Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Eligibility
Criteria. A Generation Unit may qualify as an RPS Class II
Generation Unit subject to the limitations in
225
CMR 15.05.
(a) Fuels, Energy Resources and Technologies.
The Generation Unit shall use one or more of the fuels, energy resources and/or
technologies listed in
225
CMR 15.05(1)(a)1. through
10.
1. Solar photovoltaic or solar thermal
electric energy.
2. Wind
energy.
3. Ocean thermal, wave or
tidal energy.
4. Fuel cells using
an Eligible RPS Class II Renewable Fuel.
5. Landfill methane gas, provided that such
gas is collected and conveyed directly to the Generation Unit without use of
facilities used as common carriers of natural gas.
6.
Hydroelectric. A
Generation Unit that uses Hydroelectric Energy may qualify as an RPS Class II
Generation Unit, subject to the limitations in
225
CMR 15.05(1)(a)6.
a. The Generation Unit has a nameplate
capacity up to 7.5 megawatts.
b.
The Generation Unit does not involve any dam or water diversion structure
constructed after December 31, 1997, or pumped storage of water.
c. The Generation Unit does not generate
Marine or Hydrokinetic Energy.
d.
The Generation Unit meets appropriate and site-specific standards that address
adequate and healthy river flows, water quality standards, fish passage and
protection measures and mitigation and enhancement opportunities in the
Impacted Watershed, as determined by the Department in consultation with
Relevant Hydroelectric Agencies. The Generation Unit shall demonstrate
compliance with such standards by submitting the documentation required in
either
225
CMR 15.05(1)(a)6.d.i. or ii.
i. LIHI Certification of the Generation Unit;
except that in either of the two circumstances provided in
225
CMR 15.05(1)(a)6.d.i., the
Department may request further information from the applicant and the Relevant
Hydroelectric Agencies as part of its review of the applicant's Statement of
Qualification Application. The Department shall notify the applicant of any
such input from a Relevant Hydroelectric Agency not later than 30 days after
receiving such input and shall provide the applicant an opportunity to respond
to the Department not later than 30 days after the applicant's receipt of such
notice from the Department.
(i) If a Relevant
Hydroelectric Agency identified an environmental concern and a proposed remedy
to LIHI during the LIHI certification process, and such concern was not
addressed in the LIHI certification to the satisfaction of the Agency, and the
Agency consulted with the Owner or Operator of the Generation Unit;
or
(ii) If, between issuance of the
LIHI certification and the Department's determination of the Generation Unit's
eligibility, a Relevant Hydroelectric Agency submits to the Department evidence
of a significant environmental problem not previously known by such Agency,
after consulting with the Owner or Operator of the Generation Unit.
ii. A denial of certification from
LIHI specifying the reasons the certification was denied and the applicant's
proposed rationale for why the project should nevertheless receive a Statement
of Qualification. In this instance, the Department shall notify and seek input
from the Relevant Hydroelectric Agencies, which shall have 30 days from the
date of their receipt of such notification to provide feedback to the
Department. The Owner or Operator of the Generation Unit shall be notified of
any such input and shall have 30 days from receipt of such notice to respond to
the satisfaction of the Department as to why its Statement of Qualification
Application should be approved. The Department thereafter shall make finding of
whether the Generation Unit meets appropriate environmental safeguards despite
the lack of LIHI certification.
e. The Owner or Operator of the Generation
Unit must serve notice to all Relevant Hydroelectric Agencies of its
application for LIHI certification. The Owner or Operator of the Generation
Unit also must serve notice to all Relevant Hydroelectric Agencies, and provide
opportunity for comment within 30 days of such notice, with regard to its
submission of a Statement of Qualification Application. Notice of such service
must be provided to the Department.
f. If LIHI fails to act to certify or deny
certification within 180 days from the date of submission of the Generation
Unit's application to LIHI, the Owner or Operator shall file notice of such
event with the Department. The Department shall review the federal, state or
provincial permits for the Generation Unit and any submissions to LIHI by
Relevant Hydroelectric Agencies, and shall make a final determination as to
whether the Generation Unit meets environmental standards specified in
225
CMR
15.05(1)(a)6.d.
g. If LIHI is unable to review for
certification a Generation Unit that is located in a Control Area adjacent to
the ISO-NE Control Area and outside the United States of America, the Owner or
Operator of such Generation Unit may petition the Department for certification
using the LIHI standards by an independent third-party acceptable to the
Department.
