Senate Bill 1383, Renewable Gas Requirements: Challenges, Considerations, and Questions for Stakeholders to Address

Although California’s greenhouse gas emissions are primarily carbon dioxide (about 82 percent), short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) contribute a majority of the remaining fraction. SLCPs are powerful climate forcers that remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter time and are estimated to account for about 40 percent of climate forcing from pollution associated with human activities.

To address SLCPs, Senate Bill 1383 (Lara, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016) requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop and enact a comprehensive short-lived climate pollutant strategy to reduce statewide emissions of methane by 40 percent, hydrofluorocarbon gases by 40 percent, and anthropogenic black carbon by 50 percent below 2013 levels by 2030. SB 1383 also requires the California Energy Commission, in consultation with the California Air Resources Board and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), to develop recommendations for development and use of renewable gas.

In response to these requirements, the Energy Commission will jointly host a workshop on June 27, 2017 with CARB and the CPUC. The primary workshop goal is to stimulate discussion and seek stakeholder input on developing and using renewable gas, including biogas and biomethane, for electricity production and transportation fuel.

From workshop discussions, the Energy Commission must identify cost-effective strategies consistent with existing state policies and climate change goals. The Energy Commission must also provide recommendations that consider priority end uses of renewable gas, including biomethane and biogas, and the interactions of these end uses with state policies.

Comments received from stakeholders will be considered when developing recommendations and will be included in the Energy Commission’s 2017 Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) to meet the responsibilities stated in SB 1383.