N.M. Admin. Code § 17.9.572.17

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 23, December 10, 2024

Section 17.9.572.17 - RENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATES

A. Each public utility shall annually establish its compliance with the renewable portfolio standard through the filing of an annual report, as provided in 17.9.572.19 NMAC, documenting the retirement of renewable energy certificates.

B. Non-WREGIS registered RECs shall contain the following information:

(1) the name and contact information of the renewable energy generating facility owner or operator;

(2) the name and contact information of the public utility or rural electric distribution cooperative purchasing the renewable energy certificate;

(3) the type of generator technology and fuel type;

(4) the generating facility's physical location, nameplate capacity in megawatts, location and ID number of revenue meter and date of commencement of commercial generation;

(5) the public utility to which the generating facility is interconnected;

(6) the control area operator for the generating facility; and

(7) the quantity in kilowatt-hours and the date of the renewable energy certificate creation.

C. Renewable energy certificates:

(1) shall be owned by the generator of the renewable energy unless:

(a) the renewable energy certificates are transferred to the purchaser of the energy through specific agreement with the generator;

(b) the generator is a qualifying facility, as defined by the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, in which case the renewable energy certificates are owned by the public utility purchaser of the renewable energy unless retained by the generator through specific agreement with the public utility purchaser of the energy; or

(c) a contract for the purchase of renewable energy is in effect prior to January 1, 2019, in which case the purchaser of the energy owns the renewable energy certificates for the term of such contract; and

(2) may be traded, sold or otherwise transferred by their owner, unless the certificates are from a rate-based public utility plant, in which case the entirety of the renewable energy certificates from that plant shall be retired by the utility on behalf of itself or its customers. Any contract to purchase renewable energy entered into by a public utility on or after July 1, 2019 shall include conveyance to the purchasing utility of all renewable energy certificates, and the entirety of those certificates shall be retired by that utility on behalf of itself or its customers or subsequently transferred to a retail customer for retirement under a voluntary program for purchasing renewable energy approved by the commission;

(3) that are used once by a public utility to satisfy the renewable portfolio standard and are retired shall not be further used by the public utility; and

(4) that are not used by a public utility to satisfy the renewable portfolio standard may be carried forward for up to four years from the date of creation and, if not used by that time, shall be retired by the public utility.

D. Public utilities shall be responsible for demonstrating that a renewable energy certificate used for compliance with the renewable portfolio standard is derived from eligible renewable energy resources and has not been retired, traded, sold or otherwise transferred to another party. Public utilities shall maintain records sufficient to meet the demonstration requirement of this subsection.

E. The acquisition, sale or transfer, and retirement of any renewable energy certificates used to meet renewable portfolio standards on or after January 1, 2008 shall be registered with the WREGIS or its direct successor(s), except as provided in Subsection F of 17.9.572.17 NMAC. Certificates whose retirement has been registered by the public utility with WREGIS shall be deemed to meet the requirements of Subsection D of 17.9.572.17 NMAC.

F. Renewable energy certificates representing electricity delivered to the public utility and assigned to the public utility's New Mexico customers and registered with a tracking system other than WREGIS may be used to meet renewable portfolio standards so long as WREGIS lacks the capability to import certificates from that other tracking system.

N.M. Admin. Code § 17.9.572.17

17.9.572.17 NMAC - Rp, 17.9.572.13 NMAC, 5-31-13, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXII, Issue 09, May 4, 2021, eff. 5/4/2021, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXIV, Issue 04, February 28, 2023, eff. 2/28/2023