Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 225 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY RESOURCES › Title 225 CMR 15.00 - Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard - Class II › Section 15.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
Aggregation
. A group of one or more
				Generation Units that receives a single Statement of Qualification from the
				Department under criteria and procedures set forth in
				225
				CMR 15.05(4).
Alternative Compliance Credit
. A
				credit obtained by a Retail Electricity Supplier upon making an Alternative
				Compliance Payment. Such credit is used to document compliance with
				225
				CMR 15.07. One unit of credit shall be
				equivalent to the RPS Class II Renewable Generation Attribute associated with
				one MWh of electrical energy output from an RPS Class II Renewable Generation
				Unit, excluding Waste Energy Generation Units, and one unit of credit shall be
				equivalent to the RPS Class II Waste Energy Generation Attribute associated
				with one MWh of electrical energy output from an RPS Class II Waste Energy
				Generation Unit.
Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP)
.
				A payment of a certain dollar amount per MWh, resulting in the issuance of
				Alternative Compliance Credits, which a Retail Electricity Supplier may submit
				to the Department in
lieu
of providing RPS Class II Renewable
				Generation Attributes or RPS Class II Waste Energy Generation Attributes
				required under
				225
				CMR 15.07.
Biomass Fuel Certificate
. A
				certificate issued in accordance with rules established by the Department in
				the Guideline on Eligible Biomass Fuel for Renewable Generation Units
				that:
(a) quantifies the supply of Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel or
				Manufactured Biomass Fuel;
(b) specifies the source of the Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel or
				Manufactured Biomass Fuel; and
(c) specifies the eligibility of the Eligible Biomass Woody
				Fuel or Manufactured Biomass Fuel as Forest Derived Residues, Forest Derived
				Thinnings, Forest Salvage, Non-forest Derived Residues, or Dedicated Energy
				Crops.
For Forest Derived Residues and Forest Derived Thinnings, the
				Certificate shall reference the relevant Eligible Forest Biomass Tonnage
				Report, and include any additional information deemed necessary by the
				Department.
Biomass Input Heat Content
. The
				thermal energy content, measured in MWh, of biomass fuel as it is input into a
				Generation Unit over a period of time. For the purpose of wood chips, the value
				will be determined using a methodology provided by the Department in the
				Overall Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Analysis Guideline. The methodology
				includes a weighted average of all the metered weight of utilized biomass fuel
				types (as differentiated by typical moisture content), and an assigned heat
				content from referenced literature to each biomass type. For processed biomass
				fuels, the thermal energy content shall be documented to the satisfaction of
				the Department by an independent testing laboratory.
Blended Fuel
. A liquid or gaseous fuel
				that is blended from both Eligible RPS Class II Renewable Fuel(s) and
				ineligible fuel(s), a portion of whose electrical energy output may qualify as
				RPS Class II Renewable Generation under criteria set forth in
				225
				CMR 15.05(2).
Business Day
. A business day shall
				mean Monday through Friday, exclusive of state and federal legal
				holidays.
Certificates Obligation
. A term
				defined in the NEPOOL GIS Operating Rules at Rule 4.1(b), or any successor
				rule.
Clean Wood
. As defined in
				310
				CMR 19.006:
Clean
				Wood
.
Co-Mingled Biomass Woody Fuel
. Any
				woody biomass fuel, that is clean and devoid of non-woody biomass, paints,
				stains or other contaminants, and fossil fuel derived materials, and which is
				physically co-mingled or mixed with Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel.
Commercial Operation Date
. The date
				that a Generation Unit first produced electrical energy for sale within the
				ISO-NE Control Area or within an adjacent Control Area. In the case of a
				Generation Unit that is connected to the End-use Customer's side of the
				electric meter or produces Off-grid Generation, the date that such Generation
				Unit first produced electrical energy.
Compliance Filing
. A document filed
				annually by a Retail Electricity Supplier with the Department documenting
				compliance with
				225
				CMR 15.07, consistent with the format set
				forth in the Guidelines and submitted no later than July
				1st, or the first Business Day thereafter, of the
				subsequent Compliance Year.
Compliance Year
. A calendar year
				beginning January 1st and ending December
				31st, for which a Retail Electricity Supplier must
				demonstrate that it has met the requirements of
				225
				CMR 15.07 and
				15.08.
