1. I. The electric renewable portfolio standard program established in this chapter shall utilize the regional generation information system (GIS) of energy certificates administered by ISO-New England and the New England Power Pool (NEPOOL) or their successors. If the regional GIS certificate tracking program administered by the ISO-New England is no longer operational or accessible, the department of energy shall develop an alternative certificate program, after public notice and hearing, designed to provide at least the same information on the type and generation of renewable energy resources as the GIS certificate tracking program.

2. II. The department of energy shall establish procedures by which electricity and useful thermal energy production not tracked by ISO-New England from customer-sited sources, including behind the meter production, may be included within the certificate program, provided such sources are located in New Hampshire. The procedures may include the aggregation of sources and shall be compatible with procedures of the certificate program administrator, where possible. The production shall be monitored and verified by an independent entity designated by the department of energy, which may include electric distribution companies, or by such other means as the department of energy finds adequate in verifying that such production is occurring. For customer-sited sources under 15 kilowatts in capacity, the department of energy shall not require the independent monitors to perform an annual site visit, and shall allow the owner of the customer-sited source to electronically report production monthly to an independent monitor.

   II-a. The department of energy shall establish a methodology to estimate the total yearly production for customer-sited sources that are net metered under RSA 362-A:9 and for which class I or II certificates are not issued. For purposes of estimation, the department of energy shall use a capacity factor rating of 20 percent for each class I installation. The department of energy shall separately estimate class II output using a capacity factor rating equal to the annual PV Energy Forecast issued by the Distributed Generation Working Group under ISO New England, or its successor. Providers of electricity required to obtain and retire certificates under RSA 362-F:3 shall receive an annual credit for such production according to its class. By February 28 of each year, the department of energy shall compute and make public credit percentages that are equal to the estimated production for the prior calendar year in each class divided by the total amount of electricity supplied by providers of electricity to end-use customers in the prior calendar year, with the result converted to a percentage. Each provider may then, at the time of its annual report filing under RSA 362-F:8, claim a class I and a class II certificate credit equal to the credit percentage times the total megawatt-hours of electricity supplied by the provider to its end-use customers the prior calendar year.

3. III. The department of energy shall designate in a timely manner New Hampshire eligible renewable sources together with any conditions pursuant to this chapter to the certificate program administrator under paragraph I, with such sources being the recipient of all certificates issued for purpose of this chapter.

4. IV.

   1. (a) Certificates issued for purposes of complying with this chapter shall come from sources within the New England control area unless the source is located in a synchronous control area adjacent to the New England control area and the energy produced by the source is actually delivered into the New England control area for consumption by New England customers. The delivery of such energy from the source into the New England control area shall be verified by:

      1. (1) A unit-specific bilateral contract for sale and delivery of a source's electrical energy to the New England control area that is in place for the time period during which renewable certificates are generated;
      2. (2) Confirmation from ISO-New England that the sale of the renewable energy was actually settled in the ISO market system; and
      3. (3) Confirmation through the North American Electric Reliability Corporation tagging system that the import of energy into the New England control area actually occurred.
   2. (b) The department of energy may impose such other requirements as it deems appropriate, including methods of confirming actual delivery of the electrical energy into the New England control area.
5. V. A qualified producer of useful thermal energy with a total gross nameplate heating capacity of its renewable energy certificate eligible units combined, of greater than 1,000,000 btu per hour shall provide for the metering of useful thermal energy produced in order to calculate the quantity of megawatt-hours for which renewable energy certificates are qualified, and to report to the department of energy under rules adopted pursuant to RSA 362-F:13. For sources with a total gross nameplate heating capacity of its renewable energy certificate eligible units combined, of 1,000,000 btu per hour or less, energy delivered shall be verified by a method that is approved by the department of energy, by rule or order, in order to calculate the quantity of megawatt-hours for which renewable energy certificates are qualified, and to report to the department of energy under rules adopted pursuant to RSA 362-F:13. Monitoring, reporting, and calculating the useful thermal energy produced in each quarter shall be expressed in megawatt-hours, where each 3,412,000 BTUs of useful thermal energy is equivalent to one megawatt-hour.

Source. 2007, 26:2, eff. July 10, 2007. 2009, 86:2, eff. June 10, 2009. 2012, 272:10, 11, eff. June 19, 2012. 2014, 130:1, eff. Aug. 15, 2014. 2021, 91:238, 241, eff. July 1, 2021; 138:1, eff. Sept. 21, 2021. 2023, 182:2, eff. Oct. 3, 2023. 2024, 375:9, eff. July 1, 2024.