4 Colo. Code Regs. § 723-3-3659

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 20, October 25, 2024

Section 4 CCR 723-3-3659 - Renewable Energy Credits

(a) Renewable energy credits may be used to comply with the RES and may include:

(I) RECs generated by renewable energy resources owned by the QRU or by a QRU affiliate;

(II) RECs acquired by the QRU pursuant to renewable energy supply contracts;

(III) RECs acquired by the QRU pursuant to renewable energy credit contracts;

(IV) RECs acquired by the QRU pursuant to a standard offer program;

(V) RECs acquired through a system of tradable renewable energy credits, from exchanges or from brokers

(VI) RECs carried forward from previous compliance years, pursuant to rule 3654; and

(VII) RECs borrowed forward from future compliance years, pursuant to rule 3654.

(b) RECs representing electricity generated at renewable energy resources shall be counted for compliance purposes consistent with the compliance multipliers in paragraphs 3654(e), (f), (g), or (h).

(c) The Commission shall not restrict the investor owned QRU's ownership of RECs if the investor owned QRU complies with both the RES established in rule 3654 and the requirements for renewable distributed generation established in rule 3655 and if the investor owned QRU complies with the retail rate impact established in rule 3661.

(d) All contracts between QRUs and the owners of renewable energy resources entered into after the effective day of these rules shall clearly specify the entity who shall own the RECs associated with the energy generated by the facility.

(e) A REC shall expire at the end of the fifth calendar year following the calendar year during which it was generated.

(f) RECs shall be used for a single purpose only, and shall expire or be retired upon use for that purpose. All RECs utilized by the QRU to comply with the RES:

(I) may not be sold or otherwise exchanged with any other party, or in any other state or jurisdiction;

(II) may not be included within a blended energy product certified to include a fixed percentage of renewable energy in any other state or jurisdiction; and

(III) may be counted simultaneously toward compliance with a federal renewable portfolio standard and with the RES.

(g) RECs that are generated with fuel cell energy using hydrogen derived from an eligible energy resource are eligible for compliance purposes only to the extent that the energy used to generate the hydrogen did not create renewable energy credits.

(h) If a renewable energy system uses a renewable energy resource in combination with a nonrenewable energy source to generate electricity, only the RECs associated with the proportion of the total electric output of the renewable energy system that results from the use of renewable energy resources shall be eligible to count toward compliance with the RES.

(i) If an on-site solar systems of ten kW or below has received a one-time REC payment from a QRU under rule 3658, the QRU shall be entitled to count the anticipated RECs purchased by the one-time REC payment for compliance with the RES even if the on-site solar systems is removed or becomes inoperable.

(j) All renewable energy resources located in the region covered by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) that generate RECs used by an investor owned QRU for compliance with the RES shall be registered with the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS) and shall record their RECs in WREGIS with the exception of retail renewable distributed generation facilities less than one MW.

(k) All investor owned QRUs shall register in WREGIS. The investor owned QRU shall recover through its RESA the costs associated with WREGIS that are allocated to its retail customers.

(l) To the extent that the investor owned QRU acquires RECs from renewable energy resources that are not recorded in WREGIS, the investor owned QRU shall record such RECs in a central database. The database shall include, but not be limited to, a list of the renewable distributed generation whose RECs the investor owned QRU intends to use for compliance with the RES under rule 3654 and the requirements for renewable distributed generation under rule 3655, including its type, location, owner, operator, and start of operation. The database shall also record the RECs generated and the ownership, transfer and retirement of those RECs.

(m) An investor owned QRU may own and use for compliance with the RES RECs generated by renewable energy resources that the Commission has designated as new energy technologies or demonstration projects under § 40-2-123(1)(a), C.R.S., and that are therefore not subject to the retail rate impact established in rule 3661.

(n) The investor owned QRU shall have the discretion to sell or trade RECs at any time as long as the investor owned QRU obtains and retires sufficient levels of RECs to comply with the RES under rule 3654 and the requirements for renewable distributed generation under rule 3655. Proceeds from the sales of RECs shall be credited to the account associated with the RESA. The investor owned QRU may seek approval in an annual compliance plan filing under rule 3657 or by separate application to retain as earnings a percentage of the funds from REC sales that the investor owned QRU expects to have available to acquire eligible energy and RECs under the retail rate impact in rule 3661 for the compliance year. In considering the percentage of funds to be retained as earnings by the investor owned QRU, the Commission shall take into account the development of the REC market and the expected value added by the investor owned QRU in marketing and trading the RECs.

4 CCR 723-3-3659

38 CR 17, September 10, 2015, effective 9/30/2015

39 CR 06, March 25, 2016, effective 4/14/2016

39 CR 08, April 25, 2016, effective 5/15/2016

40 CR 22, November 25, 2017, effective 12/15/2017

42 CR 03, February 10, 2019, effective 3/2/2019

42 CR 07, April 10, 2019, effective 4/30/2019

42 CR 09, May 10, 2019, effective 5/30/2019

43 CR 08, April 25, 2020, effective 5/15/2020

43 CR 12, June 25, 2020, effective 7/15/2020

43 CR 20, October 25, 2020, effective 11/14/2020

44 CR 13, July 10, 2021, effective 7/30/2021

44 CR 24, December 25, 2021, effective 1/14/2022

45 CR 18, September 25, 2022, effective 10/15/2022

46 CR 02, January 25, 2023, effective 2/14/2023