SB 5128 — Allowing incremental electricity produced as a result of certain capital investment projects to qualify as an eligible renewable resource under the energy independence act.

S-0472.1SENATEENGROSSED SENATE BILL 5128State of Washington65th Legislature2017 Regular SessionBy Senators Takko, Rivers, and ChaseRead first time 01/13/17.

and amending RCW 19.285.03019.285.030, 19.285.040, and 19.285.080.BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:Sec. 1.  RCW 19.285.030 and 2014 c 45 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Attorney general" means the Washington state office of the attorney general.(2) "Auditor" means:

or(f)or(f)(i) Incremental electricity produced as a result of a capital investment project completed after MarchJanuary 31,1, 1999,2010, that increases, relative to a baseline level of generation prior to the capital investmentinvestment, project, the amount of electricity generated byin a generation facility that commencedgenerates operationqualified beforebiomass Marchenergy 31, 1999, and is powered by a renewable resource other than freshwater.(13) "Investor-owned utility" has the same meaning as defined inunder RCWsubsection 19.29A.010.(14)(18)(c)(ii) "Load"of meansthis thesection amountand ofthat kilowatt-hourscommenced ofoperation electricitybefore deliveredMarch in31, the1999.(ii) mostBeginning recentlyJanuary completed1, year2007, bythe afacility qualifyingmust utilitydemonstrate to its Washingtonbaseline retaillevel customers.(15)(a) "Nonpower attributes" means all environmentally related characteristics, exclusive of energy, capacity reliability, and other electrical power service attributes, that are associated with the generation ofover electricity from a renewablethree-year resource,period includingprior but not limited to the facility'scapital fuelinvestment type,in geographicorder location, vintage, qualification as an eligible renewable resource, and avoided emissions of pollutants to thecalculate air, soil, or water, and avoided emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.(b) "Nonpower attributes" does not include any aspects, claims, characteristics, and benefits associated with the on-siteamount capture and destruction of methaneincremental orelectricity otherproduced. greenhouse gases at a facility through a digester system, landfill gas collection system, or other mechanism, which may be separately marketable as greenhouse gas emission reduction credits, offsets, or similar tradable commodities.

(iii) The facility must demonstrate that the incremental electricity resulted from the capital investment, which does not include expenditures on operation and maintenance in the normal course of business, through direct or calculated measurement.(13) "Investor-owned utility" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 19.29A.010.(14) "Load" means the amount of kilowatt-hours of electricity delivered in the most recently completed year by a qualifying utility to its Washington retail customers.(15)(a) "Nonpower attributes" means all environmentally related characteristics, exclusive of energy, capacity reliability, and other electrical power service attributes, that are associated with the generation of electricity from a renewable resource, including but not limited to the facility's fuel type, geographic location, vintage, qualification as an eligible renewable resource, and avoided emissions of pollutants to the air, soil, or water, and avoided emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.(b) "Nonpower attributes" does not include any aspects, claims, characteristics, and benefits associated with the on-site capture and destruction of methane or other greenhouse gases at a facility through a digester system, landfill gas collection system, or other mechanism, which may be separately marketable as greenhouse gas emission reduction credits, offsets, or similar tradable commodities.

or (i) biomass energy.(22) "Rule" means rules adopted by an agency or other entity of Washington state government to carry out the intent and purposes of this chapter.(23) "Year" means the twelve-month period commencing January 1st and ending December 31st.Sec. 2.  RCW 19.285.08019.285.040 and 20072014 c 126 s 81 are each amended to read as follows:(1) TheEach commissionqualifying mayutility adoptshall rulespursue toall ensureavailable theconservation properthat implementationis andcost-effective, enforcementreliable, ofand thisfeasible.(a) chapterBy asJanuary it1, applies2010, tousing investor-ownedmethodologies utilities.(2)consistent Thewith departmentthose shallused adoptby rulesthe concerningPacific onlyNorthwest process,electric timelines,power and documentationconservation toplanning ensurecouncil in the propermost implementationrecently ofpublished thisregional chapterpower plan as it appliesexisted toon June 12, 2014, or a subsequent date as may be provided by the department or the commission by rule, each qualifying utilitiesutility thatshall areidentify notits investor-ownedachievable utilities.cost-effective conservation potential through 2019.

