Definitions

Aggregation. A group of one or more Generation Units that receives a single Statement of Qualification from the Department under criteria and procedures set forth in 225 CMR 15.05(4). Alternative Compliance Credit. A credit obtained by a Retail Electricity Supplier upon making an Alternative Compliance Payment. Such credit is used to document compliance with 225 CMR 15.07. One unit of credit shall be equivalent to the RPS Class II Renewable Generation Attribute associated with one MWh of electrical energy output from an RPS Class II Renewable Generation Unit, excluding Waste Energy Generation Units, and one unit of credit shall be equivalent to the RPS Class II Waste Energy Generation Attribute associated with one MWh of electrical energy output from an RPS Class II Waste Energy Generation Unit. Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP). A payment of a certain dollar amount per MWh, resulting in the issuance of Alternative Compliance Credits, which a Retail Electricity Supplier may submit to the Department in lieu of providing RPS Class II Renewable Generation Attributes or RPS Class II Waste Energy Generation Attributes required under 225 CMR 15.07. Biomass Fuel Certificate. A certificate issued in accordance with rules established by the Department in the Guideline on Eligible Biomass Fuel for Renewable Generation Units that: (a) quantifies the supply of Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel or Manufactured Biomass Fuel; (b) specifies the source of the Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel or Manufactured Biomass Fuel; and (c) specifies the eligibility of the Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel or Manufactured Biomass Fuel as Forest Derived Residues, Forest Derived Thinnings, Forest Salvage, Non-forest Derived Residues, or Dedicated Energy Crops. Blended Fuel. A liquid or gaseous fuel that is blended from both Eligible RPS Class II Renewable Fuel(s) and ineligible fuel(s), a portion of whose electrical energy output may qualify as RPS Class II Renewable Generation under criteria set forth in 225 CMR 15.05(2). Business Day. A business day shall mean Monday through Friday, exclusive of state and federal legal holidays. Certificates Obligation. A term defined in the NEPOOL GIS Operating Rules at Rule 4.1(b), or any successor rule. (Mass. Register #1484, 12/09/2022) Clean Wood. As defined in 310 CMR 19.006: Clean Wood. Commercial Operation Date. The date that a Generation Unit first produced electrical energy for sale within the ISO-NE Control Area or within an adjacent Control Area. In the case of a Generation Unit that is connected to the End-use Customer's side of the electric meter or produces Off-grid Generation, the date that such Generation Unit first produced electrical energy. Compliance Filing. A document filed annually by a Retail Electricity Supplier with the Department documenting compliance with 225 CMR 15.07, consistent with the format set forth in the Guidelines and submitted no later than July 1st, or the first Business Day thereafter, of the subsequent Compliance Year. Compliance Year. A calendar year beginning January 1st and ending December 31st, for which a Retail Electricity Supplier must demonstrate that it has met the requirements of 225 CMR 15.07 and 15.08. Control Area. A geographic region in which a common generation control system is used to maintain scheduled interchange of electrical energy within and without the region. Current Use Program. A state administered program that permits a property owner to have a parcel of land taxed at a rate based on the current use of the land including, but not limited to, open space, active forestry, or agriculture as opposed to the fair market or development value of the property. DCR. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) established by M.G.L. c. 21, § 1. Department. The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) established by M.G.L. c. 25A, § 1. Distribution Company. A distribution company as defined in M.G.L. c. 164, § 1. Eligible Biogas Fuel. A gaseous fuel that is produced by the contemporaneous bacterial decomposition or thermal gasification of Eligible Biomass Fuel. Eligible Biogas Fuel does not include natural gas, but does include renewable natural gas, which is Eligible Biogas Fuel upgraded to a quality similar to natural gas. Eligible Biomass Fuel. Fuel sources consisting of the following: (a) Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel; (b) Manufactured Biomass Fuel; (c) Eligible Biomass Fuel; (d) by-products or waste from animals or agricultural crops; (e) food or vegetative material; (f) algae; (g) organic refuse-derived fuel; and (h) Eligible Liquid Biofuel. Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel. Woody fuels that are derived from the following sources, consistent with the requirements of 225 CMR 15.05(5): (a) Forest Derived Residues. 