PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed Action:
The Commission is considering the request of Battenkill Hydro Associates to provide financial support for its hydroelectric facility in Greenwich, NY, under the "Maintenance Tier", in the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Program.
Statutory authority:
Public Service Law, sections 4(1), 5(2) and 66(1)
Subject:
Main Tier of the RPS Program.
Purpose:
To allocate funding from the Main Tier to an eligible hydroelectric facility.
Substance of proposed rule:
The Commission is considering whether to adopt, modify, or reject, in whole or in part, Staff’s recommendation to provide financial support, under the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Maintenance Tier, to Battenkill Hydro Associates for its 0.9MW hydroelectric facilities located in Greenwich, NY.1
On October 3, 2013, Battenkill Hydro Associates submitted a filing to the Department of Public Service seeking a 10-year Maintenance Tier contract in the amount of $17/MWh for a total of $41,700 annually (based on an average annual generation level of 2,453 MWh) for its hydroelectric facilities located in Greenwich, NY.
By Order issued September 24, 2004, the Commission established a maintenance resource category as a subset of the Main Tier of the RPS program, to provide financial support to certain existing renewable resource energy facilities to remain financially viable and avoid attrition of baseline resources (Maintenance Tier). A later Order, issued April 14, 2005, established a process for a case-by-case review and analysis to determine the level of funding for a maintenance resource. A further Order, issued October 31, 2005, clarified that the level of support offered through the Maintenance Tier would at least be adequate to allow the facility to cover its future operating costs and any necessary future capital costs, but need not cover all sunk costs.
Department of Public Service Staff performed a comprehensive review of the filing of Battenkill Hydro Associates Power Company and recommends a level of support at $2.80/MWh for the first 2,453 MWh of annual generation up to $6,855 annually. Staff also recommends the following conditions if the company were to accept the terms of support:
RPS-eligible Attributes:
In order to enter into an RPS Maintenance Tier contract with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Battenkill Hydro Associates must possess, for the entire contract term, the rights to assign the RPS-eligible attributes to NYSERDA. The RPS-eligible attributes associated with the energy delivered under a PURPA contract, or purchase power agreement, and claimed by the party to that contract, are not eligible for RPS support. The definition of an RPS-eligible attributes will be subject to the contract executed with NYSERDA, but generally refers to any and all credits, benefits, emissions reductions, offsets, and allowances, howsoever entitled, directly attributable to the generation of the facility. One RPS-eligible attribute shall be created upon the generation of one MWh of production. RPS-eligible attributes generally include, but are not limited to any avoided emissions of pollutants to the air, soil or water and any set-aside allowances from emissions trading programs.
Contract Term:
The award will be offered for a term of 10-years. The contract term will become effective July 1, 2014 and expire on June 30, 2024.
Energy Deliverability:
Energy must be deliverable into a market controlled by the New York Independent Systems Operator.
RPS Production Incentive:
Battenkill Hydro Associates will be paid a fixed RPS production incentive of $2.80/MWh, on up to 2,453 MWh per year, for energy actually delivered to the New York energy market in conformance with RPS Program requirements. Generation, in any year, in excess of 2,453 MWh will not be subject to a production incentive.
Contract Revision:
The New York Public Service Commission reserves the right to revise the term of this award, including the production incentive amount, if a review of the books and records of Battenkill Hydro Associates indicate that the level of support provided here is no longer necessary for the continued operation of the project.
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1 Battenkill Hydro Associates operates two hydro facilities in Greenwich NY. The capacity of the Upper Greenwich facility is 0.6 MW; the capacity of the Middle Greenwich facility is 0.3 MW.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained by filing a Document Request Form (F-96) located on our website http://www.dps.ny.gov/f96dir.htm. For questions, contact:
Deborah Swatling, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 486-2659, email: Deborah.Swatling@dps.ny.gov
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Kathleen H. Burgess, Secretary, Public Service Commission, 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350, (518) 408-1978, email: secretary@dps.ny.gov
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
Regulatory Impact Statement, Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Rural Area Flexibility Analysis and Job Impact Statement
Statements and analyses are not submitted with this notice because the proposed rule is within the definition contained in section 102(2)(a)(ii) of the State Administrative Procedure Act.
