Renewable Propane Bill

Californians desperately need more renewable electricity. The state is on a path to provide utility customers with renewable electricity; however, challenges remain for customers who are off the grid. Renewable propane addresses this clean energy gap while also providing a reliable, sustainable, and affordable energy source.

The Innovative Renewable Energy Buildings Act (AB 1559) will help California dramatically reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by expanding the sources for renewable electricity generation for residents and businesses. AB 1559 will also be instrumental in transitioning skilled industry blue collar jobs to green collar jobs. As California fights climate change, renewable propane provides an accelerated and equitable path to carbon neutrality.

Summary

AB 1559 would establish a program to provide financial incentives to producers for the production of renewable propane, inclusive of blends with renewable hydrogen or renewable dimethyl ether for use in the building sector.

Background

Over the past 15 years, California has enacted a number of laws and directives that set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—the primary source of air pollution linked to climate change.

The Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act (Senate Bill 350) established clean energy, clean air, and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals, including reducing GHG to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

The California Energy Commission identified the use of renewable gas for utility grid decarbonization.  This bill seeks to help California achieve its GHG reduction goals for building energy use.  This bill will expand the sources for renewable electricity generation for buildings.

Need For The Bill

State policy presently is moving toward a renewable energy future.  However, currently there are approximately 600,000 households who are not connected to California’s electrical grid and are reliant on direct-use energy solutions. For many, the effort to transition to renewable electricity will go unsatisfied as other renewable solutions are either unaffordable or not practical due to cold climate.

This bill will provide an affordable and resilient renewable energy solution that can complement other sustainable energy options or provide a structures’ total energy needs with renewable energy.

Renewable propane, derived entirely from sustainable sources, can play a unique role in helping decarbonize California’s existing and future building stock – particularly in rural and low-income communities where electrification is not feasible or cost-effective.

Solution

AB 1559, the Innovative Renewable Energy for Buildings Act of 2021, would require the California Energy Commission to establish and implement a program to provide financial incentives for the production of renewable propane, inclusive of renewable propane blends with renewable hydrogen, or renewable dimethyl ether that is used as an energy source for buildings in California.