Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(b) The owner, including an electric power
supplier, of each renewable energy facility, whether or not required to obtain
a certificate of public convenience and necessity pursuant to
G.S.
62-110.1, that intends for renewable energy
certificates it earns to be eligible for use by an electric power supplier to
comply with
G.S.
62-133.8, or for its facility to participate
in the Competitive Procurement of Renewable Energy Program, shall register the
facility with the Commission. The registration statement shall be in the form
adopted by the Commission, may be filed separately or together with an
application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, or with a
report of proposed construction by a person exempt from the certification
requirement. All relevant renewable energy facilities shall be registered prior
to their having RECs issued in the North Carolina Renewable Energy Tracking
System (NC-RETS) pursuant to Rule R8-67(h). Contracts for power supplied by an
agency of the federal government are exempt from the requirement to register
and file annually with the Commission if the renewable energy certificates
associated with the power are bundled with the power purchased by the electric
power supplier.
(1) The owner of each
renewable energy facility that has not previously done so, including a facility
that is located outside of the State of North Carolina, shall include in its
registration statement the following information:
(i) The full and correct name, business
address, electronic mailing address, and telephone number of the facility
owner;
(ii) A statement of whether
the facility owner is an individual, a partnership, or a corporation and, if a
partnership, the name and business address of each general partner and, if a
corporation, the state and date of incorporation and the name, business
telephone number, electronic mailing address, and business address, of an
individual duly authorized to act as corporate agent for the purpose of the
application and, if a foreign corporation, whether domesticated in North
Carolina;
(iii) The nature of the
renewable energy facility, including its technology, the type and source of its
power or fuel(s); whether it produces electricity, useful thermal energy, or
both; and the facility's projected dependable capacity in kilowatts AC and/or
British thermal units per hour, as well as its maximum nameplate
capacity;
(iv) The E911 address of
the facility, the county in which the proposed facility will be physically
located, and GPS coordinates of the approximate center of the proposed facility
site to the nearest second or one thousandth of a degree;
(v) A map, such as a county road map, with
the location indicated on the map;
(vi) The ownership of the site and, if the
site owner is other than the facility owner, the facility owner's legal
interest in the site;
(vii) A
complete list of all federal and state (not local) licenses, permits, and
exemptions required for construction and operation of the facility, and a
statement of whether each has been obtained or applied for. A copy of those
that have been obtained should be filed with the application. Wind facilities
with multiple turbines, where each turbine is licensed separately, may provide
copies of such approvals for one such turbine of each type in the facility, but
shall attest that approvals for all of the turbines are available for
inspection;
(viii) The date the
facility began operating. If the facility is not yet operating, the owner shall
provide the facility's projected in-service date;
(ix) If the facility is already operating,
the owner shall provide information regarding the amount of energy produced by
the facility, net of station use, for the most recent 12-month or calendar-year
period. Energy production data for a shorter time period is acceptable for
facilities that have not yet operated for a full year;
(x) The name of the entity that does (or
will) read the facility's energy production meter(s) for the purpose of
renewable energy certificate issuance;
(xi) For thermal energy facilities, describe
the method to be used to determine the facility's thermal energy production, in
Btus per hour, that is eligible for REC issuance;
(xii) Whether the facility participates in a
REC tracking system, and if so, which one. If the facility does not currently
participate in a REC tracking system, which tracking system the owner
anticipates will be used for the purpose of REC issuance; and
(xiii) If this facility has already been the
subject of a proceeding or submittal before the Commission, such as a Report of
Proposed Construction or a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity,
provide the Commission Docket Number, if available.
(2) If the facility is a combined heat and
power system, the owner shall also include in its registration statement the
following information:
(i) A narrative
description and one-line diagram of the electrical and thermal generation
systems to include Btu meters, boilers, steam pressures, valves, turbines, and
ultimate uses of the steam. Also, include any crossover of steam, cross
connections (even if by spool piece), or the ability to supply steam from other
means or to other loads;
(ii) A
description of the parasitic electrical and parasitic thermal loads;
(iii) Calculations for the parasitic
electrical and parasitic thermal loads and supporting documents;
(iv) A description of the method of
collecting the waste heat from the electrical generating system;
(v) A description of the host(s) of the waste
heat and an explanation of how the waste heat will be used and
useful;
(vi) Calculations of the
percent of energy that is delivered to the steam host(s) but not used and
useful; and
(vii) Confirmation if
the proposed operation will have any pressure reducing valves operating
simultaneously in parallel with any back pressure turbines.
(3) If the facility owner intends
to earn multiple types of RECs by using a variety of fuels, the owner shall
include in its registration statement the following additional information:
(i) Example calculations for the energy
production associated with each fuel used by the facility as required by the
Appendix C (Multi-fuel Generation) to the operating procedures for the North
Carolina Renewable Energy Tracking System. These calculations must ultimately
show the electrical and thermal energy (if any) attributable to only the
renewable fuels and how the number of renewable energy certificates is
determined;
(ii) A description of
each fuel to be used by the facility; and
(iii) A description of how the heat content
of each fuel was determined.
(4) The owner of each renewable energy
facility shall certify in its registration statement and annually thereafter
that it is in substantial compliance with all federal and state laws,
regulations, and rules for the protection of the environment and conservation
of natural resources. If a credible showing is made that the facility is not in
substantial compliance with all federal and state laws, regulations, and rules
for the protection of the environment and conservation of natural resources,
the Commission shall refer the matter to the appropriate environmental agency
for review. Registration shall not be revoked unless and until the appropriate
environmental agency concludes that the facility is out of compliance and the
Commission issues an order revoking the registration.
(5) The owner of each renewable energy
facility shall certify in its registration statement and annually thereafter
that the facility satisfies the requirements of
G.S.
