible renewable fuels may include wind turbines of not more than
50 kilowatts rated electrical generating capacity per customer site
and other distributed renewable emerging technologies that meet the
emerging technology eligibility criteria established by the
commission and are not eligible for rebates, buydowns, or similar
incentives from any other commission or Public Utilities Commission
program. Eligible electricity generating systems are intended
primarily to offset part or all of the consumer's own electricity
demand, including systems that are used as backup power for
emergency, safety, or telecommunications, and shall not be owned by
local publicly owned electric utilities, nor be located at a customer
site that is not receiving distribution service from an electrical
corporation that is subject to the renewable energy public goods
charge and contributing funds to support programs under this chapter.
All eligible electricity generating system components shall be new
and unused, shall not have been previously placed in service in any
other location or for any other application, and shall have a
warranty of not less than five years to protect against defects and
undue degradation of electrical generation output. Systems and their
fuel resources shall be located on the same premises of the end-use
consumer where the consumer's own electricity demand is located, and
all eligible electricity generating systems shall be connected to the
utility grid, unless the system purpose is for backup generation
used in emergency, safety, or telecommunications in California.  The
commission may require eligible electricity generating systems to
have meters in place to monitor and measure a system's performance
and generation. Only systems that will be operated in compliance with
applicable law and the rules of the Public Utilities Commission
shall be eligible for funding.
   (4) The commission shall limit the amount of funds available for a
system or project of multiple systems and reduce the level of
funding for a system or project of multiple systems that has
received, or may be eligible to receive, any government or utility
funds, incentives, or credit.
   (5) In awarding funding, the commission may provide preference to
systems that provide tangible demonstrable benefits to communities
with a plurality of minority or low-income populations.
   (6) In awarding funding, the commission shall develop and
implement eligibility criteria and a system that provides preference
to systems based upon system performance, taking into account
factors, including shading, insulation levels, and installation
orientation.
   (7) At least once annually, the commission shall publish and make
available to the public the balance of funds available for emerging
renewable energy resources for rebates, buydowns, and other
incentives for the purchase of these resources.
   (c) Notwithstanding Section 27540.5, the commission may expend,
until December 31, 2008, up to sixty million dollars ($60,000,000) of
the funding allocated to the Renewable Resources Trust Fund for the
program established in this section, subject to the repayment
requirements of subdivision (f) of Section 25751.
   (d) Any funds for photovoltaic or solar thermal electric
technologies shall be awarded in compliance with Chapter 8.8
(commencing with Section 25780), and not with this section.

Last modified: January 12, 2009