Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 26 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT › Part 2 - SUBTITLES 08-12 › Subtitle 09 - MARYLAND CO[2] BUDGET TRADING PROGRAM › Chapter 26.09.01 - General Administrative Provisions › Section 26.09.01.02 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this
				  subtitle, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Account number" means the identification
				  number given to each CO2 account.
(2) "Administrator" means the Administrator
				  of the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the Administrator's
				  authorized representative.
(3)
				  "Allocate" means to distribute and record CO2 allowances in:
(a) A CO2 budget
				  unit's compliance account;
(b) A
				  set-aside account; or
(c) The
				  consumer energy efficiency account.
(4) "Allocation year" means a calendar year
				  for which CO2 allowances are allocated.
(4-1) "Alternate CO2
				  authorized account representative" means:
(a)
				  For a CO2 budget source, the alternate individual who is
				  authorized by the owners and operators of the source to represent and legally
				  bind them in matters pertaining to this subtitle; or
(b) For a general account, the alternate
				  individual who is authorized to transfer or otherwise dispose of
				  CO2 allowances held in the general account.
(4-2) "Anaerobic
				  digester" means a device that promotes the decomposition of organic material to
				  simple organics and gaseous biogas products, in the absence of elemental
				  oxygen, usually accomplished by means of controlling temperature and volume,
				  and including a methane recovery system.
(5) "Anaerobic digestion" means the
				  decomposition of organic material, including manure, brought about through the
				  action of microorganisms in the absence of elemental oxygen.
(6) "Anaerobic storage" means the storage of
				  organic material in an oxygen-free environment, or under oxygen-free
				  conditions, including, holding tanks, ponds, and lagoons.
(7) "ANSI" means the American National
				  Standards Institute.
(8)
				  "Applicant" means a person who submits an application to qualify for
				  participation in a CO2 allowance auction.
(9) "Attribute" means a characteristic
				  associated with electricity generated using a particular renewable fuel, such
				  as its generation date, facility geographic location, unit vintage, emissions
				  output, fuel, state program eligibility, or other characteristic that can be
				  identified, accounted for, and tracked.
(10) "Attribute credit" means the attributes
				  related to one megawatt-hour of electricity generation.
(11) "Auction" means a sale conducted by the
				  Department in which CO2 allowances are made available to
				  eligible categories of bidders for sale and purchase.
(12) "Auction advisory committee" means a
				  committee comprised of the Secretary of the Environment, the Director of the
				  Maryland Energy Administration, and a commissioner of the Maryland Public
				  Service Commission, or their designees.
(12-1) "Auction clearing price" means the
				  price per CO2 allowance at which all
				  CO2 allowances offered for sale in the auction will be
				  sold.
(13) "Automated data
				  acquisition and handling system (DAHS)" means that component of a continuous
				  emissions monitoring system, or other approved emissions monitoring system,
				  designed to interpret and convert individual output signals from pollutant
				  concentration monitors, flow monitors, diluent gas monitors, and other
				  component parts of the monitoring system to produce a continuous record of the
				  measured parameters.
(14) "Award"
				  means an allocation of CO2 allowances by the Department:
(a) Which are recorded in the general account
				  of a project sponsor; or
(b) Which
				  are recorded in the compliance account of a recipient of allowances from the
				  Clean Generation Set-aside Account.
(14-1) "Bidder" means a person who is
				  participating or may potentially participate in an auction of
				  CO2 allowances.
(15) "Billing meter" means a measurement
				  device used to measure electric or thermal output for commercial billing under
				  a contract where the facility selling the electric or thermal output is a
				  different owner from the person purchasing the electric or thermal
				  output.
(16) "Biogas" means gas
				  resulting from the decomposition of organic matter under anaerobic conditions
				  where the principle constituents are methane and carbon dioxide.
(17) "Clean generation" means, in the context
				  of the Clean Generation Set-aside Account, electricity produced by the
				  combustion of fossil fuels at a CO2 budget unit that has implemented measures
				  to reduce the emission of air pollutants resulting from the CO2 budget unit's
				  production of electricity.