62-133.8(a)(5) or (7) as a
renewable energy facility or new renewable energy facility, that the facility
will be operated as a renewable energy facility or new renewable energy
facility, and, if the facility has been placed into service, the date when it
was placed into service
(6) The
owner of each renewable energy facility shall further certify in its
registration statement and annually thereafter that any renewable energy
certificates (whether or not bundled with electric power) sold to an electric
power supplier to comply with
G.S.
62-133.8 have not, and will not, be
remarketed or otherwise resold for any other purpose, including another
renewable energy portfolio standard or voluntary purchase of renewable energy
certificates in North Carolina (such as NC GreenPower) or any other state or
country, and that the electric power associated with the certificates will not
be offered or sold with any representation that the power is bundled with
renewable energy certificates.
(7)
The owner of each renewable energy facility shall certify in its registration
statement and annually thereafter that it consents to the auditing of its books
and records by the Public Staff insofar as those records relate to transactions
with North Carolina electric power suppliers, and agrees to provide the Public
Staff and the Commission access to its books and records, wherever they are
located, and to the facility.
(8)
If the facility is already operating, the owner shall attest that the
registration information is true and accurate for all years that the facility
has earned RECs for compliance with
G.S.
62-133.8. Each registration statement shall
be signed and verified by the owner of the renewable energy facility or by an
individual duly authorized to act on behalf of the owner for the purpose of the
filing.
(9) Renewable energy
facilities and new renewable energy facilities that have RECs issued in NC-RETS
shall provide their annual certification electronically via NC-RETS. Annual
certifications are due April 1 each year.
(10) Registration statements filed on behalf
of a corporation are not subject to the provision of Rule R1-5(d) that requires
corporate pleadings to be filed by a member of the Bar of the State of North
Carolina. Should a public hearing be required, the requirements of
G.S.
84-4 and
G.S.
84-4.1 shall be applicable.
(11) The applicant may file the registration
statement electronically or by filing an original and 9 copies of the
registration statement with the Chief Clerk of the Utilities Commission. The
registration statement shall be accompanied by the fee required by
G.S.
62-300.
(c) Each re-seller of renewable energy
certificates derived from a renewable energy facility, including a facility
that is located outside of the State of North Carolina, shall ensure that the
owner of the renewable energy facility registers with the Commission prior to
the sale of the certificates by the re-seller to an electric power supplier to
comply with
G.S.
62-133.8(b), (c), (d), (e) and
(f), except that the filing requirements in
subsection (b) of this Rule shall apply only to information for the year(s)
corresponding to the year(s) in which the certificates to be sold were
earned.
(e) No later
than twenty (20) business days after the registration statement is filed with
the Commission, the Public Staff shall, and any other interested persons may,
file with the Commission and serve upon the registrant a recommendation
regarding whether the registration statement is complete and identifying any
deficiencies. If the Commission determines that the registration statement is
not complete, the owner of the renewable energy facility will be required to
file the missing information. Upon receipt of all required information, the
Commission will promptly issue an order accepting the registration, denying the
registration, or setting the matter for hearing.
(f) Any of the following actions may result
in revocation of registration by the Commission:
(1) Falsification of or failure to disclose
any required information in the registration statement or annual
filing;
(2) Failure to remain in
substantial compliance with all federal and state laws, regulations, and rules
for the protection of the environment and conservation of natural
resources;
(3) Remarketing or
reselling any renewable energy certificate (whether or not bundled with
electric power) after it has been sold to an electric power supplier or any
other person for compliance with
G.S.
62-133.8 or for any other purpose, including
another renewable energy portfolio standard or voluntary purchase of renewable
energy certificates in North Carolina or any other state or country, or
offering or selling the electric power associated with the certificates with
any representation that the power is bundled with renewable energy
certificates;
(4) Failure to allow
the Commission or the Public Staff access to its books and records necessary to
audit REPS compliance; or
(5)
Failure to provide the annual certifications required by Rule
R8-66(b).
(h) An owner of a
renewable energy facility that has registered with the Commission shall notify
the Commission and the tracking system that issues the facility's RECs within
fifteen (15) days of any change in the information contained in the
registration statement, including ownership change, fuel change, or permit
issuance or revocation. If there is a change in ownership of the facility, the
Commission shall be notified, the registration of the facility in the name of
that facility owner shall be cancelled, and the new owner may file a
registration statement pursuant to this Rule. The following changes in
information are exemplary of changes that require an amendment to the
registration of the facility: a change in the facility owner's name, a change
in the fuel source, a change in the multi-fuel calculations, or a change in the
generating capacity of the facility. The following changes in information are
exemplary of changes that require notice to the Commission, but do not require
an amendment to the registration: a change in the facility owner's contact
information, or a change in the upstream ownership of the facility
owner.
(i) In addition to complying
with any other applicable filing requirements pursuant to this Rule or other
Commission rules, the filing of a FERC Form No. 556 for the purpose of
satisfying the notice requirements of
18 C.F.R.
292.207(c) or for the
purpose of satisfying the requirements of section (h) of this Rule, shall be
accompanied by a cover letter that identifies the facility, the facility owner,
and the associated docket number assigned to the matter by the Chief Clerk, and
includes a short, plain statement alerting the Commission to the changed
information, if any.
NCUC Docket No. E-100,
Sub 113, 2/29/08; NCUC Docket No. E-100, Sub 113, 3/13/08; NCUC Docket No.
E-100, Subs 113 & 121, 1/31/11; NCUC Docket No. M-100, Sub 136, 6/26/12;
NCUC Docket No. E-100, Sub 134, 3/18/2015; NCUC Docket No. E-100, Sub 150,
11/06/2017; NCUC Docket Nos. E-100, Subs 113, 121, & 134,
03/29/2018.
