The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise. If this section provides no definition, the definition found in chapter 173-441 WAC applies.

(1) "Additionality" means a condition where a project would not or did not come into being but for the investment action taken by the electric utility (or utilities) for the purposes of complying with chapter 19.405 RCW, in accordance with RCW 19.405.040 (2)(e) and (f) and this section.

(2) "Aggregate source" means:

(a) Electric power originating from the same source type from one or more power plants that cannot be traced back to a specific power plant with data published in Form EIA-923; or

(b) Electric power obtained from a single asset-controlling supplier, as designated by the California Air Resources Board, with an emissions rate approved by the regulatory agency. This can include multiple source types.

(3) "Approving body" means the governmental agency, board, commission, or other entity that is granted the authority to ensure compliance with RCW 19.405.060 or 19.405.090 and therefore provide approval to a project intended to serve as an energy transformation project.

(4) "Baseline" means a reference case, projection, or estimation of project performance against which actual project performance can be measured. The baseline condition for a project is a reasonable representation of conditions that would likely have occurred during the energy transformation project implementation period if the project had not been implemented.

(5) "Biogenic CO2" is defined in 40 C.F.R. Part 98 as adopted in chapter 173-441 WAC.

(6) "Biomass energy":

(a) Includes:

(i) Organic by-products of pulping and the wood manufacturing process;

(ii) Animal manure;

(iii) Solid organic fuels from wood;

(iv) Forest or field residues;

(v) Untreated wooden demolition or construction debris;

(vi) Food waste and food processing residuals;

(vii) Liquors derived from algae;

(viii) Dedicated energy crops; and

(ix) Yard waste.

(b) Does not include:

(i) Wood pieces that have been treated with chemical preservatives such as creosote, pentachlorophenol, or copper-chrome-arsenic;

(ii) Wood from old growth forests; or

(iii) Municipal solid waste.

(7) "Carbon dioxide equivalent" or "CO2e" means a metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential as established in Table A-1 in WAC 173-441-040.

(8) "Commission" means the Washington utilities and transportation commission.

(9) "Energy Information Administration" or "EIA" means the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration.

(10) "Energy transformation project" has the same meaning as RCW 19.405.020(18).

(11) "Environmental Protection Agency" or "EPA" means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

(12) "Form EIA-923" means the survey data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration that describes detailed electric power data, monthly and annually, on electricity generation, fuel consumption, fossil fuel stocks, and receipts at the power plant and prime mover level. Generation and Fuel Data, page 1, is typically used for compliance with this chapter.

(13) "Fossil fuel" means natural gas, petroleum, coal, or any form of solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel derived from such a material.

(14) "Greenhouse gas," "greenhouse gases," "GHG," and "GHGs" includes carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). "Greenhouse gas" also includes any other gas or gases designated by ecology by rule in Table A-1 in WAC 173-441-040.

(15) "Megawatt-hour" or "MWh" means one thousand kilowatt-hours or one million watt-hours.

(16) "Nonemitting electric generation" means:

(a) Electricity from a generating facility or a resource that provides electric energy, capacity, or ancillary services to an electric utility and that does not emit greenhouse gases as a by-product of energy generation; and

(b) Does not include renewable resources.

(17) "Permanent" means an emission reduction that can be assured and demonstrated by application of basic scientific principles to:

(a) Be nonreversible; or

(b) Exist for a period of not less than one hundred years except in the case of any project subject to WAC 463-85-200 and related requirements; or

(c) Exist for the time period incorporated into the definition for permanent sequestration in case of any projects subject to WAC 463-85-200 and related requirements.

(18) "Project" means a scheme or plan for utilizing goods or services to accomplish a goal, including by implementing a program or by facilitating the placement or utilization of machinery or infrastructure.

(19) "Protocol" means a compendium of principles, procedures, criteria, processes, methodologies, rules, or other requirements that ensure uniform or consistent application of those elements across electric utilities in the implementation of energy transformation projects.

(20) "Regulatory agency" means the Washington utilities and transportation commission for investor-owned utilities or the department of commerce for consumer-owned utilities.

(21) "Renewable hydrogen" means hydrogen produced using renewable resources both as the source for the hydrogen and the source for the energy input into the production process.

(22) "Renewable natural gas" means a gas consisting largely of methane and other hydrocarbons derived from the decomposition of organic material in landfills, wastewater treatment facilities, and anaerobic digesters.

(23) "Renewable resource" means:

(a) Water;

(b) Wind;

(c) Solar energy;

(d) Geothermal energy;

(e) Renewable natural gas;

(f) Renewable hydrogen;

(g) Wave, ocean, or tidal power;

(h) Biodiesel fuel that is not derived from crops raised on land cleared from old growth or first growth forests; or

(i) Biomass energy.

(24) "Source type" or "fuel type" means the technology or fuel used to generate electricity. This typically follows the classification of fuel type codes from Form EIA-923.

(25) "Unspecified electricity" means an electricity source for which the fuel attribute is unknown or has been separated from the energy delivered to retail electric customers.