Nothing in the rule adopted under this subsection precludes a qualifying utility from using its utility specific conservation measures, values, and assumptions in identifying its achievable cost-effective conservation potential.

At least every two years thereafter, the qualifying utility shall review and update this assessment for the subsequent ten-year period.(b) Beginning January 2010, each qualifying utility shall establish and make publicly available a biennial acquisition target for cost-effective conservation consistent with its identification of achievable opportunities in (a) of this subsection, and meet that target during the subsequent two-year period.

At a minimum, each biennial target must be no lower than the qualifying utility's pro rata share for that two-year period of its cost-effective conservation potential for the subsequent ten-year period.(c)(i) Except as provided in (c)(ii) and (iii) of this subsection, beginning on January 1, 2014, cost-effective conservation achieved by a qualifying utility in excess of its biennial acquisition target may be used to help meet the immediately subsequent two biennial acquisition targets, such that no more than twenty percent of any biennial target may be met with excess conservation savings.(ii) Beginning January 1, 2014, a qualifying utility may use single large facility conservation savings in excess of its biennial target to meet up to an additional five percent of the immediately subsequent two biennial acquisition targets, such that no more than twenty-five percent of any biennial target may be met with excess conservation savings allowed under all of the provisions of this section combined.

For the purposes of this subsection (1)(c)(ii), "single large facility conservation savings" means cost-effective conservation savings achieved in a single biennial period at the premises of a single customer of a qualifying utility whose annual electricity consumption prior to the conservation savings exceeded five average megawatts.(iii) Beginning January 1, 2012, and until December 31, 2017, a qualifying utility with an industrial facility located in a county with a population between ninety-five thousand and one hundred fifteen thousand that is directly interconnected with electricity facilities that are capable of carrying electricity at transmission voltage((,)) may use cost-effective conservation from that industrial facility in excess of its biennial acquisition target to help meet the immediately subsequent two biennial acquisition targets, such that no more than twenty-five percent of any biennial target may be met with excess conservation savings allowed under all of the provisions of this section combined.(d) In meeting its conservation targets, a qualifying utility may count high-efficiency cogeneration owned and used by a retail electric customer to meet its own needs.

High-efficiency cogeneration is the sequential production of electricity and useful thermal energy from a common fuel source, where, under normal operating conditions, the facility has a useful thermal energy output of no less than thirty-three percent of the total energy output.

The reduction in load due to high-efficiency cogeneration shall be:

(i) Calculated as the ratio of the fuel chargeable to power heat rate of the cogeneration facility compared to the heat rate on a new and clean basis of a best-commercially available technology combined-cycle natural gas-fired combustion turbine;

and (ii) counted towards meeting the biennial conservation target in the same manner as other conservation savings.(e) The commission may determine if a conservation program implemented by an investor-owned utility is cost-effective based on the commission's policies and practice.(f) The commission may rely on its standard practice for review and approval of investor-owned utility conservation targets.(2)(a) Except as provided in (j) of this subsection, each qualifying utility shall use eligible renewable resources or acquire equivalent renewable energy credits, or any combination of them, to meet the following annual targets:(i) At least three percent of its load by January 1, 2012, and each year thereafter through December 31, 2015;(ii) At least nine percent of its load by January 1, 2016, and each year thereafter through December 31, 2019;

and(iii) At least fifteen percent of its load by January 1, 2020, and each year thereafter.(b) A qualifying utility may count distributed generation at double the facility's electrical output if the utility:

