S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1536
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 17, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. BLANKENBUSH, BRABENEC, McDONOUGH, MILLER, SMULLEN
   --  read once and referred to the Committee on Environmental Conserva-
   tion
 
 AN ACT in relation to enacting the  "biomass  fired  exception  program"
   addressing  the applicability of a CO2 budget trading program to biom-
   ass-fired electric generating  facilities  that  have  converted  from
   coal-fired generation
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "biomass fired exception program".
   §  2.  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 biom-
 ass 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 organ-

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05179-01-3
 A. 1536                             2
              

 
 ic matter and is environmentally friendly while costing around one third
 of the cost of fossil fuels.
   As  such,  to the extent that operators of electric generating facili-
 ties in New York state are willing to convert formerly coal-fired facil-
 ities (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 allow-
 ances 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 conver-
 sions. 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.
   § 3. Definitions. For the purposes of this act  "boiler",  "combustion
 turbine",  "combined cycle system", "eligible biomass" and "fossil fuel"
 shall have the same meanings as defined in 6 NYCRR Part 242-1.2.
   § 4. The commissioner of environmental conservation  shall  promulgate
 rules  and  regulations necessary to regard formerly coal-fired electric
 generating facilities that convert to primarily biomass-fired facilities
 in the same manner as a new biomass facility under the  regional  green-
 house gas initiative regulations.  Such rules and regulations shall also
 provide  that  an  electric  generating  facility, including any boiler,
 combustion turbine or combination cycle steam turbine,  that  meets  the
 following conditions shall not be defined as fossil fuel-fired under the
 CO2 budget trading program (6 NYCRR Part 242):
   (a)  was  formerly  fossil  fuel-fired  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 comprising not less than 75 percent  of  its
 annual fuel purchases, as measured by weight,
   (d) uses fossil fuel for less than 5 percent of its annual heat input,
 and
   (e) is located within a military installation.
   §  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 with
 the control period that ended on December 31, 2018. Effective immediate-
 ly the department of environmental conservation is authorized to  amend,
 revise  and/or  repeal  any rule, regulation or policy necessary for the
 implementation of this act on or before such effective date.