(18)
				  "Clean Generation Set-aside Account" means a general account established by the
				  Department from which allowances are awarded to CO2
				  budget units and CO2 budget sources that:
(a) Commence operation after January 1, 2009;
				  and
(b) Engage in clean generation.
(18-1) Climate Action Plan.
(a) "Climate action plan" means a written
				  plan submitted to the Department by a CO2 budget source
				  that identifies and analyzes its CO2e emission reduction
				  or sequestration strategies and plans.
(b) "Climate action plan" includes, but is
				  not limited to, the following components:
(i)
				  Baseline data and forecasts for on-site CO2e
				  emissions;
(ii) Short and long term
				  goals for reducing or sequestering CO2e
				  emissions;
(iii) Identification of
				  CO2e emission reduction or sequestration techniques and
				  strategies that the CO2 budget source will implement and
				  the timetable for implementation; and
(iv) An estimate of the
				  CO2e emissions reductions that will result from the
				  implementation of the emission reduction or sequestration techniques and
				  strategies identified pursuant to §B(18-l)(b)(iii) of this
				  regulation.
(19) "Closed auction" means an auction where
				  a specified number of CO2 allowances are made available
				  for sale and purchase only to the owners or operators of a budget
				  unit.
(20)
				  "CO2 allowance" means the limited authorization to emit
				  up to 1 ton of CO2 and does not constitute a property
				  right.
(21)
				  "CO2 allowance auction website" means a website that
				  includes information including, but not limited to:
(a) The date and time of an
				  auction;
(b) The number of
				  CO2 allowances to be available for purchase at
				  auction;
(c) The categories of
				  participants that are able to bid on the available allowances at auction;
				  and
(d) Other information that the
				  Department determines may be pertinent to the auction.
(22) "CO2 allowance
				  contingency account" means an account administered by the Department to hold
				  the following CO2 allowances:
(a) Previously auctioned but unsold
				  allowances;
(b) Unretired or
				  unallocated CO2 allowances from the Set-aside Accounts;
				  or
(c) Any other
				  CO2 allowances as identified by the auction advisory
				  committee.
(23)
				  "CO2 allowance deduction" means the permanent withdrawal
				  of CO2 allowances from a CO2
				  compliance account for each ton of CO2 emitted from a
				  CO2 budget unit during a control period.
(24) "CO2 allowances
				  held" means the CO2 allowances recorded or submitted to
				  be recorded in a CO2 account.
(25) "CO2 allowance
				  retirement account" means a general account administered by the Department to
				  hold CO2 allowances that have been permanently retired from the Voluntary
				  Renewable Set-aside Account, the Limited Industrial Exemption Set-aside
				  Account, or the CO2 Allowance Contingency Account.
(26) "CO2 allowance
				  tracking system, or COATS" means the system that records allocations,
				  deductions, and transfers of CO2 allowances which may
				  also be used to track CO2 emissions offset projects,
				  CO2 allowance prices, and emissions from affected
				  sources.
(27)
				  "CO2 allowance transfer deadline" means midnight of the
				  March 1 occurring after the end of the relevant control period and each
				  relevant control period.
(28)
				  "CO2 authorized account representative" means:
(a) For a CO2 budget
				  source, the individual who is authorized by the owners and operators of the
				  source to represent and legally bind them in matters pertaining to this
				  subtitle; or
(b) For a general
				  account, the individual who is authorized to transfer or otherwise dispose of
				  CO2 allowances held in the general account.
(29) "CO2
				  budget emissions limitation" means the tonnage equivalent of the
				  CO2 allowances available for compliance deduction for a
				  CO2 budget source for a control period.
(30) "CO2 budget
				  permit" means a permit issued to a CO2 budget source or
				  CO2 budget unit that specifies the requirements
				  applicable to the source or to each CO2 budget
				  unit.
(31)
				  "CO2 budget source" means a source that includes one or
				  more CO2 budget units.
(32) "CO2 budget
				  system" means two or more CO2 budget sources subject to
				  this subtitle that are owned, operated, or controlled by the same
				  person.
