The lower house Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee late Monday passed out two measures that are gaining traction before the California state legislature takes its month-long summer recess. They would create a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal siting process and increase the state’s renewable energy goal to 33% by 2020.

A veteran energy lobbyist in Sacramento called the two bills “pretty significant measures that are still moving forward.” It is unknown how far they will move into Appropriations and perhaps other committees in the Assembly before the start of the recess July 20. Both measures are being championed by Northern California state lawmaker Sen. Joe Simitian, who is pushing a number of environmental and energy proposals.

The LNG bill (SB 412) would establish the LNG Terminal Evaluation Act to “make an LNG needs assessment study that analyzes supply/demand for natural gas and alternatives to meet future demands” and to determine the number of LNG terminals, if any, needed to meet California’s long-term natural gas demand. The California Energy Commission would be mandated to make the assessment.

The measure also would do two other things: require the state’s governor to veto any LNG terminal proposal that does not meet the “environmental, consumer protection and market transparency criteria specified” in the law, and require the CEC to provide on-line a matrix on each project proponent’s permit status in meeting the specified criteria.

Simitian said there is “no coherent process” for addressing LNG siting, and he intends his legislation to eliminate what he considers the state’s current “piecemeal permitting review” that fails to allow an adequate comparison of the competing proposals.

For renewables, Simitian’s legislative efforts (SB 411) would increase the state’s renewable portfolio standard goal from 20% in 2010 to 33% by 2020. Simitian is promoting the legislation as an extension of the state’s 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) now undergoing a multi-year implementation.

“According to our state energy agencies, California’s electricity [generation] sector produced about 108 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2004, an increase of 35% above 1990 levels,” a Simitian fact sheet on SB 411 says. “Furthermore, emissions from the electricity sector are increasing twice as fast as emissions from any other sector, including transportation. Electricity generation now accounts for 32% of California’s gross carbon dioxide emissions.”

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