Control Area
. A geographic region in
				which a common generation control system is used to maintain scheduled
				interchange of electrical energy within and without the region.
Current Use Program
. A state
				administered program that permits a property owner to have a parcel of land
				taxed at a rate based on the current use of the land including, but not limited
				to, open space, active forestry, or agriculture as opposed to the fair market
				or development value of the property.
DCR
. The Massachusetts Department of
				Conservation and Recreation (DCR) established by M.G.L. c. 21, § 1.
Department
. The Massachusetts
				Department of Energy Resources (DOER) established by M.G.L. c. 25A, §
				1.
Distribution Company
. A distribution
				company as defined in M.G.L. c. 164, § 1.
Eligible Biogas Fuel
. A gaseous fuel
				that is produced by the contemporaneous bacterial decomposition or thermal
				gasification of Eligible Biomass Fuel. Eligible Biogas Fuel does not include
				natural gas, but does include renewable natural gas, which is Eligible Biogas
				Fuel upgraded to a quality similar to natural gas.
Eligible Biomass Fuel
. Fuel sources
				consisting of the following:
(a) Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel;
(b) Manufactured Biomass Fuel;
(c) Eligible Biomass Fuel;
(d) by-products or waste from animals or agricultural
				crops;
(e) food or vegetative material;
(f) algae;
(g) organic refuse-derived fuel; and
(h) Eligible Liquid Biofuel.
Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel
. Woody
				fuels that are derived from the following sources, consistent with the
				requirements of
				225
				CMR 15.05(5):
(a)
Forest Derived Residues
.
1. Tops, crooks, and other portions of trees produced as a
				byproduct, and trees collaterally damaged, during the normal course of
				harvesting material, such as timber, pulpwood, or cordwood in the
				implementation of a silvicultural prescription as administered by a licensed or
				certified forester as prescribed in the Department's Guideline on Eligible
				Biomass Fuel for Renewable Generation Units.
2. Trees and portions of trees harvested for the purpose of the
				restoration and management of habitat for rare and endangered species as listed
				by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Qualifying harvest
				areas must be approved by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
				Natural Heritage Program.
3. Other woody vegetation that interferes with regeneration or
				the natural growth of the forest, limited to locally invasive native species
				and non-native invasive woody vegetation.
(b)
Forest Derived Thinnings
.
1. Unacceptable growing stock which is defined as trees
				considered structurally weak or have low vigor and do not have the potential to
				eventually yield an eight-foot sawlog or survive for at least the next ten
				years.
2. Trees removed during thinning operations, the purpose of
				which is to reduce stand density and enhance diameter growth and volume of the
				residual stand.
(c)
Forest Salvage
.
1. Damaged, dying, or dead trees removed due to injurious
				agents, such as wind or ice storms or the spread of invasive epidemic forest
				pathogens, insects, and diseases or other epidemic biological risks to the
				forest, but not removed due to competition. Such eligible trees may be removed
				without limitation for biomass fuel, only if the injurious agent is a threat to
				forest health or risk to private or public resources, and if the United States
				Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the
				United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, or appropriate federal
				or state governmental agency has issued a declaration, rule, or order declaring
				a major threat to forest health or risk to private or public resources, or if
				they are harvested through a DCR approved cutting plan.
2. Trees removed to reduce fire hazard within fire-adapted
				forest ecosystems, as certified by a letter to the Department from the state
				agency responsible for forestry in consultation with the appropriate
				environmental state agencies.
(d)
Non-forest Derived
				Residues
.
1.
Primary Forest Products Industry
.
				Residues derived from wood products manufacturing consisting of Clean
				Wood.
2.
Land Use Change - Agricultural
.
				Trees cut or otherwise removed in the process of converting forest land to
				agricultural usage, either for new or restored farm land.
3.
Wood Waste
. Post-consumer wood
				products from Clean Wood; pruned branches, stumps, and whole trees removed
				during the normal course of maintenance of public or private roads, highways,
				driveways, utility lines, rights of way, and parks.
4.
Agricultural Wood Waste
. Pruned
				branches, stumps, and whole trees resulting from maintenance activities
				directly related to the production of an agricultural product that is not Clean
				Wood.
(e)
Dedicated Energy Crops
. Wood grown
				for the purpose of producing fuel, provided that such wood was not grown on
				land that sequestered significant amounts of carbon, such as a forest, and
				provided that such land does not have the economic potential to support
				production of any other agricultural crop grown for human consumption as food.
