Pennsylvania Code › Title 25 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Part I - Department of Environmental Protection › Subpart C - Protection of Natural Resources › Article III - Air Resources › Chapter 145 - INTERSTATE POLLUTION TRANSPORT REDUCTION › Subchapter E - CO[2] BUDGET TRADING PROGRAM › GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 145.305 - Limited exemption for CO[2] budget units with electrical output to the electric grid restricted by permit conditions

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Exemption.
Notwithstanding §
													145.304 (relating to
						  applicability), a CO2 budget source that has a permit
						  issued by the Department containing a condition restricting the supply of the
						  CO2 budget unit's annual electrical output to the
						  electric grid to no more than 10% of the annual gross generation of the unit,
						  or restricting the supply less than or equal to 15% of its annual total useful
						  energy to any entity other than the industrial, institutional or commercial
						  facility to which the CO2 budget source is
						  interconnected and which complies with subsection (c), shall be exempt from the
						  requirements of this subchapter, except for the provisions of this section,
						  §§
													145.302,
						  145.303, and
						  145.307 (relating to definitions;
						  measurements, abbreviations and acronyms; and computation of time) and, if
						  applicable because of the allocation of CO2 allowances
						  during the pre-exemption time period, §§
													145.341, 145.351 and 145.361
						  (relating to Pennsylvania CO2 Budget Trading Program
						  base budget; CO2 Allowance Tracking System (COATS)
						  accounts; and submission of CO2 allowance
						  transfers).
(b)
Effective
						  date.
The exemption under subsection (a) shall become effective as of
						  the January 1 on or after the date on which the restriction on the percentage
						  of annual gross generation that may be supplied to the electric grid and the
						  provisions in the permit required under subsection (a) become final.
(c)
Compliance.
(1) The owner or operator of a
						  CO2 budget unit exempt under subsection (a) shall comply
						  with the restriction on the percentage of annual gross generation that may be
						  supplied to the electric grid described in subsection (a).
(2) The owner or operator of a
						  CO2 budget unit exempt under subsection (a) shall report
						  to the Department the amount of annual gross generation and the amount of
						  annual gross generation supplied to the electric grid during the calendar year
						  by the following March 1.
(3) For a
						  period of 10 years from the date the records are created, the owner or operator
						  of a CO2 budget unit exempt under subsection (a) shall
						  retain, at the source that includes the unit, records demonstrating that the
						  conditions of the permit under subsection (a) were met. The Department may, in
						  writing, extend the 10-year period for keeping records, at any time prior to
						  the end of the period. The owner or operator bears the burden of proof that the
						  unit met the restriction on the percentage of annual gross generation that may
						  be supplied to the electric grid.
(4) The owner or operator and, to the extent
						  applicable, the CO2 authorized account representative of
						  a CO2 budget unit exempt under subsection (a) shall
						  comply with the requirements of this subchapter concerning all time periods for
						  which the exemption is not in effect, even if the requirements arise, or must
						  be complied with, after the exemption takes effect.
(5) A CO2 budget unit
						  exempt under subsection (a) will lose its exemption, on the earlier of the
						  following dates:
(i) The restriction on the
						  percentage of annual gross generation that may be supplied to the electric grid
						  described in subsection (a) is removed from the unit's permit or otherwise
						  becomes no longer applicable in any year that commences on or after April 23,
						  2022.
(ii) The unit fails to comply
						  or the owner or operator fails to meet their burden of proving that the unit is
						  complying with the restriction on the percentage of annual gross generation
						  that may be supplied to the electric grid described in subsection (a) during
						  any year that commences on or after April 23, 2022.
(6) A unit that loses its exemption in
						  accordance with paragraph (5) shall be subject to the requirements of this
						  subchapter. For the purposes of this subchapter, the unit shall be treated as
						  commencing operation on the date the unit loses its exemption.