RPS Class I Regulations

As part of the Economic Development Act (Chapter 240 of the Acts of 2010 - section 63) signed into law by the Governor earlier this month, the cap for the SREC program was changed from 2 to 6 MW. In the interest of implementing this change as quickly as permissible and consistent with the state administrative procedures act, DOER is noticing a public comment period running from September 17-24, 2010 with a proposed final regulation that accounts for this recent change in law.

DOER will accept comments on this proposed final regulation, including the increase in the cap recently signed into law. This regulation was filed on January 8, 2010 as an emergency regulation, and subsequently extended on July 8, 2010. After the comment period expires DOER will finalize the regulation as quickly as possible with the Secretary of State's Office.

All comments should be submitted electronically in pdf format to Natalie Andrews at natalie.andrews@state.ma.us or physically mailed to Natalie Andrews at The Department of Energy Resources, 100 Cambridge St., Suite 1020, Boston, MA 02114. Any questions may be directed to Natalie at the Department via email. All comments must be received no later than 5:00 pm on September 24, 2010.

RPS Class I Regulation August 20, 2010 pdf format of 225 CMR 14 00 082010.pdf

Legal Notice of Public Comment Period pdf format of 30A SREC Notice 081610.pdf

The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) filed its final changes to the RPS Class I revised regulation, 225 CMR 14.00, on June 8, 2010, pertaining mostly to the implementation of the Solar Carve-Out program, which replaces the Emergency Regulation issued on January 8, 2010. As required by statute, DOER filed the regulation with the Clerks of the Senate and the House of Representatives, who shall refer the regulation to the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, which then has 30 days to provide comments back to DOER. After another 30 days in which DOER may make final changes to the regulation based on the Committee's comments, DOER will then file the final regulations with the Secretary of State's Office.

Comments from the Joint Committee pdf format of joint_committee_comments.pdf , received July 14, 2010

RPS Class I Revised Regulation with Tracked Changes pdf format of 225_cmr_1400_060810_with_changes.pdf ,

Notice to Stakeholders pdf format of sco_stakeholder_notice.pdf , : This notice highlights important changes in the regulation as a result of the TransCanada settlement and comments received by stakeholders

(Please note that this document is unofficial and is to be used for informational purposes only. The only official version of the Regulation is published in the Massachusetts Register, which is available through the State Bookstore.)

Biomass

On December 3, 2009 DOER Commissioner Giudice suspended DOER review of RPS Statement of Qualification Applications for biomass generation units. A study was then commissioned to understand biomass sustainability and carbon policy. Based on the findings of the study it was determined that changes should be made to the RPS regulations as they pertain to biomass units. A public stakeholder process will be undertaken to develop new regulations for biomass units' qualification for the RPS program.

This information is provided by the Department of Energy Resources.