(33)
				  "CO2 budget unit" means fossil fuel fired fuel-burning
				  equipment that, after January 1, 2005, serves a generator with a nameplate
				  capacity of 25 megawatts or greater.
(34) "CO2 cost
				  containment reserve allowance or CO2 CCR allowance" means a CO2 allowance that
				  is offered for sale at an auction by the Department for the purpose of
				  containing the cost of CO2 allowances, and is separate from, and additional to,
				  a CO2 allowance allocated from the Maryland CO2 Budget Trading Program base and
				  adjusted budgets.
(34-1)
				  "CO2 cost containment reserve trigger price, or CCR
				  trigger price" means the minimum price at which CO2 CCR
				  allowances are offered for sale by the Department at an auction, and shall be:
(a) $10.00 per CO 2 allowance for calendar
				  year 2017;
(b) Each calendar year
				  thereafter through 2020, the CCR trigger price shall be 1.025 multiplied by the
				  CCR trigger price from the previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest whole
				  cent as follows:
(i) $10.25 for
				  2018;
(ii) $10.51 for 2019;
				  and
(iii) $10.77 for
				  2020;
(c) $13.00 per
				  CO2 allowance for calendar year 2021; and
(d) Each calendar year thereafter, the CCR
				  trigger price shall be 1.07 multiplied by the CCR trigger price from the
				  previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest whole cent as follows:
(i) $13.91 for 2022;
(ii) $14.88 for 2023;
(iii) $15.93 for 2024;
(iv) $17.04 for 2025;
(v) $18.23 for 2026;
(vi) $19.51 for 2027;
(vii) $20.88 for 2028;
(viii) $22.34 for 2029; and
(ix) $23.90 for
				  2030.
(34-2)
				  "CO2 emissions containment reserve allowance, or
				  CO2 ECR allowance" means a CO2
				  allowance that is withheld from sale at an auction by the Department for the
				  purpose of additional emission reduction in the event of lower than anticipated
				  emission reduction costs.
(34-3)
				  "CO2 emissions containment reserve trigger price, or ECR
				  trigger price" means the price below which CO2
				  allowances will be withheld from sale by the Department or its agent at an
				  auction. The ECR trigger price shall be:
(a)
				  $6.00 for calendar year 2021; and
(b) For each calendar year thereafter, the
				  ECR trigger price shall be 1.07 multiplied by the ECR trigger price from the
				  previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest whole cent as follows:
(i) $6.42 for 2022;
(ii) $6.87 for 2023;
(iii) $7.35 for 2024;
(iv) $7.86 for 2025;
(v) $8.42 for 2026;
(vi) $9.00 for 2027;
(vii) $9.63 for 2028;
(viii) $10.31 for 2029; and
(ix) $11.03 for 2030.
(35)
				  "CO2 equivalent (CO2e)" means the
				  quantity of a given greenhouse gas, other than CO2,
				  multiplied by its global warming potential (GWP).
(36) "CO2 offset
				  allowance" means a CO2 allowance that is:
(a) Awarded to the project sponsor of a
				  CO2 emissions offset project; and
(b) Subject to the relevant compliance
				  deduction limitations.
(37) "Combined cycle system" means a system
				  comprised of one or more combustion turbines, heat recovery steam generators,
				  and steam turbines configured to improve overall efficiency of electricity
				  generation or steam production.
(37-1) "Combined heat and power unit, CHP
				  unit, or cogeneration unit" means an electric generating unit that uses a
				  steam-generating unit or stationary combustion turbine to simultaneously
				  produce both electric (or mechanical) and useful thermal output from the same
				  primary energy facility.
(38)
				  "Combustion turbine" means an enclosed fossil or other fuel-fired device
				  comprised of a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine in which the flue gas
				  resulting from the combustion of fuel in the combustor passes through the
				  turbine to rotate the turbine.
(39)
				  "Commence commercial operation" means:
(a)
				  For a unit that serves a generator, the date the unit begins to produce steam,
				  gas, or other heated medium used to generate electricity for sale or use,
				  including test generation;
(b) For
				  a CO2 budget unit, the date the unit begins operation;
				  or
(c) For a unit that is not a
				  CO2 budget unit, the date the unit begins commercial
				  operation which is the date when the unit becomes a CO2
				  budget unit.
