Page 1949 - trc_centennial_deir201705

5.21 Climate Change

Assembly Bill 1613 (Waste Heat and Carbon Emissions Reduction Act)
AB 1613 directed the CEC, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and CARB to
implement the Waste Heat and Carbon Emissions Reduction Act, which is designed to
encourage development of new combined heat and power (CHP) systems in California with
a generating capacity of not more than 20 megawatts. In June 2010 and updated in 2015, the
CEC published modified final guidelines establishing technical criteria for eligibility of CHP
systems for programs to be developed by the CPUC and publicly owned utilities (CEC 2015b).
Section 2840 of the Act provides that the CEC's guidelines require that CHP systems:

• Be designed to reduce waste energy;

• Have a minimum efficiency of 60 percent;

• Have nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions of no more than 0.07 pound per megawatt-
hour;

• Be sized to meet the eligible customer generation thermal load;

• Operate continuously in a manner that meets the expected thermal load and
optimizes the efficient use of waste heat; and

• Be cost-effective, technologically feasible, and environmentally beneficial.

As directed by AB 1613, the CPUC also established (1) a standard tariff for the sale of
electricity to electricity corporations for delivery to the electrical grid and (2) a "pay as you
save" pilot program requiring electricity corporations to finance the installation of qualifying
CHP systems by non-profit and government entities. A January 2011 decision by an
administrative law judge determined that the pilot program will not be established due to
lack of customer interest and difficulties in instituting a program that meets California
Department of Corporations requirements (Decision 11-01-010 Before the Public Utilities
Commission of the State of California 2011).

Executive Order B-16-12

On March 23, 2012, Governor Brown issued EO-B-16-12, which orders CARB, the CEC, the
CPUC, and other relevant agencies to facilitate the rapid commercialization of zero-emission
vehicles (ZEVs), and sets a target for the number of ZEVs in California at 1.5 million by 2025.
The Executive Order also directs that the California's state vehicle fleet increase the number
of its ZEVs through the normal course of fleet replacement so that at least 10 percent of fleet
purchases of light-duty vehicles be zero-emission by 2015 and at least 25 percent by 2020.
Further, the Executive Order also sets a target for a reduction of GHG emissions from the
transportation sector equaling 80 percent less than 1990 levels by 2050.

Senate Bill 391 and California Transportation Plan 2040
On October 11, 2009, Governor Brown signed into law SB 391, which directs the California
Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to update the California Transportation Plan to
address how the state will achieve maximum feasible emissions reductions in order to attain

R:\Projects\PAS\CEN\000306\Draft EIR\5.21 ClimateChange-051117.docx 5.21-29 Centennial Project
Draft EIR