Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 330 - DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY › Division 160 - ESTABLISH A RENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATE SYSTEM FOR THE OREGON RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARD (RPS) › Section 330-160-0090 - Metering, Monitoring, and Reporting of Qualifying Thermal Energy

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
In order to be eligible to generate T-RECs, a facility must
				meet all the requirements of this Rule. Qualifying thermal energy must be
				measured, monitored, and reported using the following methods:
(1) Metering:
(a) Large facilities: For facilities with the
			 capacity to generate one or more T-RECs per hour of operation (3.412 million
			 Btu/hr), the generator representative must have installed a thermal energy
			 measurement system to continually measure qualifying thermal energy. The
			 thermal energy delivered to the secondary purpose must be metered. All
			 parameters needed to determine thermal energy to the secondary purpose must be
			 directly measured.
(b) Small
			 facilities: For facilities with the capacity to generate less than one T-REC
			 per hour of operation (3.412 million Btu/hr), the generator representative must
			 have installed a thermal energy measurement system to measure qualifying
			 thermal energy delivered to the secondary purpose. Calculation parameters, such
			 as heat capacity, and directly measured parameters, such as temperature and
			 pressure, that do not vary more than +/-2% for the full range of expected
			 operating conditions, may be evaluated on an annual basis and used in the
			 calculation methodology as a constant. These parameters may be based on such
			 sources as manufacturers' published ratings or one-time measurements, but must
			 be clearly defined and explained in the thermal energy measurement plan
			 required under Subsection(e). All other parameters used to determine the amount
			 of qualifying thermal energy must be continually measured. The generator
			 representative must assess the significance of the potential error that the
			 methodology parameters have on the total annual quantity of qualifying thermal
			 energy and include this analysis in the thermal energy measurement plan. The
			 generator representative must also submit to the Department for approval in the
			 thermal energy measurement plan an appropriate discount factor to be applied to
			 the qualifying thermal energy calculation methodology, and the Department may
			 revise this discount factor as it considers appropriate to account for variance
			 due to parameters that are not continually measured.
(c) The thermal energy measurement system
			 must capture sufficient data, and make necessary calculations or provide all
			 necessary data for calculations to be made using standard engineering
			 calculation procedures, to determine the net thermal energy used by the
			 secondary purpose over an interval specified in the thermal energy measurement
			 plan.
(d) Measurement system
			 components must be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's
			 specifications.
(e) The generator
			 representative must submit to the Department a thermal energy measurement plan
			 that describes the thermal energy generating equipment, secondary purposes,
			 data measurements to be collected, all associated measurement devices, data
			 formats and storage, data gathering techniques, measurement system calibration,
			 calculation methodology, discount factors, and other relevant equipment and
			 activities that will be used to determine the quantity of qualifying thermal
			 energy. The generator representative must also submit all necessary
			 documentation, including drawings, specifications, piping and instrumentation
			 diagrams, and other information as requested by the Department for system
			 review. The thermal energy measurement system must be reviewed and approved by
			 the Department as part of the certification of a facility as Oregon
			 RPS-eligible.
(f) The generator
			 representative must submit an updated measurement plan and documentation for
			 review and approval to the Department upon the following:
(A) Changes in the configuration of the
			 thermal energy measurement system;
(B) Installation or removal of thermal energy
			 measurement system components;
(C)
			 Installation of new thermal energy generation equipment or changes in thermal
			 energy generation capacity; or
(D)
			 Installation or removal of secondary purpose equipment, changes to secondary
			 purpose use, or changes the secondary purpose maximum thermal energy demand;
(E) Observations that indicate the
			 thermal energy measurement system is not performing in accordance with the
			 thermal energy measurement plan.