§ 39-26.6-21 — § 39-26.6-21. Ownership of output, other attributes, and renewable energy certificates.

Rhode Island § 39-26.6-21

• Jurisdiction: Rhode Island
• Title 39: Public Utilities and Carriers
• Ch. 39-26.6: The Renewable Energy Growth Program

Text

§ 39-26.6-21. Ownership of output, other attributes, and renewable energy certificates.

(a) Except as provided herein for residential small-scale solar projects, distributed-generation projects participating in the renewable energy growth program shall transfer to the electric distribution company the rights and title to:

(1) Those renewable energy certificates generated by the project during the term of the applicable, performance-based incentive tariff;

(2) All energy produced by the generation that is not otherwise consumed on site under a net-metering arrangement; and

(3) Rights to any other environmental attributes or market products that are created or produced by the project; provided, however, that it shall be the election of the electric distribution company whether it chooses to acquire the capacity of the distributed-generation projects under the tariffs set forth in this chapter and no ceiling prices recommended by the board and approved by the commission will be adjusted downward in light of the electric distribution company's election. The electric distribution company shall: (1) Sell any products acquired and credit them to the reconciliation account specified in § 39-26.6-25; and/or (2) Use the products to serve customers and establish a price to be credited by customers using the products based on recent and near-term projections of market prices. When a generator reverts to net metering after the end of the tariff term under the renewable energy growth program, the net-metering generator shall retain title to the renewable energy certificates generated by the project. In the case of residential small-scale projects, title to all energy and capacity produced from the solar generation shall remain with the residential customer; shall not be transferred to the electric distribution company; and shall be deemed consumed by the residential customer on-site during the applicable, distribution-service billing period with no sale or purchase between the residential customer and the electric distribution company.

(b) For the accounting purposes of the electric distribution company in treating the performance-based incentives, the cost of the energy that is procured shall be the real-time market price of energy and the balance of the performance-based incentive shall be attributable to the purchase of environmental and any other attributes acquired. This accounting shall have no effect on the total, bundled performance-based incentive to which the distributed-generation project is entitled under the provisions of this chapter.

Legislative History

P.L. 2014, ch. 200, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 216, § 1; P.L. 2016, ch. 149, § 4; P.L. 2016, ch. 163, § 4.