7.
Waste to Energy. A Generation Unit that uses Waste
Energy may qualify as an RPS Class II Generation Unit subject to the following
limitations:
a. Has received approval from
the MassDEP of the Unit's participation in or operation of an authorized
recycling program;
b. Maintains
participation in or operation of such recycling program and confirms this
maintenance by submitting an annual report to the Department and MassDEP of its
compliance;
c. Complies with the
applicable requirements of
310
CMR 7.08(2):
Municipal Waste Combustors; and
d. Complies with the applicable requirements
of 310 CMR
19.000: Solid Waste
Management.
8.
Low-emission, biomass power conversion technologies using an Eligible Biomass
Fuel. A Generation Unit may qualify as an RPS Class II Generation Unit,
provided it uses an Eligible Biomass Fuel, subject to the limitations in
225
CMR 15.05(1)(a)8.
a. Pursuant to St. 2022, c. 179, §§
33 through 36 and § 88, starting January 1, 2022, Eligible Biomass Woody
Fuel Generation Units shall no longer be eligible to submit a Statement of
Qualification Application under
225
CMR 14.06: Qualification Process for
RPS Class I, Solar Carve-out Renewable Generation Units, and Solar Carve-out II
Renewable Generation Units.
b. A Generation Unit utilizing an Eligible
Biomass Fuel that is required to obtain an air permit in its jurisdiction must
possess a Valid Air Permit.
c. The
Department shall set forth in Guidelines low-emission eligibility criteria
which will become effective on their date of issuance. Any emission eligibility
criteria in subsequently revised regulations or Guidelines shall become
effective 12 months from their date of issuance. A Generation Unit utilizing an
Eligible Biomass Fuel that is not a solid fuel, such as Eligible Liquid
Biofuel, or does not use a steam boiler, shall follow the low-emission
eligibility criteria process described in the Departments' Guideline on
Eligible Biomass Fuel for Renewable Generation Units. In the case of a
Generation Unit for whose size, type, or fuel the Department's Guidelines do
not provide applicable emission limits, the Department will determine
appropriate limits in consultation with the MassDEP.
d. A Generation Unit utilizing an Eligible
Biomass Woody Fuel or Manufactured Biomass Fuel that has 5% or more of its fuel
sourced from Forest Derived Residues, Forest Derived Thinnings and Forest
Salvage must achieve an overall efficiency of at least 60% on a quarterly
basis. A Generation Unit utilizing an Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel or
Manufactured Biomass Fuel that has over 95% or more of its fuel sourced from
Non-forest Derived Residues on a quarterly basis shall have no applicable
overall efficiency requirement. The procedure for calculating whether the
Generation Unit meets the 60% overall efficiency requirement can be found in
the Department's Guideline on Overall Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas
Analysis.
e. A Generation Unit
utilizing an Eligible Biogas Fuel, Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel, Eligible Liquid
Biofuel or Manufactured Biomass Fuel shall reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas
emissions, over a 20-year lifecycle, by at least 50% compared to the operation
of a new combined cycle natural gas electric generating facility using the most
efficient commercially available technology as of the date of the Statement of
Qualification Application for the portion of electricity delivered by the
Generation Unit and, if applicable, the operation of the fossil fuel fired
thermal energy unit being displaced, or in the case of new Useful Thermal
Energy, a gas- fired thermal energy unit using the most efficient commercially
available technology as of the date of Statement of Qualification Application
for the portion of the Useful Thermal Energy delivered by the Generation Unit.
The procedure for calculating whether a Generation Unit meets the 50% reduction
can be found in the Department's Guideline on Overall Efficiency and Greenhouse
Gas Analysis.
