Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 225 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY RESOURCES › Title 225 CMR 20.00 - Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Program › Section 20.07 - Compensation Rates

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Length of Compensation Rate Terms
. All Solar Tariff
			 Generation Units with capacities larger than 25 kW AC will be eligible to
			 receive compensation under
			 225 CMR 20.00 for 20 years
			 from the Solar Tariff Generation Unit's RPS Effective Date. All Solar Tariff
			 Generation Units with capacities less than or equal to 25 kW AC will be
			 eligible to receive compensation under
			 225 CMR 20.00 for ten years
			 from the Solar Tariff Generation Unit's RPS Effective Date.
(2)
Schedule of Base Compensation
			 Rates and Compensation Rate Adders
. Following the first Capacity
			 Block, all Base Compensation Rates will decline by 4% per Capacity Block, with
			 Base Compensation Rates in each Capacity Block being established at exactly 4%
			 less than the Base Compensation Rate in the previous Capacity Block. After
			 April 14, 2020 Base Compensation Rates in each Capacity Block will decline by
			 2% per Capacity Block for Behind-the-Meter Solar Tariff Generation Units.
The Department shall establish in a Guideline the specific
				Capacity Block in each Distribution Company service territory in which the
				Behind-the-Meter Solar Tariff Generation Unit Base Compensation Rates shall
				decline by 2%. With the exception of Location Based Adders, Compensation Rate
				Adders will decline by 4% for every tranche of capacity established by the
				Department. The first tranche of capacity available to each adder shall be 80
				MW, with the Department establishing the sizes of additional tranches as they
				are filled. Compensation Rate Adders in each additional tranche will be exactly
				4% less than the Compensation Rate Adder available in the previous tranche. A
				schedule of such rates and the progress towards filling Capacity Blocks and
				reductions in Compensation Rate Adders shall be published on the Department's
				and Solar Program Administrator's websites. If a Distribution Company is
				eligible to have fewer Capacity Blocks and elects to do so, it may also
				establish a steeper rate of decline for Base Compensation Rates, which must be
				approved by the Department and shall yield a similar overall rate of decline as
				if the Distribution Company had elected to have 16 Capacity
				Blocks.
(3)
Base
			 Compensation Rates
. Initial Base Compensation Rates shall be
			 established as follows:
(a) One-time
			 Competitive Procurement for Proposed Solar Tariff Generation Units sized
			 between 1 MW AC and 5 MW AC. Each Distribution Company shall concurrently issue
			 competitive solicitations of Solar Tariff Generation Units sized 1 MW to 5 MW,
			 collectively seeking approximately 100 MW statewide. The Distribution Companies
			 will individually procure energy, RPS Class I Renewable Generation Attributes,
			 and any Environmental Attributes associated with the solar photovoltaic
			 generation produced by the Solar Tariff Generation Units; provided, however,
			 that compensation for energy will be established and paid pursuant to tariffs
			 approved by the DPU under
			 220 CMR 8.00:
Sales of
			 Electricity by Qualifying Facilities and On-site Generating Facilities to
			 Distribution Companies, and Sales of Electricity by Distribution Companies to
			 Qualifying Facilities and On-site Generating Facilities
.
1.
Schedule for
			 Procurement
. A request for proposals to conduct the competitive
			 procurement must be developed by the Distribution Companies, in consultation
			 with the Department, subject to DPU approval, if necessary, no later than
			 October 24, 2017. Once issued by the Distribution Companies, the request for
			 proposals shall remain open for 15 Business Days and proposals submitted by
			 Owners or their Authorized Agents shall be reviewed in consultation with the
			 Department. A bidder conference to address any questions surrounding the
			 request for proposals shall be held by the Distribution Companies no later than
			 ten Business Days before the deadline to submit proposals. Final decisions on
			 proposal selection shall be made within 25 Business Days of the close of the
			 request for proposals.
2.
Eligibility Criteria
. Solar Tariff Generation Units
			 that participate in the procurement shall:
a.
			 seek a Base Compensation Rate not to exceed the Ceiling Prices established in
			 225 CMR 20.07(3)(a)4.;
b. not be
			 eligible to receive Compensation Rate Adders under 225 CMR 20.07(4);
c. be a Non-net Metered Generation
			 Unit;
d. provide an executed
			 Interconnection Service Agreement, as tendered by the Distribution
			 Company;
e. demonstrate a
			 sufficient interest in real estate or other contractual right to construct the
			 Generation Unit at the location specified in the Interconnection Service
			 Agreement;
f. provide all necessary
			 governmental permits and approvals to construct the Solar Tariff Generation
			 Unit, with the exception of ministerial permits, such as a building permit, and
			 notwithstanding any pending legal challenge(s) to one or more permits or
			 approvals;
g. meet all other
			 applicable eligibility criteria in
			 225 CMR 20.00;
h. certify that if selected, they will not be
			 eligible to withdraw their proposal and reapply under a Capacity Block until
			 800 MW of Solar Tariff Generation Units have received a Statement of
			 Qualification under
			 225 CMR 20.00;
i. provide a performance guarantee deposit at
			 the time of bid submittal to the Distribution Company or the Solar Program
			 Administrator, the amount and parameters of which shall be established in
			 consultation with the Department, but which shall not exceed $25 per kW of
			 capacity.
