PRINTER'S NO. 1839
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 1287
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY STREET, FONTANA, KANE AND SCHWANK, JULY 17, 2024
REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE,
JULY 17, 2024
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of November 30, 2004 (P.L.1672, No.213),
2 entitled "An act providing for the sale of electric energy
3 generated from renewable and environmentally beneficial
4 sources, for the acquisition of electric energy generated
5 from renewable and environmentally beneficial sources by
6 electric distribution and supply companies and for the powers
7 and duties of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission,"
8 further providing for short title, for definitions and for
9 alternative energy portfolio standards; providing for Zero
10 Emissions Carbon Certificate Program, for solar photovoltaic
11 technology requirements and for decarbonization; and
12 establishing the ZEC Fund.
13 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
14 hereby enacts as follows:
15 Section 1. Section 1 of the act of November 30, 2004
16 (P.L.1672, No.213), known as the Alternative Energy Portfolio
17 Standards Act, is amended to read:
18 Section 1. Short title.
19 This act shall be known and may be cited as the [Alternative
20 Energy Portfolio Standards] Energy Future Act.
21 Section 2. The definitions of "alternative energy sources,"
22 "reporting period" and "Tier II alternative energy source" in
23 section 2 of the act are amended and the section is amended by
 1 adding definitions to read:
2 Section 2. Definitions.
3 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
4 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
5 context clearly indicates otherwise:
6 "Advanced nuclear." A nuclear fission or fusion reactor,
7 including a prototype plant as defined in 10 CFR 50.2 (relating
8 to definitions) and 52.1 (relating to definitions), with
9 significant improvements compared to commercial nuclear reactors
10 under construction as of the effective date of this definition,
11 including the following improvements:
12 (1) additional inherent safety features;
13 (2) significantly lower levelized cost of electricity;
14 (3) lower waste yields;
15 (4) greater fuel utilization;
16 (5) enhanced reliability;
17 (6) increased proliferation resistance;
18 (7) increased thermal efficiency; or
19 (8) ability to integrate into electric and nonelectric
20 applications.
21 * * *
22 "Alternative energy sources." The term shall include the
23 following existing and new sources for the production of
24 electricity:
25 (1) Solar photovoltaic or other solar electric energy.
26 (2) Solar thermal energy.
27 (3) Wind power.
28 (4) Large-scale hydropower, which shall mean the
29 production of electric power by harnessing the hydroelectric
30 potential of moving water impoundments, including pumped
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 1 storage that does not meet the requirements of low-impact
2 hydropower under paragraph (5).
3 (5) Low-impact hydropower consisting of any technology
4 that produces electric power and that harnesses the
5 hydroelectric potential of moving water impoundments,
6 provided such incremental hydroelectric development:
7 (i) does not adversely change existing impacts to
8 aquatic systems;
9 (ii) meets the certification standards established
10 by the Low Impact Hydropower Institute and American
11 Rivers, Inc., or their successors;
12 (iii) provides an adequate water flow for protection
13 of aquatic life and for safe and effective fish passage;
14 (iv) protects against erosion; and
15 (v) protects cultural and historic resources.
16 (6) Geothermal energy, which shall mean electricity
17 produced by extracting hot water or steam from geothermal
18 reserves in the earth's crust and supplied to steam turbines
19 that drive generators to produce electricity.
20 (7) Biomass energy, which shall mean the generation of
21 electricity utilizing the following:
22 (i) organic material from a plant that is grown for
23 the purpose of being used to produce electricity or is
24 protected by the Federal Conservation Reserve Program
25 (CRP) and provided further that crop production on CRP
26 lands does not prevent achievement of the water quality
27 protection, soil erosion prevention or wildlife
28 enhancement purposes for which the land was primarily set
29 aside; or
30 (ii) any solid nonhazardous, cellulosic waste
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 1 material that is segregated from other waste materials,
2 such as waste pallets, crates and landscape or right-of-
3 way tree trimmings or agricultural sources, including
4 orchard tree crops, vineyards, grain, legumes, sugar and
5 other crop by-products or residues.
6 (8) Biologically derived methane gas, which shall
7 include methane from the anaerobic digestion of organic
8 materials from yard waste, such as grass clippings and
9 leaves, food waste, animal waste and sewage sludge. The term
10 also includes landfill methane gas.
11 (9) Fuel cells, which shall mean any electrochemical
12 device that converts chemical energy in a hydrogen-rich fuel
13 directly into electricity, heat and water without combustion.
