Chapter PSC 118

Chapter PSC 118

RENEWABLE RESOURCE CREDIT TRACKING PROGRAM

PSC 118.01   Scope.

PSC 118.02   Definitions.

PSC 118.025   Renewable resource designation.

PSC 118.03   Facilities eligible for the minimum percentage requirement and for creating renewable resource credits.

PSC 118.04   Creation and transfer of renewable energy certificates and renewable resource credits.

PSC 118.05   Certification of renewable facilities.

PSC 118.055   Certification of displacement facilities.

PSC 118.06   Renewable energy tracking system program administrator.

PSC 118.07   Aggregation and allocation by wholesale suppliers.

PSC 118.08   Double-counting prohibited.

PSC 118.09   Calculation of displaced conventional electricity.

Ch. PSC 118 Note Note: Chapter PSC 118 was created as an emergency rule effective April 7, 2001.

PSC 118.01 PSC 118.01 Scope.

PSC 118.01(1) (1) This chapter applies to each Wisconsin electric provider that is subject to s. 196.378 (2) (a), Stats., and to any member or customer of an electric provider.

PSC 118.01(2) (2) The commission may consider exceptional or unusual situations and may, by order, apply different requirements to an individual facility than those provided in this chapter.

PSC 118.01(3) (3) This chapter should be construed liberally in favor of the creation of RRCs.

PSC 118.01 History History: CR 00-065: cr. Register July 2001, No. 547 eff. 8-1-00; CR 06-112: am. Register May 2007 No. 617, eff. 6-1-07; CR 10-147: renum. 118.01 to be 118.01 (1) and am., cr. (2) Register March 2012 No. 675, eff. 4-1-12; CR 13-040: am. (1), cr. (3) Register April 2014 No. 700, eff. 5-1-14.

PSC 118.02 PSC 118.02 Definitions. The definitions specified in s. 196.378, Stats., apply to this chapter. In addition, in this chapter:

PSC 118.02(1e) (1e) “Biogas” means a gas created by the anaerobic digestion or fermentation of biomass, food processing waste or discarded food.

PSC 118.02(1m) (1m) “Certified displacement facility” means a displacement facility that the commission certifies under s. PSC 118.055.

PSC 118.02(1s) (1s) “Certified renewable facility” means an electric generating facility that the commission certifies under s. PSC 118.05.

PSC 118.02(2) (2) “Compliance period” means a calendar year, beginning January 1, during which an electric provider is required to achieve a renewable energy percentage under s. 196.378 (2) (a), Stats.

PSC 118.02(3) (3) “Commission” means the public service commission.

PSC 118.02(3m) (3m) “Densified fuel pellets” means pellets made from waste material that does not include garbage, as defined in s. 289.01 (9), Stats., and that contains no more than 30 percent fixed carbon.

PSC 118.02(4) (4) “Designated representative” means the person authorized by the electric provider to register a renewable facility or non-electric facility with the program administrator, or to purchase or sell renewable energy certificates or RRCs.

PSC 118.02(5) (5) “Displaced conventional electricity” means electricity derived from conventional resources that an electric provider, or a customer or member of the electric provider, would have used except that the person used instead a certified displacement facility.

PSC 118.02(5g) (5g) “Displacement facility” means any of the following when used by an electric provider, or by a customer or member of the electric provider:

PSC 118.02(5g)(a) (a) A solar water heater.

PSC 118.02(5g)(b) (b) A solar light pipe.

PSC 118.02(5g)(c) (c) A ground source heat pump.

PSC 118.02(5g)(d) (d) An installation generating thermal output from biomass, biogas, synthetic gas, densified fuel pellets, or fuel produced by pyrolysis.

PSC 118.02(5g)(dm) (dm) An installation that recovers heat that is a byproduct of a manufacturing process.

PSC 118.02(5g)(e) (e) Any other installation under s. 196.378 (3) (a) 1m., Stats., identified by the commission that meets the criteria specified in this chapter.

PSC 118.02(5m) (5m) “Division administrator” means the administrator of the commission’s division responsible for energy regulation.

PSC 118.02(6) (6) “MWh” means megawatt-hour of electricity.

