West Virginia Code of State Rules
Agency 150 - Public Service Commission
Title 150 - EXEMPT LEGISLATIVE RULE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
Series 150-34 - Rules Governing Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard
Section 150-34-2 - Definitions
Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 13, March 29, 2024
2.1. The Act. -- The Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Act codified in Article 2F of Chapter 24 of the West Virginia Code, as it may be amended in the future.
2.2. Advanced Coal Technology. -- A technology that is used in a new or existing energy generating facility to reduce airborne carbon dioxide emissions associated with the combustion or use of coal and includes, but is not limited to, carbon dioxide capture and sequestration technology, supercritical technology, advanced supercritical technology as that technology is determined by the Public Service Commission, ultrasupercritical technology and pressurized fluidized bed technology and any other resource, method, project or technology certified by the Commission as advanced coal technology. For new energy generating facilities, in determining whether a particular technology constitutes "advanced coal technology," the Commission will include in its determination the baseline for determining reductions in airborne carbon dioxide emissions which shall be the most efficient coal-fired energy generating facility, measured in pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per megawatt hour of net generation, owned by a West Virginia utility in operation before July 1, 2009, as certified by a responsible utility officer.
2.3. Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard or Portfolio Standard. -- A requirement in any given year that requires an electric utility to own credits in an amount equal to a certain percentage of electric energy sold in the preceding calendar year by the electric utility to retail customers in this state.
2.4. Alternative Energy Resources. -- Any of the following resources, methods or technologies for the production or generation of electricity:
2.5. Alternative and Renewable Energy Resource Credit or Credit. -- A tradable instrument that is used to establish, verify and monitor the generation of electricity from alternative and renewable energy resource facilities, energy efficiency or demand-side energy initiative projects, or greenhouse gas emission reduction or offset projects.
2.6. Alternative Energy Resource Facility. -- A facility or equipment that generates electricity from alternative energy resources.
2.7. Behind-the-meter Generator or BTM Generator. -- An alternative or renewable on-site generator within this state that is located behind a retail customer meter such that no utility-owned transmission or distribution facilities are used to deliver the energy from the generating unit to the on-site generator's load.
2.8. Certified Alternative and Renewable Energy Resource Credit or Certified Credit. -- A credit that the Public Service Commission certifies has met the definition of an alternative and renewable energy resource credit.
2.9. Certified Alternative or Renewable Energy Resource Facility. -- A generation facility or units that the Public Service Commission certifies as an alternative or renewable energy resource facility.
2.10. Commission or Public Service Commission. -- The Public Service Commission of West Virginia as continued pursuant to W. Va. Code § 24-1-3.
2.11. Compliance Year. -- The calendar year.
2.12. Customer-generator. -- An electric retail customer who owns or leases, and operates an alternative or renewable energy resource facility ("generation project") within this state that meets the following criteria: the generation project is located on the same tract of land as its metering point(s) or if the generation facility is located on contiguous tract(s), the generation project is located within two miles of the customer's metering point(s); the tract or contiguous tracts are owned, leased, or operated by the customer as a private residence or used by a commercial or industrial customer in the normal course of business; the generation project has a nameplate capacity of not greater than 25 kilowatts if installed at a residential service location, not greater than 500 kilowatts if installed at a commercial service location, or not greater than 2 megawatts if installed at an industrial service location; provided that the maximum nameplate capacity for a Customer-generator served by rural electric cooperatives, municipally-owned electric utilities or utilities serving less than thirty-thousand residential customers shall be 50 kilowatts unless such a utility consents to interconnection with a Customer-generator with a maximum nameplate capacity greater than 50 kilowatts and the generation project is designed and installed to operate in parallel with the electric utility distribution system without adversely affecting the operation of equipment and service of the electric utility and its customers and without presenting safety hazards to the electric utility and customers.
2.13. Electric Utility. -- Any electric distribution company or electric generation supplier that sells electricity to retail customers in this state.
2.14. Energy Efficiency or Demand-side Energy Initiative Project. -- A project in this state that promotes customer energy efficiency or the management of customer consumption of electricity through the implementation of one or more of the following:
2.15. Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction or Offset Project. -- A project to reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions from sources in this state other than the electric utility's own generating and energy delivery operations. Greenhouse gas emission reduction or offset projects include, but are not limited to:
2.16. Generation Attribute Tracking System or GATS. -- The environmental and emissions attributes tracking system for electric generation that is owned and operated by PJM-Environmental Information Services, Inc. (PJM-EIS).
2.17. Net Metering. -- The means of measuring the difference between electricity supplied by an electric utility and electricity generated from an alternative or renewable energy resource facility owned or operated by an electric retail customer when any portion of the electricity generated from the alternative or renewable energy resource facility is used to offset part or all of the electric retail customer's requirements for electricity.
2.18. Net Generation. -- The amount of gross generation less the electrical energy consumed at the generating facility for facility service or auxiliaries or transformation to transmission levels at the facility busbar.
2.19. PJM or PJM Interconnection. -- The regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in the PJM region, or its successors at law, and manages the transmission systems in this state.
2.20. PJM Region. -- The area within which the movement of wholesale electricity is coordinated by PJM interconnection. The PJM region is as described in the Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of PJM, including future supplements and amendments.
2.21. Reclaimed Surface Mine. -- A surface mine, as that term is defined in W. Va. Code § 22-3-3, that is reclaimed or is being reclaimed in accordance with state or federal law.
2.22. Renewable Energy Resource. -- Any of the following resources, methods, projects or technologies for the production or generation of electricity:
2.23. Renewable Energy Resource Facility. -- A facility or equipment that generates electricity from renewable energy resources.
2.24. Retail Customer. -- A customer that receives retail electricity in West Virginia.
2.25. Waste Coal. -- A technology by which electricity is produced by the combustion of the by-product, waste or residue created from processing coal (such as gob).