Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 310 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Title 310 CMR 7.00 - Air Pollution Control › Section 7.75 - Clean Energy Standard

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Purpose, Authority and Scope
. The purpose of 310 CMR
			 7.75, promulgated in conjunction with
			 310
			 CMR 7.74, is to assist the Commonwealth in
			 achieving the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals adopted pursuant to
			 M.G.L. c. 21N, § 3(b), by establishing a clean energy standard (CES) that
			 will increase the level of clean electricity that is purchased from the
			 regional electric grid for consumption in Massachusetts. To achieve those
			 goals, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and the
			 Department, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 21A, §§ 2 and 8 and M.G.L. c. 21N
			 hereby jointly promulgate 310 CMR 7.75 following consultation with the
			 Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and based on the considerations specified
			 in M.G.L. c. 21N, § 3(c). In exercising their broad authority and
			 discretion under M.G.L. c. 21N, § 3(c), EEA and the Department have
			 determined that establishing the CES, along with the Commonwealth's other
			 climate programs and policies, will ensure achievement of the greenhouse gas
			 emissions limits as established under M.G.L. c. 21N, and that the 310 CMR 7.75
			 levels are consistent with, and take account of, regional programs such as the
			 Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and the Renewable Portfolio Standard
			 (RPS). The Department is also consolidating in 310 CMR 7.75 a requirement
			 previously codified at
			 310 CMR
			 7.71(9)  for retail sellers
			 of electricity to report statewide greenhouse gas emissions and to monitor and
			 ensure compliance with the reporting provisions of M.G.L. c. 21N, §
			 2(a)(5). 310 CMR 7.75 is also promulgated pursuant to M.G.L. c. 21A, § 16
			 and M.G.L. c. 111, §§ 2C and 142A through 142E.
(2)
Definitions
. The
			 terms used in 310 CMR 7.75 are defined in 310 CMR 7.75(2) and
			 310 CMR
			 7.00: Definitions. Where a term is defined in both
			 310 CMR
			 7.00: Definitions and 310 CMR 7.75, the definition in
			 310 CMR 7.75 shall apply.
Biogenic Greenhouse Gas Emissions
.
				Emissions of carbon dioxide that result from the combustion of biogenic (plant
				or animal) material, excluding fossil fuels.
Business Day
. Monday through Friday,
				exclusive of state and federal legal holidays.
Carbon Dioxide Equivalent
. The amount
				of carbon dioxide by weight that would produce the same amount of global
				warming impact as a given weight of another greenhouse gas.
Certificates Obligation
. A term
				defined in the NEPOOL GIS operating rules at Rule 4.1(b).
CES Alternative Compliance Credit
. A
				credit obtained by a retail seller of electricity upon making a CES alternative
				compliance payment. Such credit is used to document compliance with 310 CMR
				7.75(4)(a). One unit of credit shall be equivalent to one clean generation
				attribute.
CES-E Alternative Compliance Credit
. A
				credit obtained by a retail seller of electricity upon making a CES-E
				alternative compliance payment. Such credit is used to document compliance with
				310 CMR 7.75(4)(b). One unit of credit shall be equivalent to one clean
				existing generation attribute.
CES Alternative Compliance Payment (CES
				ACP)
. A payment of a certain dollar amount per MWh, resulting in
				the issuance of CES alternative compliance credits, which a retail seller of
				electricity may submit to the Department in lieu of providing clean generation
				attributes required under 310 CMR 7.75(4)(a).
CES-E Alternative Compliance Payment (CES-E
				ACP)
. A payment of a certain dollar amount per MWh, resulting in
				the issuance of CES-E alternative compliance credits, which a retail seller of
				electricity may submit to the Department in lieu of providing clean existing
				generation attributes required under 310 CMR 7.75(4)(b).
CES Statement of Qualification
. A
				written document from the Department that qualifies a generation unit as a
				clean generation unit, or that qualifies a portion of the annual electrical
				energy output of a generation unit as clean generation.
CES-E Statement of Qualification
. A
				written document from the Department that qualifies a generation unit as a
				clean existing generation unit, or that qualifies a portion of the annual
				electrical energy output of a generation unit as clean existing
				generation.
Clean Existing Generation
. The
				electrical energy output, or that portion of the electrical energy output,
				excluding any electrical energy utilized for parasitic load of a clean existing
				generation unit, that qualifies under:
(a) the special provisions for a generation
			 unit located in a control area adjacent to the ISO-NE control area, pursuant to
			 310 CMR 7.75(7)(b); or
(b) the
			 special provisions for clean existing generation units, pursuant to 310 CMR
			 7.75(7)(c); or
(c) any other
			 applicable provision of 310 CMR 7.75.
Clean Existing Generation Attribute
. A
				generation attribute of the electrical energy output of a specific clean
				existing generation unit that derives from the unit's production of clean
				existing generation.
Clean Existing Generation Unit
. A
				nuclear or hydroelectric generation unit that:
(a) is located in Massachusetts, or in a
			 jurisdiction that exported at least 4,000,000 MWh of electricity to
			 Massachusetts in at least two years from 2001 through 2016, on a net annual
			 basis, as reflected in the state greenhouse gas emissions inventories published
			 annually by the Department;
(b) has
			 a nameplate capacity greater than 30 megawatts; and
(c) commenced commercial operation before
			 January 1, 2011.
Clean Generation
. The electrical
				energy output, or that portion of the electrical energy output, excluding any
				electrical energy utilized for parasitic load of a clean generation unit, that
				qualifies under:
(a) the special
			 provisions for a generation unit located in a control area adjacent to the
			 ISO-NE control area, pursuant to 310 CMR 7.75(7)(b); or
(b) any other applicable provision of 310 CMR
			 7.75 or
			 225 CMR 14.00: Renewable
			 Energy Portfolio Standard - Class I.
