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The Virginia Commission Staff report: (1) “is not opposed to the inclusion of GEO to the table of VA Eligible fuel types, to represent RECs associated with the energy of from [in-state] geothermal heating and cooling systems “; (2) “believes the Commission could choose to require [geothermal RECs] to be calculated” among three options: (i) “using a single standardized value (e.g. ‘36 GRECs per year’)”; (ii) “based on the metered data and the BTU conversion factor existing within the Code (i.e. 3.413 MMBTU per MWh), while working with stakeholders to develop an energy savings calculator”; and (iii) “require GRECs to be calculated based on the metered data and the BTU conversion factor existing within the Code alone”; and (3) “believes that solar thermal has a limited scope wherein a solar thermal source that generated electricity would be considered an RPS Eligible Source,” contra party assertion, given that statute “does not limit solar to only photovoltaic sources but does limit solar to electric generation.”

As background, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) is proposing to update the Generation Attribute Tracking System (GATS) Business Rules to address geothermal heating and cooling systems, which are listed as possible eligible sources for RPS compliance as long as they are located in Virginia. Specifically, the SCC is proposing to update the GATS business rules to state that “RPS eligible sources that do not produce metered electricity will utilize a meter that meets equivalent accuracy levels [to the ANSI C-12 standard] in determining the heat content that will be used to calculate the renewable thermal energy equivalent as defined in § 56-576.”

Staff Report  (12/06/2024)
2024-00183  (10/21/2024)
Text – First – Public Utilities – Natural Gas Energy Generation – Authorization and Limitation