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Electric

      
   
RPS Eligible Renewable Technologies

An electric generating facility can be eligible for the Wisconsin Renewable Portfolio Standard if:

  1. The facility is owned by a Wisconsin electric provider or its affiliate, or

  2. A Wisconsin electric provider or its affiliate purchases both the electricity and renewable attributes of the electricity generated by the facility.

Per Wisconsin Statute § 196.378(1)(h), a “Renewable resource” means any of the following:

  1. A resource that derives electricity from any of the following:

    • a.   A fuel cell that uses, as determined by the commission, a renewable fuel.
    • b.   Tidal or wave action.
    • c.   Solar thermal electric or photovoltaic energy.
    • d.   Wind power.
    • e.   Geothermal technology.
    • g.   Biomass.
    • h.   Synthetic gas created by the plasma gasification of waste.
    • i.   Densified fuel pellets made from waste material that does not include garbage, as defined in s. 289.01 (9), and that contains no more than 30 percent fixed carbon.
    • j.   Fuel produced by pyrolysis of organic or waste material.
    • lm.   A resource with a capacity of less than 60 megawatts that derives electricity from hydroelectric power.

  2. Any other resource, except a conventional resource, that the commission designates as a renewable resource in rules promulgated under sub. (4).

Renewable Resource Credits (RRCs) can be generated by an eligible electric generating facility that was placed in service January 1, 2004 or later, or is owned by a customer of the electric provider.  Before a facility can generate RRCs, it must be certified by the Commission. 

In addition to renewable electricity (described above), several other non-electric renewable applications are now eligible to create RRCs.  An electric provider may create Renewable Resource Credits for these non-electric renewable applications when they are used by the electric provider, or a customer or member of the electric provider, to the extent their use displaces the electric provider’s, customer’s, or member’s use of electricity that is derived from conventional resources. 

Renewable non-electric applications that may be eligible to create RRCs include applications of solar water heating and direct solar applications such as solar light pipe technology; ground source heat pumps; and combustible renewable fuels used to generate heat in place of electric heating.  The Commission conducted a rulemaking in docket 1-AC-234 to establish measurement and verification standards for use of these renewable non-electric technologies for compliance with the Renewable Portfolio Standard. These new standards are now included in Wis. Admin. Code chapter PSC 118.