Clean Generation Attribute
. The
				generation attribute that is either:
(a) a generation attribute of the electrical
			 energy output of a specific clean generation unit that derives from the unit's
			 production of clean generation; or
(b) any other generation attribute that is
			 retained pursuant to St. 2008, c. 169, § 83D(h), as inserted by St. 2016,
			 c. 188, § 12. All generation attributes retained pursuant to St. 2008, c.
			 169, § 83D(h), as inserted by St. 2016, c. 188, § 12, including such
			 generation attributes that derive from generation units that do not satisfy all
			 limitations in 310 CMR 7.75(7), are clean generation attributes.
Clean Generation Unit
. A generation
				unit or aggregation that has received a CES statement of qualification from the
				Department, or that has received an RPS statement of qualification.
Commercial Operation Date
. The date
				that a generation unit first produces electrical energy for sale within the
				ISO-NE control area or within an adjacent control area. In the case of
				transmission capacity that is used to transmit clean energy, the date on which
				the transmission capacity first transmitted energy into the ISO-NE control area
				or an adjacent control area.
Compliance Filing
. A document filed
				annually by a retail seller of electricity in a format determined by the
				Department documenting compliance with 310 CMR 7.75(4), 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 seller of electricity that
				is not a Municipal Electric Department or Municipal Light Board must
				demonstrate that it has met the requirements of 310 CMR 7.75(4) and (5).
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.
Dedicated Transmission Line
. A
				transmission line with a commercial operation date after December 31, 2017 that
				is not electrically connected to any generation unit that is not a clean
				generation unit.
Emitting Electricity Generators
.
				Electricity generators that are powered by any fossil or biogenic fuels.
Emitting Megawatt Hours
. Megawatt
				hours that are generated by emitting electricity generators.
End-use Customer
. A person or entity
				in Massachusetts that purchases electrical energy at retail from a retail
				seller of electricity, 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.
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
				eligibility for renewable or clean energy programs.
Generation Unit
. A facility that
				converts a fuel or an energy resource into electrical energy.
GIS Certificate
. An electronic record
				produced by the NEPOOL GIS that identifies generation attributes of each MWh
				accounted for in the NEPOOL GIS.
Greenhouse Gas
. Any chemical or
				physical substance that is emitted into the air and that the Department may
				reasonably anticipate will cause or contribute to climate change including, but
				not limited to, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons,
				perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
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 and the FERC's
				corresponding 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, but not limited
				to, direct emissions and 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, related to the full fuel lifecycle, including all stages of fuel
				and feedstock production and distribution, from feedstock generation or
				extraction through the distribution and delivery of the finished fuel to the
				ultimate consumer, where the mass values for all greenhouse gases are adjusted
				to account for their relative global warming potential.
Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources or
				DOER
. The Massachusetts agency established pursuant to M.G.L. c.
				25A, §§ 1 through 13.
Megawatt-hour (MWh)
. A unit of
				electrical energy or work equivalent to one million watts of power operating
				for one hour.
Municipal Electric Department (MED)
. A
				municipal electric department as defined in M.G.L. c. 164A, § 1.
Municipal Light Board (MLB)
. A
				municipal light board as defined in M.G.L. c. 164A, § 1.
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 and generated within, imported into, or exported
				from the ISO-NE control area.
NERC Tag
. A document that identifies
				an electrical energy interchange transaction and its associated participants,
				assigned in accordance with rules set forth by the North American Electric
				Reliability Corporation (NERC), a nonprofit corporation granted by the FERC the
				legal authority to enforce mandatory reliability standards for the U.S. bulk
				power system, subject to FERC oversight.
Non-emitting Electricity Generators
.
				Electricity generators powered by hydro, nuclear, ocean, solar or wind
				power.
Non-emitting Megawatt Hours
. Megawatt
				hours that are generated by non-emitting electricity generators.
Operator
. Any person or entity that
				has charge or control of a generation unit subject to 310 CMR 7.75(7) through
				(9) including, without limitation, a duly authorized agent or lessee of the
				owner, or a duly authorized independent contractor.
Owner
. Any person or entity that,
				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
				310 CMR 7.75, owner does not mean a person or entity holding legal title or
				security interest solely for the purpose of providing financing.
Retail Electricity Product
. Electrical
				energy offering that is distinguished by its generation attributes and that is
				offered for sale by a retail seller of electricity to end-use customers.
Retail Seller of Electricity or Retail
				Seller
. A competitive supplier licensed by the Department of
				Public Utilities or, as each is defined in M.G.L. c. 164A, § 1, an
				electric utility, municipal electric department or municipal light board that
				is connected to the regional electric grid.
RPS Alternative Compliance Credit
. A
				credit obtained by a retail seller of electricity upon making a payment
				pursuant to
				225 CMR
				14.08(3): Alternative
				Compliance, and used to comply with
				225 CMR
				14.07: Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard -
				Class I.
RPS Class I Renewable Generation Unit
.
				A generation unit or aggregation that has received a statement of qualification
				as an RPS Class I renewable generation unit from DOER pursuant to
				225 CMR 14.00: Renewable
				Energy Portfolio Standard - Class I.
RPS Statement of Qualification
. A
				written document issued by DOER pursuant to
				225
				CMR 14.06: Qualification Process for RPS
				Class I, Solar Carve-out Renewable Generation Units, and Solar Carve-out II
				Renewable Generation Units that qualifies a generation unit or aggregation as
				an RPS Class I qualified generation unit, or that qualifies a portion of the
				annual electrical energy output of a generation unit.
Short Ton
. 2000 pounds or 0.9072
				metric tons.