Md. Code Regs. 26.09.01.02

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 22, November 1, 2024

Section 26.09.01.02 - Definitions

A. In this subtitle, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) "Account number" means the identification number given to each CO₂ account.

(2) "Administrator" means the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the Administrator's authorized representative.

(3) "Allocate" means to distribute and record CO2 allowances in:

(a) A CO₂ budget unit's compliance account;

(b) A set-aside account; or

(c) The consumer energy efficiency account.

(4) "Allocation year" means a calendar year for which CO2 allowances are allocated.

(4-1) "Alternate CO₂ authorized account representative" means:

(a) For a CO₂ budget source, the alternate individual who is authorized by the owners and operators of the source to represent and legally bind them in matters pertaining to this subtitle; or

(b) For a general account, the alternate individual who is authorized to transfer or otherwise dispose of CO₂ allowances held in the general account.

(4-2) "Anaerobic digester" means a device that promotes the decomposition of organic material to simple organics and gaseous biogas products, in the absence of elemental oxygen, usually accomplished by means of controlling temperature and volume, and including a methane recovery system.

(5) "Anaerobic digestion" means the decomposition of organic material, including manure, brought about through the action of microorganisms in the absence of elemental oxygen.

(6) "Anaerobic storage" means the storage of organic material in an oxygen-free environment, or under oxygen-free conditions, including, holding tanks, ponds, and lagoons.

(7) "ANSI" means the American National Standards Institute.

(8) "Applicant" means a person who submits an application to qualify for participation in a CO₂ allowance auction.

(9) "Attribute" means a characteristic associated with electricity generated using a particular renewable fuel, such as its generation date, facility geographic location, unit vintage, emissions output, fuel, state program eligibility, or other characteristic that can be identified, accounted for, and tracked.

(10) "Attribute credit" means the attributes related to one megawatt-hour of electricity generation.

(11) "Auction" means a sale conducted by the Department in which CO₂ allowances are made available to eligible categories of bidders for sale and purchase.

(12) "Auction advisory committee" means a committee comprised of the Secretary of the Environment, the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration, and a commissioner of the Maryland Public Service Commission, or their designees.

(12-1) "Auction clearing price" means the price per CO₂ allowance at which all CO₂ allowances offered for sale in the auction will be sold.

(13) "Automated data acquisition and handling system (DAHS)" means that component of a continuous emissions monitoring system, or other approved emissions monitoring system, designed to interpret and convert individual output signals from pollutant concentration monitors, flow monitors, diluent gas monitors, and other component parts of the monitoring system to produce a continuous record of the measured parameters.

(14) "Award" means an allocation of CO₂ allowances by the Department:

(a) Which are recorded in the general account of a project sponsor; or

(b) Which are recorded in the compliance account of a recipient of allowances from the Clean Generation Set-aside Account.

(14-1) "Bidder" means a person who is participating or may potentially participate in an auction of CO₂ allowances.

(15) "Billing meter" means a measurement device used to measure electric or thermal output for commercial billing under a contract where the facility selling the electric or thermal output is a different owner from the person purchasing the electric or thermal output.

(16) "Biogas" means gas resulting from the decomposition of organic matter under anaerobic conditions where the principle constituents are methane and carbon dioxide.

(17) "Clean generation" means, in the context of the Clean Generation Set-aside Account, electricity produced by the combustion of fossil fuels at a CO2 budget unit that has implemented measures to reduce the emission of air pollutants resulting from the CO2 budget unit's production of electricity.

(18) "Clean Generation Set-aside Account" means a general account established by the Department from which allowances are awarded to CO₂ budget units and CO₂ budget sources that:

(a) Commence operation after January 1, 2009; and

(b) Engage in clean generation.

(18-1) Climate Action Plan.

(a) "Climate action plan" means a written plan submitted to the Department by a CO₂ budget source that identifies and analyzes its CO₂e emission reduction or sequestration strategies and plans.

(b) "Climate action plan" includes, but is not limited to, the following components:

(i) Baseline data and forecasts for on-site CO₂e emissions;

(ii) Short and long term goals for reducing or sequestering CO₂e emissions;

(iii) Identification of CO₂e emission reduction or sequestration techniques and strategies that the CO₂ budget source will implement and the timetable for implementation; and

(iv) An estimate of the CO₂e emissions reductions that will result from the implementation of the emission reduction or sequestration techniques and strategies identified pursuant to §B(18-l)(b)(iii) of this regulation.