14 (10) Waste coal, which shall include the combustion of
15 waste coal in facilities in which the waste coal was disposed
16 or abandoned prior to July 31, 1982, or disposed of
17 thereafter in a permitted coal refuse disposal site
18 regardless of when disposed of, and used to generate
19 electricity, or such other waste coal combustion meeting
20 alternate eligibility requirements established by regulation.
21 Facilities combusting waste coal shall use at a minimum a
22 combined fluidized bed boiler and be outfitted with a
23 limestone injection system and a fabric filter particulate
24 removal system. Alternative energy credits shall be
25 calculated based upon the proportion of waste coal utilized
26 to produce electricity at the facility.
27 (11) Coal mine methane, which shall mean methane gas
28 emitting from abandoned or working coal mines.
29 (12) Demand-side management consisting of the management
30 of customer consumption of electricity or the demand for
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 1 electricity through the implementation of:
2 (i) energy efficiency technologies, management
3 practices or other strategies in residential, commercial,
4 institutional or government customers that reduce
5 electricity consumption by those customers;
6 (ii) load management or demand response
7 technologies, management practices or other strategies in
8 residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and
9 government customers that shift electric load from
10 periods of higher demand to periods of lower demand; or
11 (iii) industrial by-product technologies consisting
12 of the use of a by-product from an industrial process,
13 including the reuse of energy from exhaust gases or other
14 manufacturing by-products that are used in the direct
15 production of electricity at the facility of a customer.
16 (13) Distributed generation system, which shall mean:
17 (i) the small-scale power generation of electricity
18 and useful thermal energy[.]; or
19 (ii) a combined heat and power system.
20 * * *
21 "Carbon capture, utilization and storage technology."
22 Technology that has the principal purpose of capturing, reusing,
23 storing, sequestering or using carbon dioxide emissions to
24 prevent carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere whether
25 constructed integral or adjacent to a coal-fired or natural gas-
26 fired generation facility.
27 "Carbon constrained coal facility." As follows:
28 (1) An electric generating facility located in this
29 Commonwealth that uses primarily coal as a feedstock and that
30 emits no more than 650 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt
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 1 hour of generated electricity averaged over one calendar year
2 by 2026, no more than 214 pounds of carbon dioxide per
3 megawatt hour of generated electricity averaged over one
4 calendar year by 2031 and zero pounds of carbon dioxide per
5 megawatt hour of generated electricity averaged over one
6 calendar year by 2036.
7 (2) The power block of the carbon constrained coal
8 facility does not exceed allowable emission rates for sulfur
9 dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, methane, nitrous
10 oxide, volatile organic compounds, particulates and mercury
11 for a natural gas-fired combined-cycle facility the same size
12 as and in the same location as the carbon constrained coal
13 facility at the time the carbon constrained coal facility
14 obtains an approved air permit.
15 (3) The coal used by a carbon constrained coal facility
16 is located in this Commonwealth.
17 "Carbon constrained energy facility." As follows:
18 (1) An electric generating facility located in this
19 Commonwealth that uses primarily natural gas, coal or
20 hydrogen as a feedstock and that emits no more than 650
21 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour of generated
22 electricity averaged over one calendar year by 2027, no more
23 than 214 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour of
24 generated electricity averaged over one calendar year by 2031
25 and net zero pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour of
26 generated electricity averaged over one calendar year by
27 2036.
28 (2) The power block of the carbon constrained natural
29 gas facility, carbon constrained coal facility or carbon
30 constrained hydrogen facility shall not exceed allowable
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 1 emission rates for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon
2 monoxide, methane, nitrous oxide, volatile organic compounds,
3 particulates and mercury for a natural gas-fired combined-
4 cycle facility the same size as and in the same location as
5 the carbon constrained natural gas facility, carbon
6 constrained coal facility or carbon constrained hydrogen
7 facility at the time the carbon constrained energy facility
8 obtains an approved air permit.
9 (3) The gas, coal and hydrogen used by a carbon
10 constrained energy facility is sourced in this Commonwealth.
11 "Carbon constrained energy system." A facility or energy
12 system that uses carbon capture, utilization and storage
13 technology that produces carbon emissions at or below the
14 requirement under this act to generate electricity and delivers
15 the electricity it generates to the distribution system of an
16 electric distribution company or to the transmission system
17 operated by a regional transmission organization.
18 "Carbon constrained hydrogen facility." As follows:
19 (1) An electric generating facility located in this
20 Commonwealth that uses primarily hydrogen as a feedstock and
21 that emits no more than 650 pounds of carbon dioxide per
22 megawatt hour of generated electricity averaged over one
23 calendar year by 2026, no more than 214 pounds of carbon
24 dioxide per megawatt hour of generated electricity averaged
25 over one calendar year by 2031 and zero pounds of carbon
26 dioxide per megawatt hour of generated electricity averaged
27 over one calendar year by 2036, including the carbon dioxide
28 emissions from the generation of the utilized hydrogen.
