§ 8100. Definitions

In this chapter:

(1) “Commission” means the Public Utility Commission created under section 3 of this title.

(2) “Certification” or “certified,” except when part of the phrase “third party certified,” refers to certification of a Vermont village green renewable project by the Department under subsection 8101(b) of this title.

(3) “Combined heat and power” or “CHP” shall have the meaning stated in section 8015(b) of this title, except that:

(A) CHP excludes facilities using fossil fuel.

(B) CHP using woody biomass as a fuel must achieve, for that fuel, no less than a 50-percent net annual efficiency of energy utilized and, during the heating season, a minimum energy conversion efficiency of 70 percent considering all energy inputs and outputs at normal load.

(4) “Department” means the Department of Public Service created under section 1 of this title.

(5) “District heating” means a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location within a host community to multiple residential, commercial, or industrial uses within that community or a combination of such uses. The source of heat may be a dedicated heat-only facility using renewable energy as a fuel or waste heat from electrical generation that uses renewable energy as a fuel to form a CHP system.

(6) “District power” means a system for distributing electricity generated in a centralized location within a host community to multiple residential, commercial, or industrial uses in that community or a combination of such uses. The electricity must be produced using renewable energy as a fuel source and may include CHP.

(7) “Host community” means the municipality in which a Vermont village green renewable project is to be located.

(8) “Renewable energy” shall have the meaning stated in subsection 8015(b) of this title, except that renewable energy using woody biomass as a fuel must achieve, for that fuel, no less than a 50-percent net annual efficiency of energy utilized and, during the heating season, a minimum energy conversion efficiency of 70 percent considering all energy inputs and outputs at normal load.

(9) “Vermont village green renewable project” means district heating, either with or without district power, to serve a downtown development district designated as such pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 2793 or a growth center designated as such pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 2793c. As long as the end uses served by the project are within such a district or center, the generation of heat and power may be outside the district or center. (Added 2009, No. 45, § 15a, eff. May 27, 2009; 2009, No. 54, § 67, eff. June 1, 2009.)