(40)
				  "Commence operation" means to begin any mechanical, chemical, or electronic
				  process, including start-up of a unit's combustion chamber, determined as
				  follows:
(a) For a unit that begins operation
				  and is subsequently modified, reconstructed, or repowered, the date for the
				  CO2 budget unit remains the same; or
(b) For a unit that is not a
				  CO2 budget unit on the date of commencement of
				  operation, the date the unit becomes a CO2 budget
				  unit.
(41) "Compliance
				  account" means a budget source's CO2 account in which
				  the CO2 allowances are held and made available for use
				  by the source for a control period and each interim control period for the
				  purpose of meeting the source's CO2 budget emissions
				  limitation.
(42) "Conflict of
				  interest" means a situation that may arise with respect to an individual in
				  relation to any specific project sponsor, CO2 emissions
				  offset project or category of offset projects, such that the individual's other
				  activities or relationships with other persons or organizations render or may
				  render the individual incapable of providing an impartial certification
				  opinion, or otherwise compromise the individual's objectivity in performing
				  certain functions.
(43)
				  "Consistency application" means all applicable information required by this
				  subtitle and provided by a project sponsor to the Department for approval of a
				  CO2 offset project.
(44) "Consistency determination" means an
				  approval given by the Department when the submitted information for a CO2
				  offset project meets all of the applicable requirements of this subtitle.
(45) "Cooperating regulatory
				  agency" means a regulatory agency in a state or other United States
				  jurisdiction that is not a participating state that has entered into a
				  memorandum of understanding with the appropriate regulatory agencies of all
				  participating states to carry out certain obligations relative to
				  CO2 emissions offset projects in that state or United
				  States jurisdiction, including but not limited to the obligation to perform
				  audits of offset project sites, and report violations of this subtitle.
(46)
				  "Consumer energy efficiency account" means a general account established by the
				  Department from which allowances will be sold or distributed in order to
				  provide funds to encourage and foster the following:
(a) Promotion of energy efficiency
				  measures;
(b) Direct mitigation of
				  electricity ratepayer impacts attributable to the implementation of this
				  subtitle;
(c) Promotion of
				  renewable or non-carbon-emitting energy technologies;
(d) Stimulation or reward of investment in
				  the development of innovative carbon emissions abatement technologies with
				  significant carbon reduction potential; and
(e) Funding to implement this
				  subtitle.
(47)
				  "Continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS)" means the equipment used to
				  sample, analyze, measure, and provide a permanent record of stack parameters
				  and pollutant concentrations.
(48)
				  "Control period" means a 3-calendar year time period beginning January 1, 2009,
				  to December 31, 2011, and each subsequent 3-year period, unless extended to 4
				  years upon occurrence of a stage 2 trigger event.
(49) "Cooperating regulatory agency" means a
				  regulatory agency in a nonparticipating state or United States jurisdiction,
				  that has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the appropriate
				  regulatory agencies of all participating states to carry out certain
				  obligations relative to CO2 emissions offset projects in that state or United
				  States jurisdiction, including the obligation to perform audits of offset
				  project sites and report violations.
(49-1) "Current vintage year" means a
				  CO2 allowance that was originated in the current
				  calendar year.
(50) "Department"
				  means the Department of the Environment or its designated agent.
(50-1) "Early Applicant" means an eligible
				  CO2 budget unit that commences operation prior to or on
				  December 31, 2017.
(51)
				  "Electricity supplier" has the meaning given that term in Public Utility
				  Companies Article, §1-101(j), Annotated Code of Maryland.
(51-1) "Electronic submission agent" means
				  one or more persons designated by the authorized account representative or the
				  alternate authorized account representative of a compliance or general account
				  to have the authority to provide information electronically.
(52) Eligible Biomass.
(a) "Eligible biomass" means sustainably
				  harvested woody and herbaceous fuel that is available on a renewable or
				  recurring basis.
