26000-26003
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE
SECTION 26000-26003
26000. This division shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act. 26001. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (a) It is essential that the state, in cooperation with the federal government, use all practical and commercially feasible means to promote the prompt and efficient development of energy sources which are renewable or which more efficiently utilize and conserve scarce energy resources. (b) The promotion of energy sources which reduce the degradation of the environment and which protect the health, welfare, and safety of the people of this state is in the public interest and serves a public purpose. (c) It is essential that the state, in cooperation with the federal government, use all practical and commercially feasible means to promote the development and commercialization of advanced transportation technologies to conserve energy, reduce air pollution, promote economic development and jobs, and protect the health, welfare, and safety of the people of the state. 26001.5. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting Senate Bill 1754 of the 2008-09 Regular Session, to only provide authority for the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to use bonds to finance power purchase agreement arrangements, and not to alter or supersede other provisions of law addressing criteria associated with energy generation or advanced transportation technologies, such as direct-access, the use, size, or statewide caps, or the net-metering or feed-in tariff provisions. (b) When the authority uses bonds to finance the power purchase agreements, the construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, and maintenance work on the projects financed by the arrangements are subject to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code and the authority shall incorporate reference to that provision in its agreements with participating parties. 26002. (a) It is the purpose of this division to carry out and make effective the findings of the Legislature pursuant to Sections 25004, 25004.2, 25004.3, 25007, and 26001, and to that end to provide industry within this state with an alternative method of financing in providing and promoting the establishment of both of the following: (1) Facilities utilizing alternative methods and sources of energy. (2) Facilities needed for the development and commercialization of advanced transportation technologies. (b) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the facilities specified in subdivision (a) are necessary to meet the energy and transportation needs of this state and to guarantee the health and welfare of the citizens of this state. 26002.5. This division is necessary for the welfare of the state and its inhabitants, and shall be liberally construed to effect its purposes. 26003. As used in this division, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Authority" means the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority established pursuant to Section 26004, and any board, commission, department, or officer succeeding to the functions of the authority, or to which the powers conferred upon the authority by this division shall be given. (b) "Cost" as applied to a project or portion of the project financed under this division means all or part of the cost of construction and acquisition of all lands, structures, real or personal property or an interest in the real or personal property, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and interests acquired or used for a project; the cost of demolishing or removing any buildings or structures on land so acquired, including the cost of acquiring any lands to which those buildings or structures may be moved; the cost of all machinery, equipment, and furnishings, financing charges, interest prior to, during, and for a period after, completion of construction as determined by the authority; the cost of the purchase or sale of energy derived from an alternative source pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 26011; provisions for working capital; reserves for principal and interest and for extensions, enlargements, additions, replacements, renovations, and improvements; the cost of architectural, engineering, financial, accounting, auditing and legal services, plans, specifications, estimates, administrative expenses, and other expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility of constructing any project or incident to the construction, acquisition, or financing of a project. (c) (1) "Alternative sources" means the application of cogeneration technology, as defined in Section 25134; the conservation of energy; or the use of solar, biomass, wind, geothermal, hydroelectricity under 30 megawatts, or any other source of energy, the efficient use of which will reduce the use of fossil and nuclear fuels. (2) "Alternative sources" does not include a hydroelectric facility that does not meet state laws pertaining to the control, appropriation, use, and distribution of water, including, but not limited to, the obtaining of applicable licenses and permits. (d) "Advanced transportation technologies" means emerging commercially competitive transportation-related technologies identified by the authority as capable of creating long-term, high value-added jobs for Californians while enhancing the state's commitment to energy conservation, pollution reduction, and transportation efficiency. Those technologies may include, but are not limited to, any of the following: (1) Intelligent vehicle highway systems. (2) Advanced telecommunications for transportation. (3) Command, control, and communications for public transit vehicles and systems. (4) Electric vehicles and ultralow-emission vehicles. (5) High-speed rail and magnetic levitation passenger systems. (6) Fuel cells. (e) "Financial assistance" includes, but is not limited to, either, or any combination, of the following: (1) Loans, loan loss reserves, interest rate reductions, proceeds of bonds issued by the authority, insurance, guarantees or other credit enhancements or liquidity facilities, contributions of money, property, labor, or other items of value, or any combination thereof, as determined by, and approved by the resolution of, the board. (2) Any other type of assistance the authority determines is appropriate. (f) "Participating party" means either of the following: (1) A person or an entity or group of entities engaged in business or operations in the state, whether organized for profit or not for profit, that does either of the following: (A) Applies for financial assistance from the authority for the purpose of implementing a project in a manner prescribed by the authority. (B) Participates in the purchase or sale of energy derived from an alternative source pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 26011. (2) A public agency or nonprofit corporation that does either of the following: (A) Applies for financial assistance from the authority for the purpose of implementing a project in a manner prescribed by the authority. (B) Participates in the purchase or sale of energy derived from an alternative source pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 26011. (g) (1) "Project" means a land, building, improvement to the land or building, rehabilitation, work, property, or structure, real or personal, stationary or mobile, including, but not limited to, machinery and equipment, whether or not in existence or under construction, that utilizes, or is designed to utilize, an alternative source, or that is utilized for the design, technology transfer, manufacture, production, assembly, distribution, or service of advanced transportation technologies, or an arrangement for the purchase, including prepayment, or sale of energy derived from an alternative source pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 26011. (2) "Project," for the purposes of Section 26011.8, means any tangible personal property that is utilized for the design, manufacture, production, or assembly of advanced transportation technologies or alternative source products, components, or systems. (h) "Public agency" means a federal or state agency, department, board, authority, state or community college, university, or commission, or a county, city and county, city, regional agency, public district, school district, or other political entity. (i) (1) "Renewable energy" means a device or technology that conserves or produces heat, processes heat, space heating, water heating, steam, space cooling, refrigeration, mechanical energy, electricity, or energy in any form convertible to these uses, that does not expend or use conventional energy fuels, and that uses any of the following electrical generation technologies: (A) Biomass. (B) Solar thermal. (C) Photovoltaic. (D) Wind. (E) Geothermal. (2) For purposes of this subdivision, "conventional energy fuel" means any fuel derived from petroleum deposits, including, but not limited to, oil, heating oil, gasoline, fuel oil, or natural gas, including liquefied natural gas, or nuclear fissionable materials. (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for purposes of this section, "renewable energy" also means ultralow-emission equipment for energy generation based on thermal energy systems such as natural gas turbines and fuel cells. (j) "Revenue" means all rents, receipts, purchase payments, loan repayments, and all other income or receipts derived by the authority from a project, or the sale, lease, or other disposition of alternative source or advanced transportation technology facilities, or the making of loans to finance alternative source or advanced transportation technology facilities, and any income or revenue derived from the investment of money in any fund or account of the authority.