1. Tops, crooks, and other portions of trees produced as a byproduct, and trees collaterally damaged, during the normal course of harvesting material, such as timber, pulpwood, or cordwood in the implementation of a silvicultural prescription as administered by a licensed or certified forester as prescribed in the Department's Guideline on Eligible Biomass Fuel for Renewable Generation Units. 2. Trees and portions of trees harvested for the purpose of the restoration and management of habitat for rare and endangered species as listed by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Qualifying harvest areas must be approved by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Natural Heritage Program. 3. Other woody vegetation that interferes with regeneration or the natural growth of the forest, limited to locally invasive native species and non-native invasive woody vegetation. (b) Forest Derived Thinnings. 1. Unacceptable growing stock which is defined as trees considered structurally weak or have low vigor and do not have the potential to eventually yield an eight-foot sawlog or survive for at least the next ten years. 2. Trees removed during thinning operations, the purpose of which is to reduce stand density and enhance diameter growth and volume of the residual stand. (c) Forest Salvage. 1. Damaged, dying, or dead trees removed due to injurious agents, such as wind or ice storms or the spread of invasive epidemic forest pathogens, insects, and diseases or other epidemic biological risks to the forest, but not removed due to competition. Such eligible trees may be removed without limitation for biomass fuel, only if the injurious agent is a threat to forest health or risk to private or public resources, and if the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, or appropriate federal or state governmental agency has issued a declaration, rule, or order declaring a major threat to forest health or risk to private or public resources, or if they are harvested through a DCR approved cutting plan. 2. Trees removed to reduce fire hazard within fire-adapted forest ecosystems, as certified by a letter to the Department from the state agency responsible for forestry in consultation with the appropriate environmental state agencies. (d) Non-forest Derived Residues. 1. Primary Forest Products Industry. Residues derived from wood products manufacturing consisting of Clean Wood. 2. Land Use Change – Agricultural. Trees cut or otherwise removed in the process of converting forest land to agricultural usage, either for new or restored farm land. 3. Wood Waste. Post-consumer wood products from Clean Wood; pruned branches, stumps, and whole trees removed during the normal course of maintenance of public or private roads, highways, driveways, utility lines, rights of way, and parks. 4. Agricultural Wood Waste. Pruned branches, stumps, and whole trees resulting from maintenance activities directly related to the production of an agricultural product that is not Clean Wood. Eligible Liquid Biofuel. A liquid fuel that is derived from organic waste feedstock and meets the standards for advanced biofuels under the Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) program. Organic waste feedstocks shall include, but not be limited to, waste vegetable oils, waste animal fats, or grease trap waster. Eligible Liquid Biofuel shall not include petroleum-based waster or Hazardous Waste as defined in 310 CMR 40.0006: Terminology, Definitions, and Acronyms, unless otherwise determined by the Department in consultation with MassDEP. Eligible RPS Class II Renewable Fuel. An Eligible Biomass Fuel, municipal solid waste, hydrogen derived from such fuels or hydrogen derived from water using the electrical output of a Renewable Generation Unit, but not hydrogen derived using RPS Class I or Class II Renewable Generation if the RPS Class I or Class II Renewable Generation Attributes of such Generation are sold, retired, claimed, used or represented as part of electrical energy output or sales, or used to satisfy regulatory obligations in any jurisdictions, and not hydrogen derived directly or indirectly from ineligible fuels. End-use Customer. A person or entity in Massachusetts that purchases electrical energy at retail from a Retail Electricity Supplier, except that a Generation Unit taking station service at wholesale from ISO-NE or self-supplying from its owner's other generating stations, shall not be considered an End-use Customer. Generation Attribute. A non-price characteristic of the electrical energy output of a Generation Unit including, but not limited to, the Generation Unit's fuel type, emissions, vintage and RPS eligibility. Generation Unit. A facility that converts a fuel or an energy resource into electrical energy. Geothermal Energy. Heat energy stored in the Earth's crust that can be accessed for electric power generation. GIS Certificate. An electronic record produced by the NEPOOL GIS that identifies Generation Attributes of each MWh accounted for in the NEPOOL GIS. Guidelines. A set of clarifications, interpretations, and procedures, including