Eligible Forest Biomass Tonnage Report
. The report certified by a Professional Forester under the provisions of
				225 CMR
				15.05(5)  that details the
				amounts of Forest Derived Thinnings and Forest Derived Residues that may be
				removed from a harvest site to be Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel. In the case of a
				Forest Derived Residue, the Report further details whether such Forest Derived
				Residue is derived from harvest by-products or invasive species, as defined in
				the subcategories of Forest Derived Residue.
Eligible Liquid Biofuel
. A liquid fuel
				that is derived from organic waste feedstock and meets the standards for
				advanced biofuels under the Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuel
				Standard (RFS2) program. Organic waste feedstocks shall include, but not be
				limited to, waste vegetable oils, waste animal fats, or grease trap waster.
				Eligible Liquid Biofuel shall not include petroleum-based waster or Hazardous
				Waste as defined in
				310
				CMR 40.0006:
Terminology,
				Definitions, and Acronyms
, unless otherwise determined by the
				Department in consultation with MassDEP.
Eligible RPS Class II Renewable Fuel
.
				An Eligible Biomass Fuel, municipal solid waste, hydrogen derived from such
				fuels or hydrogen derived from water using the electrical output of a Renewable
				Generation Unit, but not hydrogen derived using RPS Class I or Class II
				Renewable Generation if the RPS Class I or Class II Renewable Generation
				Attributes of such Generation are sold, retired, claimed, used or represented
				as part of electrical energy output or sales, or used to satisfy regulatory
				obligations in any jurisdictions, and not hydrogen derived directly or
				indirectly from ineligible fuels.
End-use Customer
. A person or entity
				in Massachusetts that purchases electrical energy at retail from a Retail
				Electricity Supplier, except that a Generation Unit taking station service at
				wholesale from ISO-NE or self-supplying from its owner's other generating
				stations, shall not be considered an End-use Customer.
Executive Office
. The Executive Office
				of Energy and Environmental Affairs established by M.G.L. c. 6A, §
				2.
Fire-adapted Forest Ecosystem
. Natural
				forest communities characterized by vegetation including, but not limited to,
				pitch pine and/or scrub oak occurring on droughty soils, and that
(a) have evolved with fire as a natural process;
(b) support and renew associated wildlife species and habitats;
				and
(c) are identified on the most recently updated U.S. Department
				of Interior, Geological Survey national LANDFIRE map.
Generation Attribute
. A non-price
				characteristic of the electrical energy output of a Generation Unit including,
				but not limited to, the Generation Unit's fuel type, emissions, vintage and RPS
				eligibility.
Generation Unit
. A facility that
				converts a fuel or an energy resource into electrical energy.
Geothermal Energy
. Heat energy stored
				in the Earth's crust that can be accessed for electric power generation.
GIS Certificate
. An electronic record
				produced by the NEPOOL GIS that identifies Generation Attributes of each MWh
				accounted for in the NEPOOL GIS.
Guidelines
. A set of clarifications,
				interpretations, and procedures, including forms, developed by the Department
				to assist in compliance with the requirements of
				225 CMR
				15.00. The Department may issue new or revised
				Guidelines from time to time. Each Guideline shall be effective on its date of
				issuance or on such date as is specified therein, except as otherwise provided
				in 225 CMR
				15.00.
Hydroelectric Energy
. Electrical
				energy from a Generation Unit that uses flowing freshwater as the primary
				energy resource, with or without a dam structure or other means of regulating
				water flow, and that is not located at a facility that uses mechanical or
				electrical energy to pump water into a storage facility.
Impacted Watershed
. All water bodies
				or areas of land hydrologically connected to a hydroelectric facility, whether
				located upstream or downstream, which may experience any alteration of their
				physical, biological, or ecological characteristics as a result of the
				operation or increased capacity expansion of a Generation Unit.
ISO-NE
. ISO New England Inc., the
				independent system operator for New England, the regional transmission
				organization for most of New England, which is authorized by the Federal Energy
				Regulatory Commission (FERC) to exercise for the New England Control Area the
				functions required pursuant to the FERC's Order No. 2000, the FERC's
				corresponding regulations, and any successor FERC orders and
				regulations.