(i) Owns or has contracted for the distributed generation and the associated renewable energy credits;

or (ii) has contracted to purchase the associated renewable energy credits.(c) In meeting the annual targets in (a) of this subsection, a qualifying utility shall calculate its annual load based on the average of the utility's load for the previous two years.(d) A qualifying utility shall be considered in compliance with an annual target in (a) of this subsection if:

(i) The utility's weather-adjusted load for the previous three years on average did not increase over that time period;

(ii) after December 7, 2006, the utility did not commence or renew ownership or incremental purchases of electricity from resources other than coal transition power or renewable resources other than on a daily spot price basis and the electricity is not offset by equivalent renewable energy credits;

and (iii) the utility invested at least one percent of its total annual retail revenue requirement that year on eligible renewable resources, renewable energy credits, or a combination of both.(e) The requirements of this section may be met for any given year with renewable energy credits produced during that year, the preceding year, or the subsequent year.

Each renewable energy credit may be used only once to meet the requirements of this section.(f) In complying with the targets established in (a) of this subsection, a qualifying utility may not count:(i) Eligible renewable resources or distributed generation where the associated renewable energy credits are owned by a separate entity;

or(ii) Eligible renewable resources or renewable energy credits obtained for and used in an optional pricing program such as the program established in RCW 19.29A.090.(g) Where fossil and combustible renewable resources are cofired in one generating unit located in the Pacific Northwest where the cofiring commenced after March 31, 1999, the unit shall be considered to produce eligible renewable resources in direct proportion to the percentage of the total heat value represented by the heat value of the renewable resources.(h)(i) A qualifying utility that acquires an eligible renewable resource or renewable energy credit may count that acquisition at one and two-tenths times its base value:(A) Where the eligible renewable resource comes from a facility that commenced operation after December 31, 2005;

and(B) Where the developer of the facility used apprenticeship programs approved by the council during facility construction.(ii) The council shall establish minimum levels of labor hours to be met through apprenticeship programs to qualify for this extra credit.(i) A qualifying utility shall be considered in compliance with an annual target in (a) of this subsection if events beyond the reasonable control of the utility that could not have been reasonably anticipated or ameliorated prevented it from meeting the renewable energy target.

Such events include weather-related damage, mechanical failure, strikes, lockouts, and actions of a governmental authority that adversely affect the generation, transmission, or distribution of an eligible renewable resource under contract to a qualifying utility.(j)(i) Beginning January 1, 2016, only a qualifying utility that owns or is directly interconnected to a qualified biomass energy facility may use qualified biomass energy to meet its compliance obligation under this subsection.(ii) A qualifying utility may no longer use electricity and associated renewable energy credits from a qualified biomass energy facility if the associated industrial pulping or wood manufacturing facility ceases operation other than for purposes of maintenance or upgrade.(k) An industrial facility that hosts a qualified biomass energy facility may only transfer or sell renewable energy credits associated with qualified biomass energy generated at its facility to the qualifying utility with which it is directly interconnected with facilities owned by such a qualifying utility and that are capable of carrying electricity at transmission voltage.

The qualifying utility may only use an amount of renewable energy credits associated with qualified biomass energy that are equivalent to the proportionate amount of its annual targets under (a)(ii) and (iii) of this subsection that was created by the load of the industrial facility.

A qualifying utility that owns a qualified biomass energy facility may not transfer or sell renewable energy credits associated with qualified biomass energy to another person, entity, or qualifying utility.(3) Utilities that become qualifying utilities after December 31, 2006, shall meet the requirements in this section on a time frame comparable in length to that provided for qualifying utilities as of December 7, 2006.Sec. 3.  RCW 19.285.080 and 2007 c 1 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:(1) The commission may adopt rules to ensure the proper implementation and enforcement of this chapter as it applies to investor-owned utilities.(2) The department shall adopt rules concerning only process, timelines, and documentation to ensure the proper implementation of this chapter as it applies to qualifying utilities that are not investor-owned utilities.