(19) "Closed auction" means an auction where a specified number of CO₂ allowances are made available for sale and purchase only to the owners or operators of a budget unit.

(20) "CO₂ allowance" means the limited authorization to emit up to 1 ton of CO₂ and does not constitute a property right.

(21) "CO₂ allowance auction website" means a website that includes information including, but not limited to:

(a) The date and time of an auction;

(b) The number of CO₂ allowances to be available for purchase at auction;

(c) The categories of participants that are able to bid on the available allowances at auction; and

(d) Other information that the Department determines may be pertinent to the auction.

(22) "CO₂ allowance contingency account" means an account administered by the Department to hold the following CO₂ allowances:

(a) Previously auctioned but unsold allowances;

(b) Unretired or unallocated CO₂ allowances from the Set-aside Accounts; or

(c) Any other CO₂ allowances as identified by the auction advisory committee.

(23) "CO₂ allowance deduction" means the permanent withdrawal of CO₂ allowances from a CO₂ compliance account for each ton of CO₂ emitted from a CO₂ budget unit during a control period.

(24) "CO₂ allowances held" means the CO₂ allowances recorded or submitted to be recorded in a CO₂ account.

(25) "CO₂ allowance retirement account" means a general account administered by the Department to hold CO2 allowances that have been permanently retired from the Voluntary Renewable Set-aside Account, the Limited Industrial Exemption Set-aside Account, or the CO2 Allowance Contingency Account.

(26) "CO₂ allowance tracking system, or COATS" means the system that records allocations, deductions, and transfers of CO₂ allowances which may also be used to track CO₂ emissions offset projects, CO₂ allowance prices, and emissions from affected sources.

(27) "CO₂ allowance transfer deadline" means midnight of the March 1 occurring after the end of the relevant control period and each relevant control period.

(28) "CO₂ authorized account representative" means:

(a) For a CO₂ budget source, the individual who is authorized by the owners and operators of the source to represent and legally bind them in matters pertaining to this subtitle; or

(b) For a general account, the individual who is authorized to transfer or otherwise dispose of CO₂ allowances held in the general account.

(29) "CO₂ budget emissions limitation" means the tonnage equivalent of the CO₂ allowances available for compliance deduction for a CO₂ budget source for a control period.

(30) "CO₂ budget permit" means a permit issued to a CO₂ budget source or CO₂ budget unit that specifies the requirements applicable to the source or to each CO₂ budget unit.

(31) "CO₂ budget source" means a source that includes one or more CO₂ budget units.

(32) "CO₂ budget system" means two or more CO₂ budget sources subject to this subtitle that are owned, operated, or controlled by the same person.

(33) "CO₂ budget unit" means fossil fuel fired fuel-burning equipment that, after January 1, 2005, serves a generator with a nameplate capacity of 25 megawatts or greater.

(34) "CO₂ cost containment reserve allowance or CO2 CCR allowance" means a CO2 allowance that is offered for sale at an auction by the Department for the purpose of containing the cost of CO2 allowances, and is separate from, and additional to, a CO2 allowance allocated from the Maryland CO2 Budget Trading Program base and adjusted budgets.

(34-1) "CO₂ cost containment reserve trigger price, or CCR trigger price" means the minimum price at which CO₂ CCR allowances are offered for sale by the Department at an auction, and shall be:

(a) $10.00 per CO 2 allowance for calendar year 2017;

(b) Each calendar year thereafter through 2020, the CCR trigger price shall be 1.025 multiplied by the CCR trigger price from the previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest whole cent as follows:

(i) $10.25 for 2018;

(ii) $10.51 for 2019; and

(iii) $10.77 for 2020;

(c) $13.00 per CO₂ allowance for calendar year 2021; and

(d) Each calendar year thereafter, the CCR trigger price shall be 1.07 multiplied by the CCR trigger price from the previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest whole cent as follows:

(i) $13.91 for 2022;

(ii) $14.88 for 2023;

(iii) $15.93 for 2024;

(iv) $17.04 for 2025;

(v) $18.23 for 2026;

(vi) $19.51 for 2027;

(vii) $20.88 for 2028;

(viii) $22.34 for 2029; and

(ix) $23.90 for 2030.