ISO-NE Settlement Market System
. The
				ISO-NE's electronic database system into which all real-time load and
				generation data are entered and from which such data are provided to the NEPOOL
				GIS.
Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions
.
				The aggregate quantity of greenhouse gas emissions, including direct emissions
				and significant indirect emissions such as significant emissions from land use
				changes, and temporal changes in forest carbon sequestration and emissions
				resulting from biomass harvests, regrowth, and avoided decomposition as
				determined by the Department in consultation with the MassDEP and the Executive
				Office, related to the full fuel life cycle, including all stages of fuel and
				feedstock production and distribution, from feedstock generation or extraction
				through the distribution and delivery and use of the finished fuel at the
				Generation Unit, where the mass values for all greenhouse gases are adjusted to
				account for their relative global warming potential.
Low Impact Hydro Power Institute
				(LIHI)
. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, whose stated purpose
				is to reduce the impacts of hydropower generation through the certification of
				hydropower projects that have avoided or reduced their environmental impacts
				pursuant to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute's criteria.
Manufactured Biomass Fuel
. A biomass
				fuel that is prepared, other than by means of fuel drying, through a fuel
				processing facility that is separate from a Generation Unit and that utilizes
				Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel for production. Examples include, but are not
				limited to, the mechanical production of wood pellets or bio-dust, and the
				refinement of bio-oil through pyrolysis.
Marine or Hydrokinetic Energy
.
				Electrical energy derived from waves, tides and currents in oceans, estuaries
				and tidal areas; free-flowing water in rivers, lakes, streams, and human- made
				channels, provided that such water is not diverted, impounded, or dammed; or
				differentials in ocean temperature, called ocean thermal energy
				conversion.
Massachusetts Clean Energy Technology Center
				(MassCEC)
. The center established in M.G.L. c. 23J, §
				2.
MassDEP
. The Massachusetts Department
				of Environmental Protection established by M.G.L. c. 21A, § 7.
Megawatt-hour (MWh)
. A unit of
				electrical energy or work equivalent to one million watts of power operating
				for one hour, or, for the purpose of thermal energy, a unit of energy equal to
				3,412,000 British Thermal Units (Btu).
Merchantable Bio-products
. Products
				that are refined from a biomass fuel by a bio-refinery project in which the
				Generation Unit is integral. Products include, but are not limited to,
				merchantable chemicals such as additives, lubricants, or specialty chemicals,
				and other products which can be permanently sequestered for carbon
				reductions.
NEPOOL GIS
. The NEPOOL Generation
				Information System, which includes a generation information database and
				certificate system, operated by the New England Power Pool (NEPOOL), its
				designee or successor entity, that accounts for Generation Attributes of
				electrical energy consumed within, imported into, or exported from the ISO-NE
				Control Area.
Off-grid Generation
. The electrical
				energy produced by a Generation Unit that is not connected to a utility
				transmission or distribution system.
Operator
. Any person or entity who has
				charge or control of a Generation Unit subject to
				225 CMR
				15.00, including without limitation a duly authorized
				agent or lessee of the Owner, or a duly authorized independent
				contractor.
Owner
. Any person or entity who, alone
				or in conjunction with others, has legal ownership, a leasehold interest, or
				effective control over the real property or property interest upon which a
				Generation Unit is located, or the airspace above said real property, including
				without limitation a duly authorized agent of the Owner. For the purposes of
				225
				CMR 15.02, Owner does not mean a person or
				entity holding legal title or security interest solely for the purpose of
				providing financing.
Relevant Hydroelectric Agency
. A
				federal, state or provincial agency with oversight over fish and wildlife,
				water quality, river flows, fish passage and protection, mitigation and
				enhancement opportunities, related to a hydroelectric facility located in the
				Impacted Watershed or that impacts downstream or upstream passage of fish and
				wildlife.
Renewable Generation
. The electrical
				energy output of a Renewable Generation Unit.
Renewable Generation Attribute
. The
				Generation Attribute of the electrical energy output of a specific Generation
				Unit that derives from the Generation Unit's production of Renewable
				Generation.
Renewable Generation Unit
. A
				Generation Unit that uses an Eligible RPS Class II Renewable Fuel,
				Hydroelectric Energy, waste-to-energy that is a component of conventional
				municipal solid waste plant technology in commercial use, or any of the fuels,
				energy resources or technologies set forth in
				225
				CMR 15.04(1)(a).