A Generation Unit that does not achieve a lifecycle greenhouse
gas emissions reduction of at least 50% over a 20-year lifecycle in a
particular calendar quarter of the Compliance Year, pursuant to
225
CMR 15.05(1)(a)8.d., shall
not be eligible to report RPS Class II Renewable Generation Attributes to the
NEPOOL GIS for that calendar quarter.
f. In the case of a Generation Unit that uses
Eligible Biogas Fuel, the Eligible Biogas Fuel may be either conveyed directly
to the Generation Unit without the use of facilities used as common carriers of
natural gas, or transported to a Generation Unit within the ISO-NE Control Area
or an adjacent Control Area
via a common carrier of natural
gas, in which instance the gas would be subject to the following provisions:
i. the gas is produced entirely within the
ISO-NE Control Area or an adjacent Control Area;
ii. documentation is provided, satisfactory
to the Department, regarding the gas transportation and related contracts;
and
iii. demonstration is provided,
satisfactory to the Department, that the gas can be physically delivered to the
Generation Unit.
9. Marine or Hydrokinetic Energy.
10. Geothermal Energy.
(b)
Commercial Operation
Date. The Commercial Operation Date shall be on or before December
31, 1997.
(c)
Metering. The electrical energy output from a
Generation Unit shall be verified by the ISO-NE or by an independent
verification system or person participating in the NEPOOL GIS accounting system
as an independent Third Party Meter Reader, as defined in Rule 2.5(j) of the
NEPOOL GIS Operating Rules, or any successor rule, and approved by the
Department.
(d)
Location. The Generation Unit location is subject to
the following limitations:
1.
Off-grid Generation. If the Generation Unit produces
Off-grid Generation, such Generation Unit must be located in
Massachusetts.
2.
Behind-the-meter Generation. If the Generation Unit is
wired to the electrical system on the End-use Customer's side of a retail
electric meter, such Generation Unit must be located inside the ISO-NE Control
Area and have a nameplate capacity of 25 megawatts or less.
(e)
Capacity
Obligation. The Generation Unit's generating capacity is subject
to the following obligations:
1.The amount of
the generation capacity of the Generation Unit whose electrical energy output
is claimed as RPS Class II Renewable Generation shall not be committed to any
Control Area other than the ISO-NE Control Area unless such Generation Unit has
entered into a Capacity Obligation in another Control Area before the start of
the first available compliance year for the ISO-NE Forward Capacity Market, in
which case this subsection shall apply upon the expiration of that Capacity
Obligation. However, if the Generation Unit executed a contract for the sale of
RPS Class II Renewable Generation Attributes or RPS Class II Renewable
Generation, or both, before January 1, 2009, for a term of at least two years,
the contract price of which relied on the receipt of capacity payments from a
control area adjacent to the ISO-NE Control Area, and the Generation Unit can
demonstrate such reliance to the satisfaction of the Department, this
requirement shall not take effect for that Generation Unit until the expiration
of that contract.
2.The Owner or
Operator of a Generation Unit that is not an Intermittent Generation Unit shall
commit to the ISO-NE Control Area the amount of the capacity of that Unit
claimed as RPS Class II Renewable Generation by submitting by the applicable
deadline a show of intent for the ISO-NE Forward Capacity Auction that is the
earliest available for the Unit after the Owner or Operator has submitted a
Statement of Qualification Application.
3.An RPS Class II Renewable Generation Unit
that was deemed unqualified by the ISO-NE for participation in the ISO-NE
Forward Capacity Market for technical reasons may commit capacity to another
control area and may receive GIS Certificates for the energy sold into ISO-NE
Control Area, subject to a determination by the Department.
(2)
Co-firing and Blended Fuel Waiver. All or a portion of
the electrical energy output of a Generation Unit that uses ineligible fuel in
conjunction with an Eligible RPS Class II Renewable Fuel, whether by co-firing
such fuels or by using a Blended Fuel, may qualify as RPS Class II Renewable
Generation, provided the Generation Unit meets the eligibility requirements of
225
CMR 15.05, subject to the limitations in
225
CMR 15.05(2).