(34-2) "CO₂ emissions containment reserve allowance, or CO₂ ECR allowance" means a CO₂ allowance that is withheld from sale at an auction by the Department for the purpose of additional emission reduction in the event of lower than anticipated emission reduction costs.

(34-3) "CO₂ emissions containment reserve trigger price, or ECR trigger price" means the price below which CO₂ allowances will be withheld from sale by the Department or its agent at an auction. The ECR trigger price shall be:

(a) $6.00 for calendar year 2021; and

(b) For each calendar year thereafter, the ECR trigger price shall be 1.07 multiplied by the ECR trigger price from the previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest whole cent as follows:

(i) $6.42 for 2022;

(ii) $6.87 for 2023;

(iii) $7.35 for 2024;

(iv) $7.86 for 2025;

(v) $8.42 for 2026;

(vi) $9.00 for 2027;

(vii) $9.63 for 2028;

(viii) $10.31 for 2029; and

(ix) $11.03 for 2030.

(35) "CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e)" means the quantity of a given greenhouse gas, other than CO₂, multiplied by its global warming potential (GWP).

(36) "CO₂ offset allowance" means a CO₂ allowance that is:

(a) Awarded to the project sponsor of a CO₂ emissions offset project; and

(b) Subject to the relevant compliance deduction limitations.

(37) "Combined cycle system" means a system comprised of one or more combustion turbines, heat recovery steam generators, and steam turbines configured to improve overall efficiency of electricity generation or steam production.

(37-1) "Combined heat and power unit, CHP unit, or cogeneration unit" means an electric generating unit that uses a steam-generating unit or stationary combustion turbine to simultaneously produce both electric (or mechanical) and useful thermal output from the same primary energy facility.

(38) "Combustion turbine" means an enclosed fossil or other fuel-fired device comprised of a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine in which the flue gas resulting from the combustion of fuel in the combustor passes through the turbine to rotate the turbine.

(39) "Commence commercial operation" means:

(a) For a unit that serves a generator, the date the unit begins to produce steam, gas, or other heated medium used to generate electricity for sale or use, including test generation;

(b) For a CO₂ budget unit, the date the unit begins operation; or

(c) For a unit that is not a CO₂ budget unit, the date the unit begins commercial operation which is the date when the unit becomes a CO₂ budget unit.

(40) "Commence operation" means to begin any mechanical, chemical, or electronic process, including start-up of a unit's combustion chamber, determined as follows:

(a) For a unit that begins operation and is subsequently modified, reconstructed, or repowered, the date for the CO₂ budget unit remains the same; or

(b) For a unit that is not a CO₂ budget unit on the date of commencement of operation, the date the unit becomes a CO₂ budget unit.

(41) "Compliance account" means a budget source's CO₂ account in which the CO₂ allowances are held and made available for use by the source for a control period and each interim control period for the purpose of meeting the source's CO₂ budget emissions limitation.

(42) "Conflict of interest" means a situation that may arise with respect to an individual in relation to any specific project sponsor, CO₂ emissions offset project or category of offset projects, such that the individual's other activities or relationships with other persons or organizations render or may render the individual incapable of providing an impartial certification opinion, or otherwise compromise the individual's objectivity in performing certain functions.

(43) "Consistency application" means all applicable information required by this subtitle and provided by a project sponsor to the Department for approval of a CO₂ offset project.

(44) "Consistency determination" means an approval given by the Department when the submitted information for a CO2 offset project meets all of the applicable requirements of this subtitle.

(45) "Cooperating regulatory agency" means a regulatory agency in a state or other United States jurisdiction that is not a participating state that has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the appropriate regulatory agencies of all participating states to carry out certain obligations relative to CO₂ emissions offset projects in that state or United States jurisdiction, including but not limited to the obligation to perform audits of offset project sites, and report violations of this subtitle.