(b) "Eligible
				  biomass" includes:
(i) Dedicated energy crops
				  and trees;
(ii) Agricultural food
				  and feed crop residues;
(iii)
				  Aquatic plants;
(iv) Unadulterated
				  wood and wood residues;
(v) Animal
				  wastes;
(vi) Other clean organic
				  wastes not mixed with other solid wastes;
(vii) Biogas; and
(viii) Other neat liquid biofuels derived
				  from the fuel sources.
(c) "Eligible biomass" does not include old
				  growth timber.
(52-1)
				  "Emission containment reserve account" means a general account established by
				  the Department for the purpose of withholding CO2
				  allowances from sale at an auction by the Department for the purpose of
				  additional emission reduction in the event of lower than anticipated emission
				  reduction costs.
(53) "Excess
				  emissions" means the tons of CO2 emitted by a
				  CO2 budget unit during a control period that exceeds the
				  CO2 budget emissions limitation for the source.
(54) "Excess interim emissions"
				  means, during an interim control period, the amount in tons of
				  CO2 emitted by a CO2 budget
				  source that exceeds 50 percent of the CO2-budget
				  emissions limitation for the source.
(55) "First control
				  period adjustment for banked allowances" means, for allocation years 2014
				  through 2020, an adjustment, applied to the Maryland CO2
				  Budget Trading Program base budget, to address the surplus allowances from
				  allocation years 2009, 2010, and 2011 held in general and compliance accounts,
				  including compliance accounts established pursuant to the
				  CO2 Budget Trading Program, that are in addition to the
				  aggregate quantity of first control period CO2 emissions
				  from all CO2 budget sources in all of the participating
				  states. Allowances in accounts opened by participating states are not
				  included.
(56) "Forest offset
				  project" means an offset project involving reforestation, improved forest
				  management, or avoided conversion.
(57) "Forest
				  offset project data report" means the report prepared by a project sponsor each
				  year that provides the information and documentation required by COMAR
				  26.09.03.04 or the forest offset
				  protocol.
(58) "Forest offset protocol" means the protocol
				  titled "Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Offset Protocol U.S. Forest
				  Projects, June 13, 2013"
(59)
				  Fossil Fuel-Fired.
(a) "Fossil fuel-fired"
				  means, for a unit that commenced operation before January 1, 2005, the
				  combustion of fossil fuel alone or in combination with any other fuel where the
				  fossil fuel combusted comprises, or is projected to comprise, more than 50
				  percent of the annual heat input on a Btu basis during any year.
(b) "Fossil fuel-fired" means, for a unit
				  that commenced or commences operation on or after January 1, 2005, the
				  combustion of fossil fuel alone or in combination with any other fuel, where
				  the fossil fuel combusted comprises, or is projected to comprise, more than 5
				  percent of the annual heat input on a Btu basis during any year.
(60) "Fund" means any fund
				  authorized by the legislature to hold proceeds from the auction of
				  CO2 allowances for any of the uses identified in this
				  subtitle.
(61) "GATS" means the
				  Generation Attribute Tracking System of PJM Environmental Information Services,
				  Inc.
(61-1) "GATS reserve
				  subaccount" means a repository in a GATS account that is designed for one-way
				  transfers of certificates, such as RECs, for removal from circulation, as with
				  retirement.
(62) "General account"
				  means a CO2 account that is not a compliance
				  account.
(63) "Global warming
				  potential (GWP)" means a numerical measure of the radiative efficiency or
				  heat-absorbing ability of a particular gas, relative to that of
				  CO2, after taking into account the decay rate of each
				  gas, relative to that of CO2, and consistent with the
				  values used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Fifth Assessment
				  Report, Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, Chapter 5
				  "Anthropogenic and Natural Radiative Forcing", Section 8.7 "Emission Metrics"
				  (pages 710-720).
(64) "Gross
				  generation" means the electrical output in megawatts at the terminals of the
				  generator.
(65) "Independent
				  verifier" means an individual that has been approved to conduct verification
				  activities.
(66) "Intentional
				  Reversal" means any reversal of a forest offset project caused by a forest
				  owner's negligence, gross negligence, or willful intent, including harvesting,
				  development, and harm to the area within the offset project boundary.
