| (6) Participants that were registered and certified
to participate in the trading program prior to the effective date
of this rule continue to be registered and certified under this subsection
and are not required to re-register or be recertified to participate
in the trading program.
(e) Renewable energy credits, solar renewable energy
credits, and compliance premiums.
(1) Renewable energy credits (RECs).
(A) Facilities eligible for producing RECs in the trading
program. For a renewable facility to be eligible to produce RECs for
the trading program it must be either a new facility, a small producer,
or a repowered facility as defined in subsection (c) of this section
and must also meet the requirements of this subsection.
(i) A renewable energy resource must not be ineligible
under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph and must be certified under
subsection (d) of this section.
(ii) For a renewable energy technology that requires
fossil fuel, the facility's use of fossil fuel must not exceed 25.0%
of the total annual fuel input on a British thermal unit (BTU) or
equivalent basis.
(iii) For a renewable energy technology that requires
the use of fossil fuel that exceeds 2.0% of the total annual fuel
input on a BTU or equivalent basis, RECs can only be earned on the
renewable portion of the production. A renewable energy resource using
a technology described by this clause must comply with the following
requirements:
(I) A meter must be installed and periodic tests of
the heat content of the fuel must be conducted to measure the amount
of fossil fuel input on a British thermal unit (BTU) or equivalent
basis that is used at the facility;
(II) The renewable energy resource must calculate the
electricity generated by the unit in MWh, based on the BTUs (or equivalent)
produced by the fossil fuel and the efficiency of the renewable energy
resource, subtract the MWh generated with fossil fuel input from the
total MWh of generation and report the renewable energy generated
to the program administrator;
(III) The renewable energy resource must report the
generation to the program administrator in the measurements, format,
and frequency prescribed by the program administrator, which may include
a description of the methodology for calculating the non-renewable
energy produced by the resource; and
(IV) The renewable energy resource is subject to audit
to verify the accuracy of the data submitted to the program administrator
and compliance with this section, to be conducted by the program administrator
or an independent third party as requested by the program administrator.
If the program administrator requires a third party audit, the audit
must be performed at the expense of the renewable energy resource.
(iv) The output of the facility must be readily capable
of being physically metered and verified in Texas by the program administrator.
Energy from a renewable facility that is delivered into a transmission
system where it is commingled with electricity from non-renewable
resources before being metered cannot be verified as delivered to
Texas customers. A facility is not ineligible if the facility is a
generation-offset, off-grid, or on-site distributed renewable facility
and it otherwise meets the requirements of this subparagraph.
(v) For a municipally owned utility operating a gas
distribution system, any production or acquisition of landfill gas
that is directly supplied to the gas distribution system is eligible
to produce RECs based upon the conversion of the thermal energy in
BTUs to electric energy in kWh using for the conversion factor the
systemwide average heat rate of the gas-fired units of the combined
utility's electric system as measured in BTUs per kWh.
(vi) For industry-standard thermal technologies, the
RECs can be earned only on the renewable portion of energy production.
(B) Facilities not eligible for producing RECs in the
trading program. A renewable facility is not eligible to produce RECs
if it is:
(i) A renewable energy capacity addition associated
with an emissions reductions project described in Health and Safety
Code §382.05193, that is used to satisfy the permit requirements
in Health and Safety Code §382.0519; or
(ii) An existing facility that is not a small producer
as defined in subsection (c) of this section or has not been repowered
as permitted under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
(2) Solar renewable energy credits (solar RECs) for
solar RPS.
(A) Facilities eligible for producing solar RECs and
compliance premiums for the solar RPS. For a renewable facility to
be eligible to produce solar RECs and compliance premiums for the
solar RPS, it must be either a new facility, a small producer, or
a repowered facility as defined in subsection (c) of this section
and must also meet the requirements of this paragraph:
(i) A renewable energy resource must not be ineligible
under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph and must register under subsection
(d) of this section.
(ii) A facility must only use renewable energy technologies
that exclusively rely on an energy source that is naturally regenerated,
over a short time and derived directly from the sun.
(iii) The output of the facility must be readily capable
of being physically metered and verified in Texas by the program administrator.
Energy from a solar renewable facility that is delivered into a transmission
system where it is commingled with electricity from non-solar renewable
resources before being metered cannot be verified as delivered to
Texas customers. A facility is not ineligible by virtue of the fact
that the facility is a generation-offset, off-grid, or on-site distributed
solar renewable facility if it otherwise meets the requirements of
this subparagraph.
(iv) For repowered facilities, a facility is eligible
to earn solar RECs on all renewable energy produced up to a capacity
of 150 MW. A repowered facility with a capacity greater than 150 MW
may earn solar RECs for the energy produced in proportion to 150 divided
by nameplate capacity.
(B) Facilities not eligible for producing solar RECs
and compliance premiums for use in the solar RPS. A renewable facility
is not eligible to produce solar RECs and compliance premiums for
use in the solar RPS if it is:
(i) A renewable energy capacity addition associated
with an emissions reductions project described in Health and Safety
Code §382.05193, that is used to satisfy the permit requirements
in Health and Safety Code §382.0519; or
(ii) An existing facility that is not a small producer
as defined in subsection (c) of this section or has not been repowered
as permitted under this subsection.
(3) Compliance premiums. The program administrator
will award compliance premiums to solar REC generators certified by
the commission under subsection (d) of this section.
(A) For eligible solar technologies as set forth in
paragraph (2)(A)(ii) of this subsection, one compliance premium will
be created and awarded in conjunction with each solar REC generated
January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2024. Compliance premiums will
not be created or awarded after December 31, 2024.
(B) Except as provided in this paragraph, the award,
retirement, trade, and registration of compliance premiums must follow
the requirements of paragraph (4) of this subsection and subsections
(f) and (i) of this section.
(C) A compliance premium may be used by any retail
entity toward its solar RPS requirement under subsection (f)(2) of
this section.
(D) A compliance premium may not be used by any retail
entity toward the RPS requirement after the settlement period for
2024 compliance period.
(E) The program administrator must increase the statewide
RPS requirement calculated under subsection (f)(2)(A) of this section
by the number of compliance premiums retired during the previous compliance
period.
(4) Production, transfer, and expiration of RECs and
solar RECs. The production, transfer, and expiration of RECs and solar
RECs must follow the requirements of this paragraph. RECs and solar
RECs issued through December 31, 2023, continue to exist and retire
consistent with their issuance.
(A) The owner of a renewable resource will earn one
REC or solar REC when a MWh is metered at that renewable resource.
The program administrator will record the energy in metered MWh and
credit the REC account of the renewable resource that generated the
energy on a quarterly basis. Quarterly production must be rounded
to the nearest whole MWh, with fractions of 0.5 MWh or greater rounded
up.
(B) The transfer of RECs or solar RECs between parties
is effective only when the transfer is recorded by the program administrator.
Cont'd... |