(46) "Consumer energy efficiency account" means a general account established by the Department from which allowances will be sold or distributed in order to provide funds to encourage and foster the following:

(a) Promotion of energy efficiency measures;

(b) Direct mitigation of electricity ratepayer impacts attributable to the implementation of this subtitle;

(c) Promotion of renewable or non-carbon-emitting energy technologies;

(d) Stimulation or reward of investment in the development of innovative carbon emissions abatement technologies with significant carbon reduction potential; and

(e) Funding to implement this subtitle.

(47) "Continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS)" means the equipment used to sample, analyze, measure, and provide a permanent record of stack parameters and pollutant concentrations.

(48) "Control period" means a 3-calendar year time period beginning January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2011, and each subsequent 3-year period, unless extended to 4 years upon occurrence of a stage 2 trigger event.

(49) "Cooperating regulatory agency" means a regulatory agency in a nonparticipating state or United States jurisdiction, that has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the appropriate regulatory agencies of all participating states to carry out certain obligations relative to CO2 emissions offset projects in that state or United States jurisdiction, including the obligation to perform audits of offset project sites and report violations.

(49-1) "Current vintage year" means a CO₂ allowance that was originated in the current calendar year.

(50) "Department" means the Department of the Environment or its designated agent.

(50-1) "Early Applicant" means an eligible CO₂ budget unit that commences operation prior to or on December 31, 2017.

(51) "Electricity supplier" has the meaning given that term in Public Utility Companies Article, §1-101(j), Annotated Code of Maryland.

(51-1) "Electronic submission agent" means one or more persons designated by the authorized account representative or the alternate authorized account representative of a compliance or general account to have the authority to provide information electronically.

(52) Eligible Biomass.

(a) "Eligible biomass" means sustainably harvested woody and herbaceous fuel that is available on a renewable or recurring basis.

(b) "Eligible biomass" includes:

(i) Dedicated energy crops and trees;

(ii) Agricultural food and feed crop residues;

(iii) Aquatic plants;

(iv) Unadulterated wood and wood residues;

(v) Animal wastes;

(vi) Other clean organic wastes not mixed with other solid wastes;

(vii) Biogas; and

(viii) Other neat liquid biofuels derived from the fuel sources.

(c) "Eligible biomass" does not include old growth timber.

(52-1) "Emission containment reserve account" means a general account established by the Department for the purpose of withholding CO₂ allowances from sale at an auction by the Department for the purpose of additional emission reduction in the event of lower than anticipated emission reduction costs.

(53) "Excess emissions" means the tons of CO₂ emitted by a CO₂ budget unit during a control period that exceeds the CO₂ budget emissions limitation for the source.

(54) "Excess interim emissions" means, during an interim control period, the amount in tons of CO₂ emitted by a CO₂ budget source that exceeds 50 percent of the CO₂-budget emissions limitation for the source.

(55) "First control period adjustment for banked allowances" means, for allocation years 2014 through 2020, an adjustment, applied to the Maryland CO₂ Budget Trading Program base budget, to address the surplus allowances from allocation years 2009, 2010, and 2011 held in general and compliance accounts, including compliance accounts established pursuant to the CO₂ Budget Trading Program, that are in addition to the aggregate quantity of first control period CO₂ emissions from all CO₂ budget sources in all of the participating states. Allowances in accounts opened by participating states are not included.

(56) "Forest offset project" means an offset project involving reforestation, improved forest management, or avoided conversion.

(57) "Forest offset project data report" means the report prepared by a project sponsor each year that provides the information and documentation required by COMAR 26.09.03.04 or the forest offset protocol.

(58) "Forest offset protocol" means the protocol titled "Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Offset Protocol U.S. Forest Projects, June 13, 2013"

(59) Fossil Fuel-Fired.

(a) "Fossil fuel-fired" means, for a unit that commenced operation before January 1, 2005, the combustion of fossil fuel alone or in combination with any other fuel where the fossil fuel combusted comprises, or is projected to comprise, more than 50 percent of the annual heat input on a Btu basis during any year.

(b) "Fossil fuel-fired" means, for a unit that commenced or commences operation on or after January 1, 2005, the combustion of fossil fuel alone or in combination with any other fuel, where the fossil fuel combusted comprises, or is projected to comprise, more than 5 percent of the annual heat input on a Btu basis during any year.

(60) "Fund" means any fund authorized by the legislature to hold proceeds from the auction of CO₂ allowances for any of the uses identified in this subtitle.