Retail Electricity Product
. An
				electrical energy offering that is distinguished by its Generation Attributes
				and that is offered for sale by a Retail Electricity Supplier to End-use
				Customers.
Retail Electricity Supplier
. A person
				or entity that sells electrical energy to End-use Customers in Massachusetts
				including, but not limited to, electric utility Distribution Companies
				supplying basic service or any successor service to End-use Customers. A
				Municipal Lighting Plant shall be considered a Retail Electricity Supplier;
				however, it shall be exempt from the obligations of a Retail Electricity
				Supplier under
				225 CMR
				15.00 so long as and insofar as it is exempt from the
				requirements to allow competitive choice of generation supply pursuant to
				M.G.L. c. 164, § 47A.
RPS Class II Renewable Generation
. The
				electrical energy output of an RPS Class II Renewable Generation Unit, or that
				portion of the electrical energy output of an RPS Class II Generation Unit that
				qualifies under:
(a) a Co-firing and Blended Fuel Waiver, pursuant to
				225
				CMR 15.05(2);
(b) the Special Provisions for a Generation Unit Located in a
				Control Area Adjacent to the ISO-NE Control Area, pursuant to
				225
				CMR 15.05(3); or
(c) any other applicable provision of
				225 CMR
				15.00.
RPS Class II Renewable Generation
				Attribute
. The Generation Attribute of the electrical energy
				output of a specific RPS Class II Generation Unit that derives from the
				Generation Unit's production of RPS Class II Renewable Generation, excluding
				Attributes derived from the production of Waste Energy.
RPS Class II Renewable Generation
				Unit
. A Generation Unit or Aggregation that has received an RPS
				Class II Statement of Qualification from the Department.
RPS Class II Waste Energy Generation
				Attribute
. The Generation Attribute of the electrical energy
				output of a specific Waste Energy Generation Unit that derives from the
				Generation Unit's production of Waste Energy.
Statement of Qualification (SQ)
. A
				written document from the Department that qualifies a Generation Unit or
				Aggregation as an RPS Class II Qualified Generation Unit, or that qualifies a
				portion of the annual electrical energy output of a Generation Unit or
				Aggregation as RPS Class II Renewable Generation.
Sustainable Forestry Management
.
				Practicing a land stewardship ethic that integrates the reforestation,
				managing, growing, nurturing, and harvesting of trees for useful products with
				the conservation of soil, air and water quality, wildlife and fish habitat, and
				aesthetics and the stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way,
				and a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration
				capacity, vitality, and potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant
				ecological, economic, and social functions at local, national, and global
				levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems. Criteria for
				sustainable forestry include:
(a) conservation of biological diversity;
(b) maintenance of productive capacity of forest
				ecosystems;
(c) maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality;
(d) conservation and maintenance of soil and water
				resources;
(e) maintenance of forest contributions to global carbon
				cycles;
(f) maintenance and enhancement of long-term multiple
				socioeconomic benefits to meet the needs of societies; and
(g) a legal, institutional, and economic framework for forest
				conservation and sustainable management.
Useful Thermal Energy
. Energy in the
				form of direct heat, steam, hot water, or other thermal form that is used in
				production and beneficial measures for heating, cooling, humidity control,
				process use, or other valid thermal end use energy requirements, for which fuel
				or electricity would otherwise be consumed. Thermal energy used to produce a
				dried or refined biomass fuel shall not be considered Useful Thermal Energy if
				the biomass fuel produced is used to fuel the Generation Unit that dried or
				refined the biomass fuel.
Valid Air Permit
. Within the United
				States, a current and effective authorization, license, certificate, or like
				approval to construct and/or operate a source of air pollution, issued or
				required by the regulatory agency designated in the applicable State
				Implementation Plan to issue permits under the Clean Air Act,
				42 U.S.C. §
									7401,
et seq
. In
				jurisdictions outside of the United States, it shall be a document
				demonstrating an equivalent authorization.
Waste Energy
. Electrical energy
				generated from the combustion of municipal solid waste.
Waste Energy Generation Unit
. A
				Generation Unit that utilizes conventional municipal solid waste plant
				technology in commercial use to generate Waste Energy.