forms, developed by the Department to assist in compliance with the requirements of 225 CMR 15.00. The Department may issue new or revised Guidelines from time to time. Each Guideline shall be effective on its date of issuance or on such date as is specified therein, except as otherwise provided in 225 CMR 15.00. Hydroelectric Energy. Electrical energy from a Generation Unit that uses flowing freshwater as the primary energy resource, with or without a dam structure or other means of regulating water flow, and that is not located at a facility that uses mechanical or electrical energy to pump water into a storage facility. Impacted Watershed. All water bodies or areas of land hydrologically connected to a hydroelectric facility, whether located upstream or downstream, which may experience any alteration of their physical, biological, or ecological characteristics as a result of the operation or increased capacity expansion of a Generation Unit. ISO-NE. ISO New England Inc., the independent system operator for New England, the regional transmission organization for most of New England, which is authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to exercise for the New England Control Area the functions required pursuant to the FERC's Order No. 2000, the FERC's corresponding regulations, and any successor FERC orders and regulations. ISO-NE Settlement Market System. The ISO-NE's electronic database system into which all real-time load and generation data are entered and from which such data are provided to the NEPOOL GIS. Low Impact Hydro Power Institute (LIHI). A nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, whose stated purpose is to reduce the impacts of hydropower generation through the certification of hydropower projects that have avoided or reduced their environmental impacts pursuant to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute's criteria. Manufactured Biomass Fuel. A biomass fuel that is prepared, other than by means of fuel drying, through a fuel processing facility that is separate from a Generation Unit and that utilizes Eligible Biomass Woody Fuel for production. Examples include, but are not limited to, the mechanical production of wood pellets or bio-dust, and the refinement of bio-oil through pyrolysis. Marine or Hydrokinetic Energy. Electrical energy derived from waves, tides and currents in oceans, estuaries and tidal areas; free-flowing water in rivers, lakes, streams, and human- made channels, provided that such water is not diverted, impounded, or dammed; or differentials in ocean temperature, called ocean thermal energy conversion. Massachusetts Clean Energy Technology Center (MassCEC). The center established in M.G.L. c. 23J, § 2. MassDEP. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection established by M.G.L. c. 21A, § 7. Megawatt-hour (MWh). A unit of electrical energy or work equivalent to one million watts of power operating for one hour, or, for the purpose of thermal energy, a unit of energy equal to 3,412,000 British Thermal Units (Btu). Merchantable Bio-products. Products that are refined from a biomass fuel by a bio-refinery project in which the Generation Unit is integral. Products include, but are not limited to, merchantable chemicals such as additives, lubricants, or specialty chemicals, and other products which can be permanently sequestered for carbon reductions. NEPOOL GIS. The NEPOOL Generation Information System, which includes a generation information database and certificate system, operated by the New England Power Pool (NEPOOL), its designee or successor entity, that accounts for Generation Attributes of electrical energy consumed within, imported into, or exported from the ISO-NE Control Area. Off-grid Generation. The electrical energy produced by a Generation Unit that is not connected to a utility transmission or distribution system. Operator. Any person or entity who has charge or control of a Generation Unit subject to 225 CMR 15.00, including without limitation a duly authorized agent or lessee of the Owner, or a duly authorized independent contractor. Owner. Any person or entity who, alone or in conjunction with others, has legal ownership, a leasehold interest, or effective control over the real property or property interest upon which a Generation Unit is located, or the airspace above said real property, including without limitation a duly authorized agent of the Owner. For the purposes of 225 CMR 15.02, Owner does not mean a person or entity holding legal title or security interest solely for the purpose of providing financing. Relevant Hydroelectric Agency. A federal, state or provincial agency with oversight over fish and wildlife, water quality, river flows, fish passage and protection, mitigation and enhancement opportunities, related to a hydroelectric facility located in the Impacted Watershed or that impacts downstream or upstream passage of fish and wildlife. Renewable Generation. The electrical energy output of a Renewable Generation Unit. Renewable