WSR 17-16-103 PROPOSED RULES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE [Filed July 28, 2017, 9:51 a.m.]
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 17-12-094.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: WAC 194-37-135, Energy Independence Act, documentation of incremental biomass energy.
Hearing Location(s): Washington State Department of Commerce, 1011 Plum Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504, on September 6, 2017, at 10:00 a.m.
Date of Intended Adoption: September 13, 2017.
Submit Written Comments to: Glenn Blackmon, Energy Office, P.O. Box 42525, Olympia, WA 98504-2525, email EIA@commerce.wa.gov, by September 6, 2017.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Carolee Sharp by August 30, 2017, TTY (360) 586-0772 or (360) 725-3118.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: The proposed amendment establishes documentation requirements and the baseline generation methodology for incremental generation from qualified biomass energy facilities, consistent with the requirements of chapter 315, Laws of 2017 (ESB 5128).
Reasons Supporting Proposal: The 2017 legislation expands the eligibility under the Energy Independence Act (chapter 19.285 RCW) of electricity generated by pre-1999 biomass generating facilities. Incremental generation, above a historical baseline, is eligible if it results from capital investment completed in 2010 or after. The rule is required in order to establish documentation requirements and to provide a methodology for determining the baseline level of generation.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 19.285.080(2); chapter 315, Laws of 2017.
Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 19.285 RCW.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Name of Proponent: Washington state department of commerce, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Glenn Blackmon, Department of Commerce, 1011 Plum Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504-2525, (360) 725-3115; Implementation and Enforcement: Washington State Department of Commerce, 1011 Plum Street S.E., Olympia, WA 98504-2525, (360) 407-6000.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. A small business economic impact statement is not required for this rule making as none of the affected entities are small businesses. Not applicable.
A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. Subsection (5)(a)(i) of RCW 34.05.328 does not require commerce to provide a cost-benefit analysis. Not applicable.
July 28, 2017
Jaime Rossman
Rules Coordinator
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-04-015, filed 1/24/14, effective 2/24/14)
WAC 194-37-135 Documentation of multifuel biomass energy ((and)), qualified biomass energy, and incremental biomass energy.
(1) Multifuel biomass energy. A utility using biomass energy produced by a multifuel generating facility, where the biomass energy fuel provides less than ninety-eight percent of the total heat input, must document the eligible renewable energy using RECs created by WREGIS pursuant to the multifuel generating unit procedures of WREGIS.
(2) Qualified biomass energy. A utility using qualified biomass energy must document the eligible renewable energy using RECs created by WREGIS and must document:
(a) Information about the facility generating electricity from biomass energy:
(i) Ownership of the biomass energy facility;
(ii) Date of commercial operation of the biomass energy facility; and
(iii) Specific type of biomass used for generation by the biomass energy facility.
(b) Information about the industrial facility that hosts the biomass energy facility:
(i) The utility's load in megawatt hours that results from serving the industrial facility;
(ii) Evidence that the industrial facility had not ceased operation, other than for purposes of maintenance or upgrade, during the target year;
(iii) Evidence that the industrial facility engages in industrial pulping or wood manufacturing; and
(iv) If the facility generating electricity from biomass energy is not owned by the utility, evidence that the industrial facility owns the biomass energy facility and is directly interconnected with the electricity facilities that are owned by the utility and capable of carrying electricity at transmission voltage.
(3) Incremental biomass energy.
(a) A utility using incremental electricity produced as a result of a capital investment at a qualified biomass energy facility must document the eligible renewable energy using RECs created by WREGIS and must document:
(i) The status of the generating facility as a qualified biomass energy facility as provided in subsection (2) of this section;
(ii) Evidence of the quantity, in megawatt hours, of renewable energy electric power generation during the baseline period, which must be determined using the methodology provided in (b) of this subsection;
(iii) Evidence of the nature and amount of the capital investment, demonstrating that the capital investment project was completed after January 1, 2010, and that the expenditure was not on operation and maintenance in the normal course of business;
(iv) Evidence demonstrating that the incremental generation was a result of the capital investment; and
(v) The method or procedures that the facility owner uses to measure or calculate incremental generation and to track incremental generation within WREGIS separately from qualified biomass energy produced by the facility.
(b) Methodology for establishing baseline generation.
(i) The baseline level of generation for determining incremental generation must be established as the average quantity of net generation using eligible renewable energy fuel sources during the most recent three consecutive years of operation prior to the effect of the first capital investment completed after January 1, 2010. The three-year period must begin on or after January 1, 2007. Subsequent capital investments that result in additional amounts of incremental generation do not require a new baseline determination.
(ii) The baseline period must exclude any periods in which operation of the qualified biomass generation facility was unrepresentative of normal operating conditions.
(iii) Baseline generation must be documented using plant-level reports of net generation by fuel type submitted to the U.S. Energy Information Administration or, if such reports are not available, by business records of the generation facility owner.
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