(61) "GATS" means the Generation Attribute Tracking System of PJM Environmental Information Services, Inc.

(61-1) "GATS reserve subaccount" means a repository in a GATS account that is designed for one-way transfers of certificates, such as RECs, for removal from circulation, as with retirement.

(62) "General account" means a CO₂ account that is not a compliance account.

(63) "Global warming potential (GWP)" means a numerical measure of the radiative efficiency or heat-absorbing ability of a particular gas, relative to that of CO₂, after taking into account the decay rate of each gas, relative to that of CO₂, and consistent with the values used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Fifth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, Chapter 5 "Anthropogenic and Natural Radiative Forcing", Section 8.7 "Emission Metrics" (pages 710-720).

(64) "Gross generation" means the electrical output in megawatts at the terminals of the generator.

(65) "Independent verifier" means an individual that has been approved to conduct verification activities.

(66) "Intentional Reversal" means any reversal of a forest offset project caused by a forest owner's negligence, gross negligence, or willful intent, including harvesting, development, and harm to the area within the offset project boundary.

(67) "Interim control period" means a 1-calendar-year time period, during each of the first and second calendar years of each 3-year control period, further defined as follows:

(a) The first interim control period begins on January 1, 2015 and ends on December 31, 2015, inclusive;

(b) The second interim control period begins on January 1, 2016, and ends on December 31, 2016, inclusive; and

(c) Each successive 3-year control period will include two interim control periods, comprised of each of the first 2 calendar years of that control period.

(68) "Life-of-the-unit contractual arrangement" means a unit participation power sales agreement under which a customer reserves, or is entitled to receive, a specified amount or percentage of nameplate capacity or associated energy from any specified unit pursuant to a contract:

(a) For the life of the unit;

(b) For a cumulative term of not less than 30 years, including contracts that permit an election for early termination; or

(c) For a period equal to or greater than 25 years or 70 percent of the economic useful life of the unit determined as of the time the unit is built, with option rights to purchase or release some portion of the nameplate capacity and associated energy generated by the unit at the end of the period.

(68-1) "Long Term Contract Price" shall be:

(a) $2.00 in calendar year 2014; and

(b) For each calendar year thereafter, the LTCP from the previous year multiplied by 1.025, rounded to the nearest whole cent.

(69) "Limited Industrial Exemption Set-aside Account" means a general account established by the Department from which allowances will be held for retirement for industrial generators of at least 25 megawatts which have taken a permit condition that limits the unit's annual electrical output to the electric grid to less than or equal to 10 percent of its annual gross generation.

(70) "Long Term Contract Set-aside Account" means a general account established by the Department from which allowances will be awarded to CO₂ budget units with long term contracts after demonstration that purchasing allowances equal to the CO₂ emissions will affect the financial viability of the plant.

(71) "Market penetration rate" means a measure of the diffusion of a technology, product, or practice in a defined market, as represented by:

(a) The percentage of annual sales for a product or practice;

(b) A percentage of the existing installed stock for a product or category of products; or

(c) The percentage of existing installed stock that utilizes a practice.

(72) "Maryland CO₂ Budget Trading Program adjusted budget" means the number of CO₂ allowances available for allocation and auction annually, determined in accordance with COMAR 26.09.02.031 and the CO₂ Budget Trading Program. CO₂ allowances allocated under the Maryland CO₂ Budget Trading Program adjusted budget are separate from:

(a) CO₂ offset allowances allocated to project sponsors; and

(b) CO₂ CCR allowances offered for sale at an auction.

(72-1) "Maryland CO₂ Budget Trading Program base budget" is specified in COMAR 26.09.02.03A, and does not include the following additional allowances:

(a) CO₂ offset allowances allocated to project sponsors; and

(b) CO₂ CCR allowances offered for sale at an auction.

(72-2) "Minimum reserve price" shall be, except for CCR allowances:

(a) $2.00 in calendar year 2014; and

(b) For each calendar year thereafter, the minimum reserve price from the previous calendar year multiplied by 1.025, rounded to the nearest whole cent.

(73) "Nameplate capacity" means the maximum electrical output, in megawatts, that a generator can sustain over a specified period of time when not restricted by seasonal or other deratings as measured in accordance with the United States Department of Energy standards.

