AB-1280
This bill expands the I-Bank’s authority to include projects focused on decarbonizing industrial facilities’ heat and power use, such as industrial heat pump and thermal energy storage projects. It also creates the Industrial Facilities Thermal Energy Storage Program within the Long-Duration Energy Storage Program to incentivize decarbonization efforts. Additionally, the bill renames the Industrial Grid Support and Decarbonization Program to the Industrial Decarbonization and Improvement of Grid Operations Program, expanding its focus to include health-harming pollutants and requiring projects to create high-road jobs, use project labor agreements, and address pollution remediation, particularly for facilities with air permit violations. The bill also prioritizes projects in under-resourced communities and those that pursue community benefits agreements.