Generation Attribute. The Generation Attribute of the electrical energy output of a specific Generation Unit that derives from the Generation Unit's production of Renewable Generation. Renewable Generation Unit. A Generation Unit that uses an Eligible RPS Class II Renewable Fuel, Hydroelectric Energy, waste-to-energy that is a component of conventional municipal solid waste plant technology in commercial use, or any of the fuels, energy resources or technologies set forth in 225 CMR 15.04(1)(a). Retail Electricity Product. An electrical energy offering that is distinguished by its Generation Attributes and that is offered for sale by a Retail Electricity Supplier to End-use Customers. Retail Electricity Supplier. A person or entity that sells electrical energy to End-use Customers in Massachusetts including, but not limited to, electric utility Distribution Companies supplying basic service or any successor service to End-use Customers. A Municipal Lighting Plant shall be considered a Retail Electricity Supplier; however, it shall be exempt from the obligations of a Retail Electricity Supplier under 225 CMR 15.00 so long as and insofar as it is exempt from the requirements to allow competitive choice of generation supply pursuant to M.G.L. c. 164, § 47A. RPS Class II Renewable Generation. The electrical energy output of an RPS Class II Renewable Generation Unit, or that portion of the electrical energy output of an RPS Class II Generation Unit that qualifies under: (a) a Co-firing and Blended Fuel Waiver, pursuant to 225 CMR 15.05(2); (b) the Special Provisions for a Generation Unit Located in a Control Area Adjacent to the ISO-NE Control Area, pursuant to 225 CMR 15.05(3); or (c) any other applicable provision of 225 CMR 15.00. RPS Class II Renewable Generation Attribute. The Generation Attribute of the electrical energy output of a specific RPS Class II Generation Unit that derives from the Generation Unit's production of RPS Class II Renewable Generation, excluding Attributes derived from the production of Waste Energy. RPS Class II Renewable Generation Unit. A Generation Unit or Aggregation that has received an RPS Class II Statement of Qualification from the Department. RPS Class II Waste Energy Generation Attribute. The Generation Attribute of the electrical energy output of a specific Waste Energy Generation Unit that derives from the Generation Unit's production of Waste Energy. Statement of Qualification (SQ). A written document from the Department that qualifies a Generation Unit or Aggregation as an RPS Class II Qualified Generation Unit, or that qualifies a portion of the annual electrical energy output of a Generation Unit or Aggregation as RPS Class II Renewable Generation. Sustainable Forestry Management. Practicing a land stewardship ethic that integrates the reforestation, managing, growing, nurturing, and harvesting of trees for useful products with the conservation of soil, air and water quality, wildlife and fish habitat, and aesthetics and the stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality, and potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic, and social functions at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems. Criteria for sustainable forestry include: (a) conservation of biological diversity; (b) maintenance of productive capacity of forest ecosystems; (c) maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality; (d) conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources; (e) maintenance of forest contributions to global carbon cycles; (f) maintenance and enhancement of long-term multiple socioeconomic benefits to meet the needs of societies; and (g) a legal, institutional, and economic framework for forest conservation and sustainable management. Useful Thermal Energy. Energy in the form of direct heat, steam, hot water, or other thermal form that is used in production and beneficial measures for heating, cooling, humidity control, process use, or other valid thermal end use energy requirements, for which fuel or electricity would otherwise be consumed. Thermal energy used to produce a dried or refined biomass fuel shall not be considered Useful Thermal Energy if the biomass fuel produced is used to fuel the Generation Unit that dried or refined the biomass fuel. Valid Air Permit. Within the United States, a current and effective authorization, license, certificate, or like approval to construct and/or operate a source of air pollution, issued or required by the regulatory agency designated in the applicable State Implementation Plan to issue permits under the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7401, et seq. In jurisdictions outside of the United States, it shall be a document demonstrating an equivalent authorization. Waste Energy. Electrical energy generated from the combustion of municipal solid waste. Waste Energy Generation Unit. A Generation Unit that utilizes conventional municipal solid waste plant technology in commercial use to generate Waste Energy.