29 (2) The power block of the carbon constrained hydrogen
30 facility and generator of the utilized hydrogen does not
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 1 exceed allowable emission rates for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
2 oxides, carbon monoxide, methane, nitrous oxide, volatile
3 organic compounds, particulates and mercury for a natural
4 gas-fired combined-cycle facility the same size as and in the
5 same location as the carbon constrained hydrogen facility at
6 the time the carbon constrained hydrogen facility obtains an
7 approved air permit.
8 (3) The hydrogen and associated feedstock used by a
9 carbon constrained hydrogen facility is located in this
10 Commonwealth.
11 "Carbon constrained natural gas facility." As follows:
12 (1) An electric generating facility located in this
13 Commonwealth that uses primarily natural gas as a feedstock
14 and that emits no more than 650 pounds of carbon dioxide per
15 megawatt hour of generated electricity averaged over one
16 calendar year by 2026, no more than 214 pounds of carbon
17 dioxide per megawatt hour of generated electricity averaged
18 over one calendar year by 2031 and zero pounds of carbon
19 dioxide per megawatt hour of generated electricity averaged
20 over one calendar year by 2036.
21 (2) The power block of the carbon constrained natural
22 gas facility does not exceed allowable emission rates for
23 sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, methane,
24 nitrous oxide, volatile organic compounds, particulates and
25 mercury for a natural gas-fired combined-cycle facility the
26 same size as and in the same location as the carbon
27 constrained natural gas facility at the time the carbon
28 constrained natural gas facility obtains an approved air
29 permit.
30 (3) The natural gas used by a carbon constrained natural
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 1 gas facility is located in this Commonwealth.
2 "Combined heat and power system." A combined heat and power
3 system installed on a commercial, institutional or industrial
4 facility site within this Commonwealth that is a qualified
5 facility under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of
6 1978 (Public Law 95-617, 92 Stat. 3117) and has an annual
7 operating efficiency of at least 60%. A combined heat and power
8 system shall qualify as a Tier II alternative energy source for
9 up to 50 megawatts of combined generation on a site.
10 * * *
11 "Eligibility period." The period of time, measured in energy
12 years, during which a selected nuclear power plant may receive
13 zero emissions carbon certificates under section 3.1.
14 "Eligible nuclear power plant." A nuclear power plant
15 certified by the commission under section 3.1(e).
16 "Energy year." The 12-month period from June 1 through May
17 31, numbered according to the calendar year in which it ends.
18 * * *
19 "Nuclear power plant." An individual electric-generating
20 unit utilizing nuclear fuel to produce electric power.
21 * * *
22 "Renewable energy." The following:
23 (1) Energy derived from sunlight, wind, falling water,
24 biomass, sustainable or otherwise, waste, landfill gas,
25 municipal solid waste, wave motion, tides and geothermal
26 power. The term includes the proportion of the thermal or
27 electric energy from a facility that results from the
28 cofiring of biomass.
29 (2) The term does not include energy derived from coal,
30 oil, natural gas or nuclear power.
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 1 (3) The term does not include energy waste heat from
2 fossil-fired facilities or electricity generated from pumped
3 storage but includes run-of-river generation from a combined
4 pumped-storage and run-of-river facility.
5 "Reporting [period."] period" or "reporting year." The 12-
6 month period from June 1 through May 31. A reporting year shall
7 be numbered according to the calendar year in which it begins
8 and ends.
9 * * *
10 "Selected nuclear power plant." An eligible nuclear power
11 plant located in this Commonwealth selected by the commission to
12 participate in the Zero Emissions Carbon Certificate Program
13 under section 3.1.
14 * * *
15 "Tier II alternative energy source." Energy derived from:
16 (1) Waste coal from a carbon constrained coal facility.
17 (2) Distributed generation systems.
18 (3) Demand-side management.
19 (4) Large-scale hydropower.
20 (5) Municipal solid waste.
21 (6) Generation of electricity utilizing by-products of
22 the pulping process and wood manufacturing process, including
23 bark, wood chips, sawdust and lignin in spent pulping
24 liquors.
25 [(7) Integrated combined coal gasification technology.]
26 (8) A Tier I alternative energy source.
27 "Tier III carbon constrained energy source." Energy derived
28 from a Pennsylvania-sourced carbon constrained energy facility.
29 "Tier IV ca