Wis. Stat. § 79.005 — WI Code / Chapter 79 / Section 79.005
Definitions.
Status: in_force

In this subchapter:

(1b) “Alternative energy resource” means a renewable resource, as defined in s. 196.378 (1) (h) ; garbage, as defined in s. 289.01 (9) ; or nonvegetation-based industrial, commercial, or household waste.

(1d) “Baseload electric generating facility” means an electric generating facility that has a capacity factor that is greater than 60 percent, as determined by the public service commission.

(1f) “Capacity factor” means the anticipated actual annual output of an electric generating facility expressed as a percentage of the facility’s potential output. For purposes of this subchapter, the public service commission may review the capacity factor of an electric generating facility at any time.

(1g) “Cogeneration production plant” means an electric generating facility that produces electricity and another form of thermal energy, including heat or steam, that is used for industrial, commercial, heating, or cooling purposes.

(1h) “Decommissioned” means, with regard to a production plant, the earliest of the following:

(a) The production plant is no longer recovered through the utility’s or cooperative’s rates or, for a production plant owned by a qualified wholesale electric company, as defined in s. 76.28 (1) (gm) , the production plant permanently ceases generating electricity.

(b) The production plant is transferred to a person who is not subject to the annual license fee imposed under s. 76.28 (2) or 76.29 (2) .

(1j)

(a) “Energy storage facility” means property to which all of the following apply:

1. The property is interconnected to the electrical grid.

2. The property is designed to receive electrical energy, to store the electrical energy as another form of energy, and to convert that other form back into electrical energy.

3. The property delivers the electrical energy converted from some other form, as described in subd. 2. , for sale or to use for providing reliability or economic benefits to the electrical grid.

4. The property is owned by a light, heat, and power company assessed under s. 76.28 (2) or 76.29 (2) , not including property described in s. 66.0813 unless the property is owned or operated by a local governmental unit located outside the municipality, or by an electric cooperative assessed under ss. 76.07 and 76.48 , respectively, or by a municipal electric company under s. 66.0825 .

(b) “Energy storage facility” includes hydroelectric pumped storage, compressed air energy storage, regenerative fuel cells, batteries, superconducting magnetic energy storage, flywheels, thermal energy storage systems, and hydrogen storage, or a combination thereof, or any other similar technologies as determined by the federal energy regulatory commission.

(1L) “Liquefied natural gas storage facility” means a liquefied natural gas storage facility owned by a light, heat, and power company assessed under s. 76.28 (2) or 76.29 (2) , not including property described in s. 66.0813 , unless the property is owned or operated by a local governmental unit located outside the municipality, by an electric cooperative assessed under ss. 76.07 and 76.48 , respectively, or by a municipal electric company under s. 66.0825 .

(1m) “Municipality” means any town, village or city in this state. If a municipality is located in more than one county, payments under this subchapter shall be computed using data for the municipality as a whole.

(2) “Population” means the number of persons residing in each municipality and county of the state as last determined by the department of administration under s. 16.96 .

(2m) “Power generation unit” means a complete set of electric generating equipment, as defined in s. 196.52 (9) (a) 1. , that, collectively, is sufficient to generate electric power.

(3) “Production plant” does not include substations and general structures.

(4) “Repowered” means any of the following:

(a) Replacing the boiler on an existing fossil fuel steam unit with a combustion turbine and heat recovery steam generator and reusing the steam turbine and heat rejection system.

(b) Adding a heat recovery steam generator to a simple cycle combustion turbine.

(c) Demolishing or abandoning an existing power generation unit and replacing it with a new power generation unit at the same site.

(d) Replacing steam generating equipment at a combustion-based renewable facility, as defined in s. 196.378 (1) (g) , that is located in this state, to increase efficiency or capacity, if the facility remains a combustion-based renewable facility, as defined in s. 196.378 (1) (g) , after replacing the equipment.

History: 1971 c. 125 , 215 ; 1975 c. 39 ; 1981 c. 20 s. 1169 ; 1989 a. 336 ; 2003 a. 31 ; 2005 a. 141 ; 2023 a. 139 ; 2025 a. 163 .