Clean Energy Standard Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2597 To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish a market-oriented standard for clean electric energy generation, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 8, 2019 Mr. LUJA´N (for himself, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, and Mr. GALLEGO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be sub- sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish a market-oriented standard for clean electric energy generation, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Energy Stand- 4 ard Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2597 IH SEC. 2. FEDERAL CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the Public Utility Reg- 2 ulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) is 3 amended by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘SEC. 610. FEDERAL CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD. 5 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es- 6 tablish a technology-neutral, market-oriented standard for 7 electric energy generation that— 8 ‘‘(1) stimulates clean energy innovation and al- 9 lows the United States to achieve a net-zero emis- 10 sion electric sector at the lowest cost; 11 ‘‘(2) will guide power sector investment and 12 provide regulatory certainty, while helping to ensure 13 that the United States is the leader and dominant 14 competitor in the global clean energy transition; and 15 ‘‘(3) will result in— 16 ‘‘(A) hundreds of billions of dollars in do- 17 mestic health and environmental benefits by the 18 mid-21st century; and 19 ‘‘(B) save tens of thousands of lives in the 20 United States. 21 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 22 ‘‘(1) APPLICABLE CARBON INTENSITY.—The 23 term ‘applicable carbon intensity’ means 0.4 metric 24 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt-hour. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2597 IH ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE CLEAN ENERGY PERCENT- 1 AGE.—The term ‘applicable clean energy percent- 2 age’, with respect to a retail electricity supplier, 3 means the clean energy percentage applicable to the 4 retail electricity supplier for the relevant calendar 5 year under subsection (c). 6 ‘‘(3) BASE QUANTITY.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘base quan- 8 tity’, with respect to a retail electricity supplier 9 for a calendar year, means the total quantity of 10 electric energy consumed by electric customers 11 of the retail electricity supplier, expressed in 12 megawatt-hours, during the calendar year, in- 13 cluding— 14 ‘‘(i) the quantity of electric energy 15 sold by the retail electricity supplier to 16 electric customers for purposes other than 17 resale; and 18 ‘‘(ii) the quantity of behind-the-meter 19 generation consumed by electric consumers 20 served by the retail electricity supplier. 21 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION.—For purposes of 22 subparagraph (A), not later than 180 days 23 after the date of enactment of this section, the 24 Secretary shall develop appropriate processes 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2597 IH for determining the quantity of behind-the- 1 meter generation consumed by electric con- 2 sumers served by a retail electricity supplier, in- 3 cluding by requiring from the retail electricity 4 supplier relevant documentation of behind-the- 5 meter electric energy consumption, such as 6 records associated with net-metering. 7 ‘‘(4) BASELINE PERCENTAGE.—The term ‘base- 8 line percentage’ means— 9 ‘‘(A) for a retail electricity supplier in op- 10 eration on the date of enactment of this section, 11 the clean energy percentage of the retail elec- 12 tricity supplier calculated for the calendar year 13 in which this section is enacted; and 14 ‘‘(B) for a retail electricity supplier that 15 commences operation after the date of enact- 16 ment of this section, such clean energy percent- 17 age as the Secretary determines to be appro- 18 priate. 19 ‘‘(5) BEHIND-THE-METER GENERATION.—The 20 term ‘behind-the-meter generation’ means the gen- 21 eration of clean energy using a system that operates 22 on the customer side of the applicable utility meter, 23 subject to the condition that the retail electricity 24 supplier serving the generator shall submit to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2597 IH Secretary, not less frequently than annually, 1 verification of the quantity of that generation in 2 such form, in such manner, and containing such in- 3 formation as the Secretary may require. 