Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 810 - Public Utilities Commission › Chapter 40 - Electric › Subchapter 05 - Renewable › Part 1 - Long-Term Contracting Standards for Renewable Energy (810-RICR-40-05-1) › Section 810-RICR-40-05-1.3 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Except as otherwise expressly provided,
				 terms with initial capitalization used in these regulations and not defined
				 herein shall have the meaning as defined in the NEPOOL Rules and/or the
				 Commission's "Rules and Regulations Governing the Implementation of a Renewable
				 Energy Standard."
1. "Commercially reasonable"
				 means terms and pricing that are reasonably consistent with what an experienced
				 power market analyst would expect to see in transactions involving newly
				 developed renewable energy resources as determined by the Commission.
				 Commercially Reasonable shall include having a credible operation date, as
				 determined by the commission, but a project need not have completed the requisite
				 permitting process to be considered Commercially Reasonable.
2. "Commission" means the Rhode Island Public
				 Utilities Commission.
3. "Credible
				 operation date" means that a project is more likely than not to come on line
				 within ninety (90) days of that which is projected as evidenced by documents
				 filed by a Renewable Energy Developer showing, at a minimum, the following:
				 commencement of permitting processes, a plan for completing all permitting
				 processes, viable resource assessment or fuel supply plans and agreements, viable
				 financing plans, viable installation and electrical interconnect plans, material
				 progress toward acquisition of real property rights and evidence of material
				 vendor activity. In determining whether an operation date proposed by a developer
				 is credible, the Electric Distribution Company Commission shall give substantial
				 consideration to the developer's experience in completing similar projects by
				 proposed dates, the track record and state of development of the particular
				 technology being proposed, assignment of an ISO queue position, if required, and
				 the developer's ability to secure financing necessary to complete the project by
				 the proposed date.
4. "Division"
				 means the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.
5. "Electric distribution company" means a
				 company defined in subsection R.I. Gen. Laws §
											39-1-2(12),
				 supplying standard offer service, last resort service, or any successor service
				 to end-use customers, but not including the Block Island Power Company or the
				 Pascoag Utility District.
6. "FERC"
				 means Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
7. "Generation attributes" means the non-price
				 characteristics of the electrical energy output of a generation unit including,
				 but not limited to, the unit's location, fuel type, actual emissions, vintage and
				 policy eligibility. The Commission may modify this list as appropriate.
8. "ISO" means ISO New England Inc., authorized
				 by the FERC to exercise for the New England Control Area the functions required
				 pursuant to FERC's Order No. 2000 and the FERC's corresponding regulations, and
				 any successor organization.
9. "Load
				 asset" means the term as used in the New England Markets.
10. "Long-term contract" means a contract of
				 ten (10) to fifteen (15) years in duration, or of a term greater than fifteen
				 (15) years upon approval of the Commission.
11. "Minimum long-term contract capacity" means
				 ninety (90) megawatts of which three (3) megawatts must be solar or photovoltaic
				 projects located in the State of Rhode Island. In determining whether the minimum
				 long-term contract capacity has been reached, the capacity under contract shall
				 be adjusted by the capacity factor of each renewable generator as determined by
				 the ISO-NE rules, as they may change from time to time. By way of example, a
				 contract with a one hundred (100) megawatt facility with a thirty percent (30%)
				 capacity factor would be counted as providing thirty (30) megawatts to the
				 minimum long-term contract capacity requirement.
12. "NEPOOL GIS" means the Generation
				 Information System operated by NEPOOL, its designee or successor entity, which
				 includes a generation information database and certificate system, and that
				 accounts for certain of the Generation Attributes of electrical energy consumed
				 within, imported into or exported from NEPOOL.
13. "NEPOOL GIS certificate" means an
				 electronic record produced by the NEPOOL GIS that identifies certain of the
				 Generation Attributes of each megawatt-hour of electrical energy accounted for in
				 the NEPOOL GIS.
14. "NEPOOL" means
				 the New England Power Pool or its successor.
15. "NEPOOL rules" means all rules adopted by
				 NEPOOL or the ISO, as such rules may be amended, modified, supplemented or
				 superseded and restated from time to time, including but not limited to, the
				 NEPOOL Agreement, the ISO Tariff, the ISO New England Operating Documents, the
				 Transmission Operating Agreement, the Participants Agreement, the NEPOOL Manuals,
				 and the NEPOOL Operating Procedures, as amended, superseded or restated from time
				 to time.
16. "New England markets"
				 means the Markets or programs for the purchase of energy, capacity, ancillary
				 services, demand response services, NEPOOL GIS Certificates, or other related
				 products or services (including Financial Transmission Rights) that are delivered
				 through or useful to the operation of the New England Transmission System and
				 that are administered by the ISO pursuant to rules, rates, or agreements on file
				 from time to time with the FERC.
17.
				 "Newly developed renewable energy resource" means electrical generation units
				 that use exclusively an Eligible Renewable Energy Resource as defined in R.I.
				 Gen. Laws §
											39-26-5 and the Commission's "Rules and Regulations Governing the Implementation of a
				 Renewable Energy Standard" and that have neither begun operation nor have the
				 developers of the units implemented investment or lending agreements necessary to
				 finance the construction of the unit; provided, however, that any projects using
				 Eligible Renewable Energy Resources and located within the state of Rhode Island
				 which obtain project financing on or after January 1, 2009, shall qualify as
				 Newly Developed Renewable Energy Resources for purposes of the first solicitation
				 under R.I. Gen. Laws §
											39-26.1-3.
18. "Renewable energy developer" means a person
				 or entity engaged in the design, construction and/or operation of Newly Developed
				 Renewable Energy Resources.