(74) Net-Electric Output.

(a) "Net-electric output" means the amount of gross generation the generator(s) produce, as measured at the generator terminals, less the electricity used to operate the plant (i.e., auxiliary loads), including but not limited to the following:

(i) Output from steam turbine(s);

(ii) Combustion turbine(s);

(iii) Gas expander(s); and

(iv) Other generator types deemed fit by the Department.

(b) Such uses include fuel handling equipment, pumps, fans, pollution control equipment, other electricity needs, and transformer losses as measured at the transmission side of the step up transformer (e.g., the point of sale).

(75) " Non-CO₂ budget unit" means a unit that does not serve a generator with a nameplate capacity equal to or greater than 25 megawatts.

(75-1) "Non-early Applicant" means an eligible CO₂ budget unit that commences operation after December 31, 2017.

(75-2) "Off-site " means a location that is not contiguous with the property where the anaerobic digester is located.

(76) "Offset project" means all equipment, materials, items, or actions directly related to the reduction of CO₂ equivalent emissions or the sequestration of carbon specified in a consistency application.

(77) "Open auction" means an auction where a specified number of CO₂ allowances are made available for purchase by any authorized auction participant, including owners or operators of budget units, environmental groups, brokers, and investment facilities.

(78) "Participating state" means a state that has established corresponding regulations as part of the CO₂ Budget Trading Program.

(79) "Permanently retired" means allowances or credits that have been placed in a retirement account and rendered unusable.

(80) "Person" means an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, or representative of any kind and any firm, partnership, association or corporation, or other entity including any public or municipal corporation and any agency, bureau, department, or instrumentality of federal, State, or local government.

(81) "PJM Environmental Information Services, Inc. (EIS)" means the entity that owns and operates the GATS.

(81-1) "PJM region" means the control area administered by the PJM Interconnection, Inc., as the area may change from time to time.

(82) "Project commencement" means:

(a)For an offset project involving physical construction, other work at an offset project site, or installation of equipment or materials, the date of the beginning of the activity;

(b) For an offset project that involves the implementation of a management activity or protocol, the date on which the activity is first implemented or protocol first utilized; or

(c) For an offset project involving reforestation, improved forest management, or avoided conversion, the date specified in section 3.2 of the forest protocol.

(83) "Project sponsor" means the CO₂ authorized account representative for the general account of the relevant offset project or CO₂ emissions credit retirement.

(84) "Regional-type anaerobic digester" means an anaerobic digester using feedstock from more than one agricultural operation, or importing feedstock from more than one agricultural operation, commonly referred to as a community digester or centralized digester.

(85) "Renewable energy" has the meaning given that term in Public Utility Companies Article, §7-701(l) and (m), Annotated Code of Maryland.

(85-1) "Renewable energy credit (REC)" has the meaning given that term in Public Utility Companies Article, §7-701(i), Annotated Code of Maryland, and is created or acquired pursuant Public Utility Companies Article, Title 7, Subtitle 7, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(85-2) "Renewable energy facility" has the meaning given that term in COMAR 20.61.01.03B(11).

(86) "Renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS)" has the meaning given that term in Public Utility Companies Article, §7-701(j), Annotated Code of Maryland.

(86-1) "Renewable on-site generator" has the meaning given that term in the Public Utility Companies Article §7-701(k), Annotated Code of Maryland.

(86-2) "Renewable portfolio standard" means the renewable energy portfolio standard.

(86-3) "Reporting Period" means the period of time covered by a forest offset project data report, where:

(a) The first reporting period for an offset project in an initial crediting period may consist of 6 to 24 consecutive months; and

(b) All subsequent reporting periods in an initial crediting and all reporting periods in any renewed crediting period must consist of 12 consecutive months.

(87) "Reserve price" means the minimum price per CO₂ allowance at which CO₂ allowances will be sold in a given auction.

(88) "Retail marketer" means, for the purposes of the voluntary renewable set-aside account, a person who provides renewable energy or renewable energy attribute credits to a retail customer through a retail sales transaction, or a person who provides to a retail customer the service of procuring and retiring renewable energy attribute credits on the customer's behalf.

