Bill
SCR 11
Constitutional amendment bars new fossil-fuel power plants and approvals, with exemptions for repair and select 10% capacity-factor peaking plants, nudging toward renewables.
Status & procedural posture
- Bill type: State concurrent resolution proposing a constitutional amendment (subject: constitution, energy).
- Introduced: January 9, 2025. Senate Amendment (Voice) by Ruiz applied. Fiscal committee: NO.
- Committee action: Reported favorably with amendments by the Senate Environment & Energy Committee. Floor amendments clarified exemption criteria (see below).
- Note: As a constitutional amendment, adoption requires the legislative steps in the state (passage in both houses as provided by state law) and typically placement on a statewide ballot for voter ratification (procedural details vary by state and are not exhaustively provided in the documents).
Purpose / intent
- To amend the state constitution to prohibit construction, permitting, or other approval of new fossil fuel–fired electric power plants, as a legal mechanism to prevent future additions to fossil-fuel generation capacity and support the state’s transition toward lower-carbon energy sources.
Key provisions
- General prohibition: The amendment would bar construction of certain new fossil fuel power plants and forbid the State from permitting or otherwise approving new fossil fuel power plants.
- Exemptions:
- Repair or maintenance of an existing fossil fuel power plant that was in existence prior to adoption of the amendment is allowed.
- “Peaking power plants” used only on an intermittent, occasional, or emergency basis to supply surplus power above base load during periods of peak demand are exempt — but only if the plant meets specific capacity criteria (see Definitions).
- Definitions (added/clarified in committee/floor amendments):
- “Peaking power plant”: clarified to be eligible for exemption only if it has a maximum capacity factor of not more than 10%.
- “Capacity factor”: defined as the ratio (percentage) of the total electric energy actually produced by a facility in a calendar year over the theoretical maximum energy that could be produced in that year at the facility’s nameplate capacity.
- Other related terms (e.g., “base load,” “base load requirements,” “period of peak electricity demand”) were added to clarify scope.
Who would be affected
- Utilities, independent power producers, developers, investors, and regulators involved in planning, siting, permitting, or financing new fossil-fuel generation projects.
- Workers and supply chains tied to construction of new fossil-fuel plants.
- Grid planners and policymakers, because future resource adequacy and reliability planning would need to rely on non-fossil alternatives (renewables, storage, demand response, transmission).
- Communities seeking local economic development tied to new fossil generation.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Accelerates legal barrier to new fossil generation, likely encouraging investment in renewables, storage, distributed resources, and demand-side solutions.
- May increase focus on ensuring adequate peaking and capacity resources within the 10% capacity-factor exemption and grid reliability frameworks.
- Could trigger legal/regulatory changes in permitting, resource adequacy standards, and long-term procurement by utilities.
- Implementation and ultimate effect depend on final legislative adoption steps and any subsequent voter ratification (if required by the state constitution).
Documents referenced include committee reports and floor amendments that added exemptions and clarified technical definitions (notably the 10% capacity-factor cap for eligible peaking plants and a formal definition of capacity factor).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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