4 ‘‘(6) CARBON DIOXIDE EQUIVALENT.— 5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘carbon di- 6 oxide equivalent’ means the number of metric 7 tons of carbon dioxide emissions with the same 8 global warming potential over a 100-year period 9 as 1 metric ton of another greenhouse gas. 10 ‘‘(B) GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL.—For 11 purposes of subparagraph (A), global warming 12 potential shall be determined in accordance with 13 the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergov- 14 ernmental Panel on Climate Change. 15 ‘‘(7) CARBON INTENSITY.—The term ‘carbon 16 intensity’ means the carbon dioxide equivalent emis- 17 sions associated with the generation of 1 megawatt- 18 hour of electric energy by a generator. 19 ‘‘(8) CLEAN ENERGY.—The term ‘clean energy’ 20 means electric energy that is— 21 ‘‘(A) generated at a facility using— 22 ‘‘(i) renewable energy; 23 ‘‘(ii) qualified renewable biomass; 24 ‘‘(iii) hydropower; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2597 IH ‘‘(iv) nuclear power; 1 ‘‘(v) qualified waste-to-energy; 2 ‘‘(vi) qualified low-carbon fuels; 3 ‘‘(vii) a qualified combined heat and 4 power system; or 5 ‘‘(viii) any other source of energy in a 6 manner that ensures that the facility does 7 not exceed the applicable carbon intensity; 8 ‘‘(B) generated at a facility that— 9 ‘‘(i) captures the carbon dioxide 10 from— 11 ‘‘(I) a waste stream of the facil- 12 ity; 13 ‘‘(II) another waste stream; or 14 ‘‘(III) the atmosphere directly; 15 and 16 ‘‘(ii) prevents the release of the cap- 17 tured carbon dioxide into the atmosphere; 18 or 19 ‘‘(C) dispatched from a qualified energy 20 storage system. 21 ‘‘(9) CLEAN ENERGY PERCENTAGE.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘clean en- 23 ergy percentage’ means the percentage of clean 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 2597 IH energy consumed by all electric consumers of a 1 retail electricity supplier. 2 ‘‘(B) CALCULATION.—For purposes of sub- 3 paragraph (A), the clean energy percentage of 4 a retail electricity supplier shall be equal to the 5 quotient obtained by dividing— 6 ‘‘(i) the sum of— 7 ‘‘(I) the quantity of clean energy 8 sold by the retail electricity supplier 9 to electric consumers; and 10 ‘‘(II) the quantity of behind-the- 11 meter generation consumed by electric 12 consumers served by the retail elec- 13 tricity supplier; by 14 ‘‘(ii) the base quantity of the retail 15 electricity supplier. 16 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION.— 17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 18 subparagraph (B), not later than 180 days 19 after the date of enactment of this section, 20 the Secretary shall develop a process for 21 determining the quantities of— 22 ‘‘(I) clean energy sold by a retail 23 electricity supplier to electric con- 24 sumers, taking into account— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 2597 IH ‘‘(aa) the need to quantify, 1 without double counting, appro- 2 priate quantities of clean en- 3 ergy— 4 ‘‘(AA) owned by the re- 5 tail electricity supplier; 6 ‘‘(BB) obtained by the 7 retail electricity supplier 8 through power purchase 9 agreements; 10 ‘‘(CC) imported by the 11 retail electricity supplier; 12 ‘‘(DD) purchased by 13 the retail electricity supplier 14 from wholesale markets; and 15 ‘‘(EE) purchased by the 16 retail electricity supplier 17 through existing renewable 18 or clean energy credits and 19 certificates; and 20 ‘‘(bb) appropriate dif- 21 ferences between— 22 ‘‘(AA) retailers oper- 23 ating in organized wholesale 24 markets; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 2597 IH ‘‘(BB) retailers oper- 1 ating in vertically integrated 2 market contexts; and 3 ‘‘(II) behind-the-meter generation 4 consumed by electric consumers 5 served by a retail electricity supplier, 6 including by requiring from the retail 7 electricity supplier relevant docu- 8 mentation of behind-the-meter electric 9 energy consumption, such as records 10 associated with net-metering. 11 ‘‘(ii) QUANTIFYING CLEAN ENERGY.— 12 For purposes of quantifying clean energy 13 and behind-the-meter generation under 14 clause (i), the Secretary shall use the 15 methods used to assign a quantity of cred- 16 its to generators under subsection (f). 17 ‘‘(10) DISPATCHABLE LOW-EMISSION TECH- 18 NOLOGY.