PSC 118.02(6r) (6r) “Plasma gasification” means the process of using an electric arc gasifier at a high temperature to break down waste material into gases and solids.

PSC 118.02(7) (7) “Program administrator” means the person who carries out the administrative responsibilities related to the renewable energy tracking system.

PSC 118.02(7g) (7g) “Pyrolysis” means an industrial process that heats organic or waste material under pressure in an oxygen-starved environment to break the material down into gases, liquid and solid residues.

PSC 118.02(7r) (7r) “Renewable energy certificate” means an electronic certificate representing one MWh of total renewable energy from a certified renewable facility that meets all of the following requirements:

PSC 118.02(7r)(a) (a) The MWh is physically metered with the net generation measured at the certified renewable facility’s bus bar.

PSC 118.02(7r)(b) (b) The MWh represents renewable energy that is delivered to a retail customer with the retail sale measured at the customer’s meter, ignoring the transmission and distribution losses between the bus bar and the customer’s meter.

PSC 118.02(7r)(c) (c) The MWh is tracked in the renewable energy tracking system.

PSC 118.02(7r)(d) (d) The facility meets the applicable requirements of ss. PSC 118.03 and 118.04.

PSC 118.02(8) (8) “RRC” means a renewable resource credit.

PSC 118.02(9) (9) “Renewable energy tracking system” means a program that tracks the selling, transferring, purchasing, and retiring of renewable energy certificates and RRCs under s. 196.378 (3) (a), Stats., and meets the criteria in s. PSC 118.06.

PSC 118.02(10) (10) “Renewable resource credit” means either of the following:

PSC 118.02(10)(a) (a) One renewable energy certificate that exceeds an electric provider’s minimum percentage requirement specified in s. 196.378 (2) (a), Stats., and meets the applicable requirements of ss. PSC 118.03 and 118.04.

PSC 118.02(10)(b) (b) An electronic certificate representing one MWh of displaced conventional electricity, as calculated under s. PSC 118.09.

PSC 118.02(11) (11) “Retail customer” means a customer that receives retail electricity in Wisconsin.

PSC 118.02(14) (14) “Solar light pipe” means a device that concentrates and transmits sunlight through a roof to an interior space, employing highly-reflective material inside the device to focus and direct the maximum available sunlight to the interior space.

PSC 118.02(15) (15) “Solar water heater” means a device that concentrates and collects solar radiation to heat water for domestic use, pool heating, space heating, or ventilation air heating.

PSC 118.02(16) (16) “Synthetic gas” means gas created by plasma gasification or pyrolysis.

PSC 118.02(17) (17) “Tracking system account” means the account that the program administrator maintains in order to track the creation, sale, transfer, purchase, and retirement of a renewable energy certificate or an RRC by a renewable energy tracking system participant.

PSC 118.02 History History: CR 00-065: cr. Register July 2001, No. 547 eff. 8-1-01; CR 06-112: r. (5) and (9), am. (7), (10) and (11), r. and recr. (13) Register May 2007 No. 617, eff. 6-1-07; CR 10-147: renum. (1) to be (1s) and am., cr. (1e), (1m), am. (2), cr. (3m), am. (4), cr. (5), (5m), am. (6), cr. (6g), (6r), am. (7), cr. (7g), (7r), (9), renum. (10) to be (10) (intro.) and am., cr. (10) (a), (b), renum. (12) to be (17) and am., r. (13), cr. (14) to (16) Register March 2012 No. 675, eff. 4-1-12; republished to insert text inadvertently excluded from (4) Register January 2014 No. 697; CR 13-040: am. (1m), (5), renum. (6g) (intro.) to (5g) (intro.) and am., renum. (6g) (a) to (e) to (5g) (a) to (e) Register April 2014 No. 700, eff. 5-1-14; correction in (17) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register April 2014 No. 700; CR 14-053: am. (17) Register April 2015 No. 712, eff. 5-1-15; CR 20-083: cr. (5g) (dm) Register October 2021 No. 790, eff. 11-1-21.

PSC 118.025 PSC 118.025 Renewable resource designation. Biogas is a renewable resource under s. 196.378 (1) (h) 2., Stats.