Section 362-A:1-a Definitions.
In this chapter:
I. ""Bio-oil'' means a liquid renewable fuel derived from vegetable oils, animal fats, wood, straw, forestry byproducts, or agricultural byproducts using noncombustion thermal, chemical, or biological processes, including, but not limited to, distillation, gasification, hydrolysis, or pyrolysis, but not including anaerobic digestion, composting, or incineration.
I-a. ""Bio synthetic gas'' means a gaseous renewable fuel derived from vegetable oils, animal fats, wood, straw, forestry byproducts, or agricultural byproducts using noncombustion thermal, chemical, or biological processes, including, but not limited to, distillation, gasification, hydrolysis, or pyrolysis, but not including anaerobic digestion, composting, or incineration.
I-b. ""Biodiesel'' means a renewable diesel fuel substitute that is composed of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids, is derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, and meets the requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specification D6751.
I-c. ""Cogeneration facility'' means a facility which produces electric energy and other forms of useful energy, such as steam or heat, which are used for industrial, commercial, heating, or cooling purposes.
II. ""Commission'' means the New Hampshire public utilities commission.
II-a. ""Electricity suppliers'' has the same meaning as in RSA 374-F:2, II.
II-b. ""Eligible customer-generator'' means an electric utility customer who owns and operates electrical generating facilities powered by renewable energy with a total peak generating capacity of not more than 100 kilowatts that is located on the customer's premises, is interconnected and operates in parallel with the electric grid, and is intended primarily to offset part or all of the customer's own electricity requirements.
III. ""Limited producer'' or ""limited electrical energy producer'' means a qualifying small power producer or a qualifying cogenerator, with a total capacity of not more than 5 megawatts.
III-a. ""Net energy metering'' means measuring the difference between the electricity supplied over the electric distribution system and the electricity generated by an eligible customer-generator which is fed back into the electric distribution system over a billing period.
IV. ""Person'' means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, governmental unit or agency or any combination thereof.
V. ""Primary energy source'' means the fuel or fuels used for the generation of electric energy, except that such term does not include the minimum amounts of fuel required for ignition, startup, testing, flame stabilization, or control uses or the minimum amounts of fuel required to alleviate or prevent unanticipated equipment outages or emergencies directly affecting the public health, safety or welfare which would result from electric power outages.
VI. ""Qualifying cogeneration facility'' means a cogeneration facility which the commission determines meets such requirements, including requirements respecting minimum size, fuel use and fuel efficiency, as the commission may prescribe and which is owned by a person not primarily engaged in the generation or sale of electric power, other than electric power solely from cogeneration facilities or small power production facilities.
VII. ""Qualifying cogenerator'' means the owner or operator of a qualifying cogeneration facility.
VII-a. ""Qualifying facility'' means either or both of a qualifying small power production facility or qualifying cogeneration facility.
VIII. ""Qualifying small power producer'' means the owner or operator of a qualifying small power production facility.
IX. ""Qualifying small power production facility'' means a small power production facility which the commission determines meets such requirements, including requirements respecting fuel use, fuel efficiency and reliability, as the commission may prescribe and which is owned by a person not primarily engaged in the generation or sale of electric power, other than electric power solely from cogeneration facilities or small power production facilities.
X. ""Small power production facility'' means a facility which produces electric energy solely by the use, as a primary energy source, of biomass, waste, renewable resources, bio-oil, bio synthetic gas, biodiesel, or any combination thereof and which has a power production capacity which, together with any other facility located at the same site, as determined by the commission, is not greater than 30 megawatts.
Source. 1983, 395:1. 1989, 211:1. 1998, 261:2-4. 2006, 294:1, 2. 2007, 174:1, eff. Aug. 17, 2007.