(67) "Interim control period" means a
				  1-calendar-year time period, during each of the first and second calendar years
				  of each 3-year control period, further defined as follows:
(a) The first interim control period begins
				  on January 1, 2015 and ends on December 31, 2015, inclusive;
(b) The second interim control period begins
				  on January 1, 2016, and ends on December 31, 2016, inclusive; and
(c) Each successive 3-year control period
				  will include two interim control periods, comprised of each of the first 2
				  calendar years of that control period.
(68) "Life-of-the-unit contractual
				  arrangement" means a unit participation power sales agreement under which a
				  customer reserves, or is entitled to receive, a specified amount or percentage
				  of nameplate capacity or associated energy from any specified unit pursuant to
				  a contract:
(a) For the life of the
				  unit;
(b) For a cumulative term of
				  not less than 30 years, including contracts that permit an election for early
				  termination; or
(c) For a period
				  equal to or greater than 25 years or 70 percent of the economic useful life of
				  the unit determined as of the time the unit is built, with option rights to
				  purchase or release some portion of the nameplate capacity and associated
				  energy generated by the unit at the end of the period.
(68-1) "Long Term Contract Price" shall be:
(a) $2.00 in calendar year 2014;
				  and
(b) For each calendar year
				  thereafter, the LTCP from the previous year multiplied by 1.025, rounded to the
				  nearest whole cent.
(69)
				  "Limited Industrial Exemption Set-aside Account" means a general account
				  established by the Department from which allowances will be held for retirement
				  for industrial generators of at least 25 megawatts which have taken a permit
				  condition that limits the unit's annual electrical output to the electric grid
				  to less than or equal to 10 percent of its annual gross generation.
(70) "Long Term Contract Set-aside Account"
				  means a general account established by the Department from which allowances
				  will be awarded to CO2 budget units with long term
				  contracts after demonstration that purchasing allowances equal to the
				  CO2 emissions will affect the financial viability of the
				  plant.
(71) "Market penetration
				  rate" means a measure of the diffusion of a technology, product, or practice in
				  a defined market, as represented by:
(a) The
				  percentage of annual sales for a product or practice;
(b) A percentage of the existing installed
				  stock for a product or category of products; or
(c) The percentage of existing installed
				  stock that utilizes a practice.
(72) "Maryland CO2
				  Budget Trading Program adjusted budget" means the number of
				  CO2 allowances available for allocation and auction
				  annually, determined in accordance with COMAR 26.09.02.031 and the
				  CO2 Budget Trading Program. CO2
				  allowances allocated under the Maryland CO2 Budget
				  Trading Program adjusted budget are separate from:
(a) CO2 offset
				  allowances allocated to project sponsors; and
(b) CO2 CCR allowances
				  offered for sale at an auction.
(72-1) "Maryland CO2
				  Budget Trading Program base budget" is specified in COMAR
				  26.09.02.03A, and
				  does not include the following additional allowances:
(a) CO2 offset
				  allowances allocated to project sponsors; and
(b) CO2 CCR allowances
				  offered for sale at an auction.
(72-2) "Minimum reserve price" shall be,
				  except for CCR allowances:
(a) $2.00 in
				  calendar year 2014; and
(b) For
				  each calendar year thereafter, the minimum reserve price from the previous
				  calendar year multiplied by 1.025, rounded to the nearest whole cent.
(73) "Nameplate
				  capacity" means the maximum electrical output, in megawatts, that a generator
				  can sustain over a specified period of time when not restricted by seasonal or
				  other deratings as measured in accordance with the United States Department of
				  Energy standards.
(74) Net-Electric
				  Output.
(a) "Net-electric output" means the
				  amount of gross generation the generator(s) produce, as measured at the
				  generator terminals, less the electricity used to operate the plant (i.e.,
				  auxiliary loads), including but not limited to the following:
(i) Output from steam turbine(s);
(ii) Combustion turbine(s);
(iii) Gas expander(s); and
(iv) Other generator types deemed fit by the
				  Department.
(b) Such
				  uses include fuel handling equipment, pumps, fans, pollution control equipment,
				  other electricity needs, and transformer losses as measured at the transmission
				  side of the step up transformer (e.g., the point of sale).