(a) The portion of the total electrical
energy output that qualifies as RPS Class II Renewable Generation in a given
time period shall be equal to the ratio of the net heat content of the Eligible
RPS Class II Renewable Fuel consumed to the net heat content of all fuel
consumed in that time period.
(b)
If using a Blended Fuel of which the eligible portion is an Eligible Biomass
Fuel or if co-firing an ineligible fuel with an Eligible Biomass Fuel, the
entire Generation Unit must meet the requirements of an advanced biomass Power
Conversion Technology as set forth in
225
CMR 15.05(1)(a)8.
(c) If using an Eligible Biomass Fuel, the
Generation Unit must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Department that the
emission rates for the entire Generation Unit are consistent with rates
prescribed by the MassDEP for comparably fueled Generation Units in the
Commonwealth. The Department may require the Generation Unit Owner or Operator
to retain at its own expense a third-party consultant deemed satisfactory to
the Department, to provide the Department and the MassDEP with assistance in
this determination.
(d) The
Generation Unit must provide with its Statement of Qualification Application a
fuel supply plan that specifies each and every fuel that it intends to use, in
what relative proportions either in co-firing or in a Blended Fuel, and with
what individual input heat values. Such plan shall include the procedures by
which the Unit will document to the satisfaction of the Department its
compliance with the plan.
(e) The
provisions of
225
CMR 15.05(2) shall not
apply to the incidental use of ineligible fuels for the purpose of cold
starting a Generation Unit that otherwise exclusively uses an Eligible RPS
Class II Renewable Fuel.
(3)
Special Provisions for a
Generation Unit Located in a Control Area Adjacent to the ISO-NE Control
Area. The portion of the total electrical energy output of an RPS
Class II Generation Unit located in a Control Area adjacent to the ISO-NE
Control Area that qualifies as RPS Class II Renewable Generation shall meet the
requirements in Rule 2.7(c) and all other relevant sections of the NEPOOL GIS
Operating Rules or any successor rule, and the following requirements:
(a) The Generation Unit Owner or Operator
shall provide documentation, satisfactory to the Department, that the RPS Class
II Renewable Generation Attributes or RPS Class II Waste Energy Generation
Attributes have not otherwise been, nor will be, sold, retired, claimed, used
or represented as part of electrical energy output or sales, or used to satisfy
obligations in jurisdictions other than Massachusetts.
(b) The Generation Unit Owner or Operator
must provide an attestation in a form to be provided by the Department that it
will not itself or through any affiliate or other contracted party, engage in
the process of importing RPS Class II Renewable Generation into the ISO-NE
Control Area for the creation of RPS Class II Renewable GIS Certificates, and
then exporting that energy or a similar quantity of other energy out of the
ISO-NE Control Area during the same hour.
(c) The quantity of electrical energy output
from an RPS Class II Generation Unit outside the ISO-NE Control Area that can
qualify as RPS Class II Renewable Generation at the NEPOOL GIS during each hour
is limited to the lesser of the RPS Class II Renewable Generation actually
produced by the Unit or the RPS Class II Renewable Generation actually
scheduled and delivered into the ISO-NE Control Area.
(4)
Special Provisions for
Aggregations. An Aggregation of Generation Units that are located
behind the customer meter or that are Off-grid Generation Units, each of which
could independently meet the relevant requirements of
225
CMR 15.05, may receive a single Statement of
Qualification and be treated as a single RPS Class II Renewable Generation Unit
under the following criteria and procedures:
(a) Each Generation Unit in such Aggregation
must use the same fuel, energy resource and technology as all other Generation
Units in the Aggregation.
(b) Each
of the Owners or Operators of Generation Units within the Aggregation must
enter into an agreement with a person or entity that serves as the Authorized
Agent for the Aggregation in all dealings with the Department and with the
NEPOOL GIS, and such agreement must include procedures by which the electrical
energy output of each Generation Unit shall be monitored and reported to the
NEPOOL GIS.
