What's happening
This bill exempts coal-fired power plants converted to primarily biomass from certain carbon emissions regulations, encouraging renewable energy in New York.
Why it matters
Incentivizes conversion of coal plants to biomass. By exempting converted facilities from stricter carbon regulations, the bill makes it financially and operationally more attractive for operators to switch from coal to biomass, potentially accelerating the transition away from coal.
Targets struggling upstate communities. The legislation highlights that biomass facilities support jobs in high-unemployment areas, implying that encouraging conversions could provide significant economic benefits in regions hit hardest by coal plant closures.
Establishes clear criteria for eligibility. Only plants that use biomass for more than 50% of their annual heat input (and fossil fuels for less than 5%) qualify for the exemption, ensuring the policy supports genuine, substantial shifts toward renewable fuel sources.
Retroactive application and regulatory coordination. The bill applies retroactively to 2012, which could benefit facilities that have already converted, and mandates cooperation between state agencies to ensure smooth implementation, signaling the state’s commitment to facilitating the biomass transition.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ease Biomass Power Restrictions
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1431
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 14, 2019
Introduced by Sens. RITCHIE, GRIFFO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications
AN ACT to amend the public service law, the public authorities law, and the environmental conservation law, in relation to biomass-fired electric generating facilities subject to the regional greenhouse gas initiative and the CO2 budget trading program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and declares that it is in the economic and environmental interests of the citizens of the state of New York to support and encourage renewable energy generation through the conversion of coal-fired electric generating facilities to biomass-fired facilities. The combustion of biomass offers a sustainable and manageable carbon lifecycle since the materials included in biomass generally absorb atmospheric carbon during their lifecycle and then return it to the atmosphere during combustion. This process mimics the natural lifecycle of plant life that can fall to the forest floor, decompose and return its carbon to the atmosphere.
The legislature further finds and declares that biomass production facilities support and sustain jobs, particularly in upstate New York, where more than four thousand people are employed directly or indirectly by the industry. In fact, many of the largest and most successful biomass facilities are located in parts of New York state that have high unemployment and are in desperate need of economic development. New York state also possesses an abundance of biomass fuel due to the large amount of untapped forest and agricultural land where biomass fuel can be collected. Biomass is the equivalent of solar energy stored in organic matter and is environmentally friendly while costing around one third of the cost of fossil fuels.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04896-01-9
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As such, to the extent that operators of electric generating facilities in New York state are willing to convert formerly coal-fired facilities (boilers, combustion turbines, or combined cycle systems) to instead be fueled by biomass, state policy should encourage and support such conversions rather than discourage them. While new biomass-fired electric generating facilities are not required to acquire CO2 allowances under the regulations implementing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in New York state, former coal-fired facilities that convert to combusting biomass are still subject to RGGI's requirements under existing regulations, which effectively discourages such conversions. To remedy this situation, and consistent with the intent of RGGI to encourage more renewable energy generation, the legislature declares that formerly coal-fired electric generating facilities that convert to primarily biomass-fired facilities shall be treated in the same manner as a new biomass facility under the RGGI regulations.
§ 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 73 to read as follows:
§ 73. Cooperation with the New York state energy research and development authority and the department of environmental conservation. The department shall cooperate with the New York state energy research and development authority and the department of environmental conservation in the implementation of subdivision four of section 19-0312 of the environmental conservation law relating to electric generating facilities that are subject to the CO2 budget trading program (6 NYCRR Part 242) established by the department of environmental conservation in connection with the regional greenhouse gas initiative.
§ 3. Section 1854 of the public authorities law is amended by adding a new subdivision 22 to read as follows:
22. Cooperation with the department of environmental conservation and the department of public service. The authority shall cooperate with the department of environmental conservation and the department of public service in the implementation of subdivision four of section 19-0312 of the environmental conservation law relating to electric generating facilities that are subject to the CO2 budget trading program (6 NYCRR Part 242) established by the department of environmental conservation in connection with the regional greenhouse gas initiative.
§ 4. Section 19-0312 of the environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
4. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation or policy to the contrary, an electric generating facility including any boiler, combustion turbine or combination cycle system, that a. was formerly fossil fuelfired due to the use of coal as its primary fuel,
b. is no longer authorized to combust coal under its air title V facility permit issued by the department pursuant to 6 NYCRR subpart 201-6,
c. uses eligible biomass for more than fifty percent of its annual heat input, and
d. uses fossil fuel for less than five percent of its annual heat input, shall not be defined as fossil fuel-fired under the CO2 budget trading program (6 NYCRR Part 242). For the purposes of this subdivision:
"Boiler", "combustion turbine", "combined cycle system", "eligible biomass" and "fossil fuel" shall have the same meanings as ascribed to such terms in 6 NYCRR § 242-1.2.
§ 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law and shall apply to all control periods commencing on
S. 1431 3
or after January 1, 2012. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation by the department of environmental conservation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public service law, the public authorities law, and the environmental conservation law, in relation to biomass-fired elec- tric generating facilities subject to the regional greenhouse gas initi- ative and the CO2 budget trading program
Purpose
To encourage existing coal-fired electricity generating facilities to convert to combusting biomass.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Declares the Legislature's intent.
Section 2: Adds section 73 to the public service law.
Section 3: Amends section 1854 of the public authorities law by adding a new subdivision 22.
Section 4: Amends section 19-0321 of the environmental conservation law by adding a new subdivision 4.
Section 5: States that the act shall take effect ninety days after this bill shall have become law. Section five also authorizes the Department of Environmental Conservation to amend or repeal any regulation neces- sary for the implementation of the act.
Justification
New York State's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative effort to reduce pollution and CO2 emissions by encouraging the development of renewable energy sources has shown that a market-based approach can result in a cleaner environment and economic growth. Encouraging investment in locally produced renewable energy sources such as biomass has helped reduce New York's dependency on fossil fuels while spurring the upstate economy. Converting coal-fired electric generating facilities to use biomass, such as the recent transformation at Fort Drum's military installation, can also spur New York's upstate economy by creating new forestry-based jobs harvesting waste wood and low value wood products.
The combustion of biomass offers a sustainable and manageable carbon lifecycle since the materials included in biomass generally absorb atmo- spheric carbon during their lifecycle and then return it to the atmos- phere during combustion. This process mimics the natural lifecycle of plant life that can fall to the forest floor, decompose and return its carbon to the atmosphere. Expanding the use of biomass as a renewable energy source helps support more than four thousand jobs employed directly or indirectly by the industry.
In fact, many of the largest and more successful biomass facilities are located in New York State's rural areas that have high unemployment and are in desperate need of new jobs and economic growth. New York State also possesses an abundance of biomass fuel due to the large amount of untapped forest and agricultural land where biomass fuel can be collected. Biomass is the equivalent of solar energy stored in organic matter and is environmentally friendly while costing around one third of the cost of fossil fuels.
New York's RGGI policies already encourage the development of new biom- ass-fired electric generating facilities. However, the state can help encourage more conversions of coal-fired facilities (boilers, combustion turbines, or combined cycle systems) to environmentally friendly biomass systems by treating conversions in the same manner as a new facility.
To remedy this situation, and consistent with the intent of RGGI to encourage more renewable energy generation, the legislature declares that formerly coal-fired electric generating facilities that convert to primarily biomass-fired facilities shall be treated in the same manner as a new biomass facility under the RGGI regulations.
Legislative history
2017-2018: S.6063.
Fiscal implications
To be determined
Effective date
This act shall take effect within 90 days.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.