Any Generation Unit that is not selected or declines an award
				shall have its deposit refunded. Additionally, any Solar Tariff Generation Unit
				that is selected and chooses to move forward shall have its deposit refunded
				provided it is constructed within 12 months of the SMART Program Effective
				Date;
j. certify that the
			 Solar Tariff Generation Unit is bidding independently and has no knowledge of
			 nonpublic information associated with a proposal being submitted by another
			 party in response to the request for proposals other than a response submitted
			 by an affiliate of that bidder or for a project in which that bidder is also a
			 project proponent or participant; and
k. comply with other price and non-price
			 eligibility threshold criteria as required by the Distribution Companies in
			 their request for proposals, developed in consultation with the
			 Department.
3.
Review Criteria
. All proposals must demonstrate that
			 the Solar Tariff Generation Unit(s) will meet all eligibility criteria to
			 receive a Statement of Qualification under
			 225
			 CMR 20.05(5)(a) and (e) and
			 meet the eligibility criteria set forth in 225 CMR 20.07(3)(a)2.
4.
Ceiling Prices
.
			 Proposals submitted by Owners or their Authorized Agents under the request for
			 proposals shall not be considered eligible for consideration if they request a
			 Base Compensation Rate higher than the Ceiling Price for their applicable size
			 category. For Solar Tariff Generation Units with a capacity between 1 MW and 5
			 MW, the Ceiling Price shall be $0.17 per kWh.
5.
Selection
			 Process
. Proposals that meet the eligibility criteria in 225 CMR
			 20.07(3)(a)2. shall be ranked by requested Base Compensation Rate, with
			 proposals requesting lower Base Compensation Rates being given preference over
			 those requesting higher Base Compensation Rates. After proposals have been
			 ranked by price, each Distribution Company shall select any eligible proposals
			 up to the amount of MW being solicited by the Distribution Company, which will
			 be eligible to receive a Base Compensation Rate equal to the Clearing
			 Price.
6.
Greenfield
			 Subtractors
. A Solar Tariff Generation Unit selected under the
			 procurement will have a Greenfield Subtractor, as established in 225 CMR
			 20.07(4)(g), applied to its Base Compensation Rate, if applicable.
7.
Post Selection
			 Requirements
. In order to be eligible to receive compensation
			 following the procurement, Solar Tariff Generation Units with selected
			 proposals that were previously qualified as Solar Carve-out II Renewable
			 Generation Units must notify the Department of the Solar Carve-out II Renewable
			 Generation Unit's forfeiture of its RPS Class I Statement of Qualification
			 within 15 days of selection.
8.
Clearing Price
. The Clearing Price for Solar Tariff
			 Generation Units with capacities between 1 MW and 5 MW shall be equal to the
			 highest requested Base Compensation Rate among the selected proposals and shall
			 be established separately for each Distribution Company. A Clearing Price may
			 not exceed the Ceiling Prices established in 225 CMR 20.07(3)(a)4.
9.
Proportional
			 Allotment
. Each Distribution Company shall solicit for an amount
			 of capacity up to or equal to one half of its first Capacity Block, as
			 established pursuant to
			 225
			 CMR 20.05(3).
10.
Confidentiality
.
			 The Distribution Company and the Department, to the extent authorized by law,
			 will treat all proposals received from prospective Solar Tariff Generation
			 Units in a confidential manner and will use reasonable efforts, except as
			 required by law, not to disclose such information to any third party or use
			 such information for any purpose other than in connection with the evaluation
			 of a Solar Tariff Generation Unit's participation in the procurement process
			 described in 225 CMR 20.07(3).
11.
Payment and Cost Recovery
. All Solar Tariff Generation
			 Units selected
via
the procurement process shall only be
			 eligible to receive compensation from the Distribution Companies subject to DPU
			 and any other appropriate jurisdictional regulatory bodies' approval of a
			 tariff.
12.
Termination
			 of Solicitation
. If the Department, in consultation with the
			 Distribution Companies, determines that reasonable proposals were not received
			 or that the solicitation was not competitive, the Department may terminate the
			 solicitation, and may require additional solicitations or administratively set
			 a clearing price and initial Base Compensation Rate to fulfill the requirements
			 of 225 CMR 20.07(3)(a).
13.
Additional Solicitation Parameters
. If the Department
			 terminates the solicitation and chooses to issue a new solicitation, pursuant
			 to 225 CMR 20.07(3)(a)12., any subsequent solicitation may rank proposals using
			 a different methodology and establish a clearing price and weighted average
			 clearing price differently than the processes outlined in 225 CMR 20.07(3)(a)8.
			 and 20.07(3)(b). Such methodologies shall be included in any subsequent request
			 for proposals issued by the Distribution Companies, in consultation with the
			 Department.
14.
Unallocated Capacity
. Should a Distribution Company
			 not procure the full amount of capacity it must solicit, as described in 225
			 CMR 20.07(3)(a)9., the Department may allocate any remaining capacity to a
			 future Capacity Block.
15.
Miscellaneous
. Other requirements, procedures, and
			 eligibility criteria may be specified by the Distribution Companies in their
			 requests for proposals, as developed in consultation with the
			 Department.