(75) " Non-CO2 budget
				  unit" means a unit that does not serve a generator with a nameplate capacity
				  equal to or greater than 25 megawatts.
(75-1) "Non-early Applicant" means an
				  eligible CO2 budget unit that commences operation after
				  December 31, 2017.
(75-2) "Off-site
				  " means a location that is not contiguous with the property where the anaerobic
				  digester is located.
(76) "Offset
				  project" means all equipment, materials, items, or actions directly related to
				  the reduction of CO2 equivalent emissions or the
				  sequestration of carbon specified in a consistency application.
(77) "Open auction" means an auction where a
				  specified number of CO2 allowances are made available
				  for purchase by any authorized auction participant, including owners or
				  operators of budget units, environmental groups, brokers, and investment
				  facilities.
(78) "Participating
				  state" means a state that has established corresponding regulations as part of
				  the CO2 Budget Trading Program.
(79) "Permanently retired" means allowances
				  or credits that have been placed in a retirement account and rendered
				  unusable.
(80) "Person" means an
				  individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, or
				  representative of any kind and any firm, partnership, association or
				  corporation, or other entity including any public or municipal corporation and
				  any agency, bureau, department, or instrumentality of federal, State, or local
				  government.
(81) "PJM Environmental
				  Information Services, Inc. (EIS)" means the entity that owns and operates the
				  GATS.
(81-1) "PJM region" means the
				  control area administered by the PJM Interconnection, Inc., as the area may
				  change from time to time.
(82)
				  "Project commencement" means:
(a)For an
				  offset project involving physical construction, other work at an offset project
				  site, or installation of equipment or materials, the date of the beginning of
				  the activity;
(b) For an offset
				  project that involves the implementation of a management activity or protocol,
				  the date on which the activity is first implemented or protocol first utilized;
				  or
(c) For an offset project
				  involving reforestation, improved forest management, or avoided conversion, the
				  date specified in section 3.2 of the forest protocol.
(83) "Project sponsor" means the
				  CO2 authorized account representative for the general
				  account of the relevant offset project or CO2 emissions
				  credit retirement.
(84)
				  "Regional-type anaerobic digester" means an anaerobic digester using feedstock
				  from more than one agricultural operation, or importing feedstock from more
				  than one agricultural operation, commonly referred to as a community digester
				  or centralized digester.
(85)
				  "Renewable energy" has the meaning given that term in Public Utility Companies
				  Article, §7-701(l) and (m), Annotated Code of Maryland.
(85-1) "Renewable energy credit (REC)" has
				  the meaning given that term in Public Utility Companies Article, §7-701(i),
				  Annotated Code of Maryland, and is created or acquired pursuant Public Utility
				  Companies Article, Title 7, Subtitle 7, Annotated Code of Maryland.
(85-2) "Renewable energy facility" has the
				  meaning given that term in COMAR
				  20.61.01.03B(11).
(86) "Renewable energy portfolio standard
				  (RPS)" has the meaning given that term in Public Utility Companies Article,
				  §7-701(j), Annotated Code of Maryland.
(86-1) "Renewable on-site generator" has the
				  meaning given that term in the Public Utility Companies Article §7-701(k),
				  Annotated Code of Maryland.
(86-2)
				  "Renewable portfolio standard" means the renewable energy portfolio
				  standard.
(86-3) "Reporting Period"
				  means the period of time covered by a forest offset project data report, where:
(a) The first reporting period for an offset
				  project in an initial crediting period may consist of 6 to 24 consecutive
				  months; and
(b) All subsequent
				  reporting periods in an initial crediting and all reporting periods in any
				  renewed crediting period must consist of 12 consecutive months.
(87) "Reserve price"
				  means the minimum price per CO2 allowance at which
				  CO2 allowances will be sold in a given
				  auction.
(88) "Retail marketer"
				  means, for the purposes of the voluntary renewable set-aside account, a person
				  who provides renewable energy or renewable energy attribute credits to a retail
				  customer through a retail sales transaction, or a person who provides to a
				  retail customer the service of procuring and retiring renewable energy
				  attribute credits on the customer's behalf.