(89) "Reversal" means the intentional or unintentional release of CO2 emissions from an offset project for which offset allowances have previously been issued.

(90) "Second control period adjustment for banked allowances" means, for allocation years 2015 through 2020, a reduction in the Maryland CO₂ Budget Trading Program base budget by the number of allowances equal to the number of 2012 and 2013 allowances held in general and compliance accounts established pursuant to the CO₂ Budget Trading Programs, that are in excess of the aggregate tons of 2012 and 2013 emissions from all CChBudget sources in all of the participating states. Allowances in accounts opened by participating states are not included.

(91) "Serial number" means the unique identification number assigned to each CO₂ allowance.

(92) "Third adjustment for banked allowances" means, for allocation years 2021 through 2025, an adjustment applied to the Maryland CO₂ Budget Trading Program base budget to address allowances held in general and compliance accounts, including compliance accounts established pursuant to the CO₂ Budget Trading Program, but not including accounts opened by participating states, that are in addition to the aggregate quantity of emissions from all CO₂ budget sources in all of the participating states at the end of the fourth control period in 2020 and as reflected in the CO₂ Allowance Tracking System on March 17, 2021.

(93) "Ton or tonnage" means any "short ton", or 2,000 pounds. For the purpose of determining compliance with the CO2 requirements of Regulations .04 and .05 of this chapter, total CO2 emissions for a control period and each interim control period shall be calculated as the sum of all recorded hourly emissions (or the tonnage equivalent of the recorded hourly emissions rates) in accordance with COMAR 26.09.02.10 and .11: with

where:

(a) Any remaining fraction of a ton equal to or greater than 0.50 ton deemed to equal 1 ton;

(b) Any fraction of a ton less than 0.50 ton deemed to equal zero tons; and

(c) A short ton is equal to 0.9072 metric tons.

(93-1) "Total solids " means the total of all solids in a sample, including the total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, and volatile suspended solids.

(94) "Transmission or distribution entity" means the assets and equipment used to transmit and distribute electricity from an electric generator to the electrical load of a customer, including all related assets and equipment located within the service territory of the entity, as specified by the applicable state regulatory agency.

(95) "Unintentional Reversal" means any reversal of a forest offset project, including by wildfires or disease, that is not the result of the forest owner's negligence, gross negligence, or willful intent.

(96) "Unsold allowance" means a CO2 allowance that has been offered for sale in an auction conducted by the Department, but not sold.

(96-1) "Verification " means the verification by an independent verifier that certain parts of a CO₂ emissions offset project consistency application and/or measurement, monitoring or verification report conforms to the requirements of this subtitle.

(96-2) "Vintage year" means the calendar year that a CO₂ allowance was originated.

(97) "Volatile solids" means the fraction of total solids that is comprised primarily of organic matter.

(98) "Voluntary renewable CO₂ emissions factor" means the average release rate of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the fossil fuel electrical generation units that supply electricity to the PJM region relative to the total megawatt hours (MwH) supplied as expressed in pounds of CO₂ per MwH or metric ton of CO₂ per MwH.

(99) "Voluntary renewable energy purchase" means the purchase of electricity from renewable energy generation or renewable energy attribute credits by a retail electricity customer on a voluntary basis where the purchase may not be used by the generator or purchaser to meet any regulatory mandate, such as a renewable portfolio standard.

(100) "Voluntary renewable set-aside account" means a general account established by the Department from which allowances will be permanently retired based upon documented purchases of voluntary renewable energy by ratepayers in Maryland.

Md. Code Regs. 26.09.01.02

Regulation .02B amended effective May 18, 2009 (36:10 Md. R. 717)
Regulation .02B amended as an emergency provision effective December 28, 2009 (37:4 Md. R. 336); amended permanently effective May 3, 2010 (37:9 Md. R. 674)
Regulation .02B amended as an emergency provision effective February 1, 2011 (38:4 Md. R. 263); amended permanently effective May 16, 2011 (38:10 Md. R. 617)
Regulation .02B amended effective August 6, 2012 (39:15 Md. R. 964); January 21, 2013 (40:1 Md. R. 22); amended effective 45:3 Md. R. 157, eff. 2/12/2018; amended effective 45:26 Md. R. 1249, eff. 12/31/2018