(c) The Authorized
Agent of the Aggregation must establish and maintain a Generator account at the
NEPOOL GIS under the NEPOOL GIS Operating Rules, including all provisions for
Non-NEPOOL Generator Representatives, as that term is defined in Rule
2.1(a)(vi) of those Rules, or any successor rules.
(d) The electrical energy output of each of
the Generation Units in the Aggregation must be individually monitored and
recorded, and it must be reported to the NEPOOL GIS as part of an aggregated
total for the Aggregation, by an independent Third Party Meter Reader, as
defined in Rule 2.5(j) of the NEPOOL GIS Operating Rules, or any successor
rule, and approved by the Department.
(5)
Special Provisions for
Generation Units Using Eligible Biomass Woody Fuels, or Manufactured Biomass
Fuels. An Owner, Operator, or Authorized Agent of a Generation
Unit that uses an Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel or a Manufactured Biomass Fuel
must meet the following provisions:
(a)
Sustainable Forest Management. Forest Derived Residues
and Thinnings shall only be sourced from forests meeting Sustainable Forestry
Management practices, as independently verified through the attestation of a
licensed forester, certified forester or independent certification.
(b)
Overall
Efficiency. A Generation Unit utilizing Eligible Biomass Woody
Fuel or Manufactured Biomass Fuel that does not comply with the overall
efficiency requirements in
225
CMR 15.05(1)(a)8.c. shall be
subject the following:
1. A Generation Unit
utilizing Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel or Manufactured Biomass Fuel that has 5%
or more of its fuel sourced from Forest Derived Residues, Forest Derived
Thinnings and Forest Salvage and does not achieve an overall efficiency of at
least 60% in a particular calendar quarter of the Compliance Year, pursuant to
225
CMR 15.05(1)(a)8.c., shall
not be eligible to report RPS Class II Renewable Generation Attributes to the
NEPOOL GIS for that calendar quarter.
2. A Generation Unit utilizing Eligible
Biomass Woody Fuel or Manufactured Biomass Fuel that has more than 95% of its
fuel sourced from Non-forest Derived Residues in a particular calendar quarter
of the Compliance Year, shall only be eligible to receive RPS Class II
Renewable Generation Attributes at NEPOOL GIS in a proportion equal to the
percentage of fuel sourced from Non-forest Derived Residues for that calendar
quarter.
(c)
Reporting Requirements for Generation Units Using Eligible Biomass
Woody Fuel or Manufactured Biomass Fuel. An Owner, Operator, or
Authorized Agent of a Generation Unit using Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel or
Manufactured Biomass Fuel shall provide to the Department on a quarterly basis
the Biomass Fuel Report as prescribed in the Department's Guideline on Eligible
Biomass Fuel for Renewable Generation Units.
(d)
Verification of Eligible
Biomass Woody Fuel. In order to verify the use of Eligible Biomass
Woody Fuel, an RPS Class I Renewable Generation Unit utilizing Eligible Biomass
Woody Fuel shall report the following to the Department on a quarterly basis in
a manner outlined in the Department's Guideline on Eligible Biomass Fuel for
Renewable Generation Units:
1. Supplier of the
fuel;
2. Amount of fuel delivered;
and
3. Date of delivery.
(e)
Biomass Fuel
Certificate. The tonnage of all Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel or
Manufactured Biomass Fuel reported in the Quarterly Biomass Fuel Report shall
be documented by ownership of the Biomass Fuel Certificates. The tonnage input
for Eligible Biomass Fuel noted on the Biomass Fuel Certificate shall equal or
be greater than the tonnage of Eligible Biomass Fuel consumed at the Generation
Unit. For Manufactured Biomass Fuel, the Biomass Fuel Certificates shall be for
the required tonnage of Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel necessary for the
production of the delivered volume of Manufactured Biomass Fuel. The Biomass
Fuel Certificates shall be originated, procured, and transacted in accordance
with the Guideline on Eligible Biomass Fuel for Renewable Generation
Units.