(89) "Reversal" means the intentional or
				  unintentional release of CO2 emissions from an offset project for which offset
				  allowances have previously been issued.
(90) "Second
				  control period adjustment for banked allowances" means, for allocation years
				  2015 through 2020, a reduction in the Maryland CO2
				  Budget Trading Program base budget by the number of allowances equal to the
				  number of 2012 and 2013 allowances held in general and compliance accounts
				  established pursuant to the CO2 Budget Trading Programs,
				  that are in excess of the aggregate tons of 2012 and 2013 emissions from all
				  CChBudget sources in all of the participating states. Allowances in accounts
				  opened by participating states are not included.
(91) "Serial number" means the unique
				  identification number assigned to each CO2
				  allowance.
(92) "Third adjustment
				  for banked allowances" means, for allocation years 2021 through 2025, an
				  adjustment applied to the Maryland CO2 Budget Trading
				  Program base budget to address allowances held in general and compliance
				  accounts, including compliance accounts established pursuant to the
				  CO2 Budget Trading Program, but not including accounts
				  opened by participating states, that are in addition to the aggregate quantity
				  of emissions from all CO2 budget sources in all of the
				  participating states at the end of the fourth control period in 2020 and as
				  reflected in the CO2 Allowance Tracking System on March
				  17, 2021.
(93) "Ton or tonnage"
				  means any "short ton", or 2,000 pounds. For the purpose of determining
				  compliance with the CO2 requirements of Regulations .04 and .05 of this
				  chapter, total CO2 emissions for a control period and each interim control
				  period shall be calculated as the sum of all recorded hourly emissions (or the
				  tonnage equivalent of the recorded hourly emissions rates) in accordance with
				  COMAR 26.09.02.10 and .11: with
where:
(a) Any
				  remaining fraction of a ton equal to or greater than 0.50 ton deemed to equal 1
				  ton;
(b) Any fraction of a ton
				  less than 0.50 ton deemed to equal zero tons; and
(c) A short ton is equal to 0.9072 metric
				  tons.
(93-1) "Total
				  solids " means the total of all solids in a sample, including the total
				  suspended solids, total dissolved solids, and volatile suspended
				  solids.
(94) "Transmission or
				  distribution entity" means the assets and equipment used to transmit and
				  distribute electricity from an electric generator to the electrical load of a
				  customer, including all related assets and equipment located within the service
				  territory of the entity, as specified by the applicable state regulatory
				  agency.
(95) "Unintentional
				  Reversal" means any reversal of a forest offset project, including by wildfires
				  or disease, that is not the result of the forest owner's negligence, gross
				  negligence, or willful intent.
(96) "Unsold allowance" means a CO2 allowance
				  that has been offered for sale in an auction conducted by the Department, but
				  not sold.
(96-1) "Verification "
				  means the verification by an independent verifier that certain parts of a
				  CO2 emissions offset project consistency application
				  and/or measurement, monitoring or verification report conforms to the
				  requirements of this subtitle.
(96-2) "Vintage year" means the calendar year
				  that a CO2 allowance was originated.
(97) "Volatile solids" means the fraction of
				  total solids that is comprised primarily of organic matter.
(98) "Voluntary renewable
				  CO2 emissions factor" means the average release rate of
				  carbon dioxide (CO2) from the fossil fuel electrical
				  generation units that supply electricity to the PJM region relative to the
				  total megawatt hours (MwH) supplied as expressed in pounds of
				  CO2 per MwH or metric ton of CO2
				  per MwH.
(99) "Voluntary renewable
				  energy purchase" means the purchase of electricity from renewable energy
				  generation or renewable energy attribute credits by a retail electricity
				  customer on a voluntary basis where the purchase may not be used by the
				  generator or purchaser to meet any regulatory mandate, such as a renewable
				  portfolio standard.
(100)
				  "Voluntary renewable set-aside account" means a general account established by
				  the Department from which allowances will be permanently retired based upon
				  documented purchases of voluntary renewable energy by ratepayers in
				  Maryland.