—The term ‘dispatchable low-emission tech- 19 nology’ means a generator that uses a technology or 20 combination of technologies that— 21 ‘‘(A) has a carbon intensity of not more 22 than 0.05 metric tons of carbon dioxide equiva- 23 lent per megawatt-hour; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 2597 IH ‘‘(B) has the ability, at any time, to start, 1 increase, decrease, and stop energy production 2 on demand; 3 ‘‘(C) is placed into service after the date of 4 enactment of this section; and 5 ‘‘(D) is not a dispatchable zero-emission 6 technology. 7 ‘‘(11) DISPATCHABLE ZERO-EMISSION TECH- 8 NOLOGY.—The term ‘dispatchable zero-emission 9 technology’ means a generator that uses a tech- 10 nology or combination of technologies that— 11 ‘‘(A) has a carbon intensity of zero; 12 ‘‘(B) has the ability, at any time, to start, 13 increase, decrease, and stop energy production 14 on demand; and 15 ‘‘(C) is placed into service after the date of 16 enactment of this section. 17 ‘‘(12) ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM.—The term 18 ‘energy storage system’ means any equipment or fa- 19 cility relating to the electric grid that— 20 ‘‘(A) is capable of absorbing energy, stor- 21 ing the energy for a period of time, and dis- 22 patching the energy as electric energy; and 23 ‘‘(B) uses mechanical, electrochemical, bio- 24 chemical, or thermal processes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 2597 IH ‘‘(i) to store energy generated at an 1 earlier time for use at a later time; or 2 ‘‘(ii) to store energy generated from a 3 mechanical process that would otherwise be 4 wasted for delivery at a later time. 5 ‘‘(13) FEDERAL CLEAN ENERGY CREDIT.—The 6 term ‘Federal clean energy credit’ means a credit 7 issued pursuant to subsection (e). 8 ‘‘(14) GENERATOR.—The term ‘generator’ 9 means a unit or system of units that— 10 ‘‘(A) generates not fewer than 20 mega- 11 watt-hours of electric energy per calendar year; 12 ‘‘(B) delivers electric energy to the grid; 13 and 14 ‘‘(C) is located in the United States. 15 ‘‘(15) LIFECYCLE GREENHOUSE GAS EMIS- 16 SIONS.—The term ‘lifecycle greenhouse gas emis- 17 sions’ means the aggregate quantity of carbon diox- 18 ide equivalent emissions relating to the full lifecycle 19 of electric energy production, including— 20 ‘‘(A) extraction, production, and distribu- 21 tion of fuels and materials for physical capital; 22 ‘‘(B) power generation and transmission; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 2597 IH ‘‘(C) handling and disposal of waste, by- 1 products, and end-of-life materials. 2 ‘‘(16) QUALIFIED COMBINED HEAT AND POWER 3 SYSTEM.—The term ‘qualified combined heat and 4 power system’ means a system that— 5 ‘‘(A) uses the same energy source for the 6 simultaneous or sequential generation of elec- 7 trical energy and thermal energy; 8 ‘‘(B) produces at least— 9 ‘‘(i) 20 percent of the useful energy of 10 the system in the form of electricity; and 11 ‘‘(ii) 20 percent of the useful energy 12 in the form of useful thermal energy; 13 ‘‘(C) to the extent that the system uses 14 biomass, uses only qualified renewable biomass; 15 and 16 ‘‘(D) operates with an energy efficiency 17 percentage, as determined in accordance with 18 section 48(c)(3)(C)(i) of the Internal Revenue 19 Code of 1986, of greater than 50 percent. 20 ‘‘(17) QUALIFIED DISPATCHABLE.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 22 dispatchable’ means— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 May 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2597.IH H2597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 2597 IH ‘‘(i) with respect to a dispatchable 1 low-emission technology, a dispatchable 2 low-emission technology that— 3 ‘‘(I) is 1 of the first 5 original 4 demonstrations in the United States 5 of a particular innovative technology 6 providing not less than 20 megawatts 7 of electric energy generation capacity; 8 ‘‘(II) generates revenue from the 9 sale of electric energy; and 10 ‘‘(III) is placed into service be- 11 fore January 1, 2030; and 12 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a dispatchable 13 zero-emission technology, means a dis- 14 patchable zero-emission technology that— 15 ‘‘(I) is 1 of the first 5 original 16 demonstrations in the United States 17 of a particular innovative technology 18 providing not less than 20 megawatts 19 of electric energy generation capacity; 2 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]