Energy Portfolio Standard (Nevada)
Last modified on February 12, 2015.
Rules Regulations Policies Program
Summary
Nevada established a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) as part of its 1997 restructuring legislation. Under the standard, NV Energy (formerly Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power) must use eligible renewable energy resources to supply a minimum percentage of the total electricity it sells. In 2001, the state increased the minimum requirement by 2% every two years, culminating in a 15% requirement by 2013. The portfolio requirement has been subsequently revised, most recently by SB 358 of 2009, which increased the requirement to 25% by 2025. The 2009 amendments also raised the solar carve-out, requiring utilities to meet 6% of their portfolio requirement through solar energy beginning in calendar year 2016. The solar carve-out remains at 5% through the end of calendar year 2015. In addition to solar, qualifying renewable energy resources include biomass, geothermal energy, wind, certain hydropower, energy recovery processes*, and waste tires (using microwave reduction).
The following schedule is currently in effect:
- 6% renewables/efficiency in 2005 and 2006
- 9% renewables/efficiency in 2007 and 2008
- 12% renewables/efficiency in 2009 and 2010
- 15% renewables/efficiency in 2011 and 2012
- 18% renewables/efficiency in 2013 and 2014
- 20% renewables/efficiency in 2015 through 2019
- 22% renewables/efficiency in 2020 through 2024
- 25% renewables/efficiency in 2025 and thereafter
Energy Efficiency as an Eligible Resource
AB 3 of 2005 allowed efficiency measures to be used to satisfy a portion of the requirement. To qualify as portfolio energy credits, efficiency measures must be: (1) implemented after January 1, 2005; (2) sited or implemented at a retail customer’s location; and (3) partially or fully subsidized by the electric utility. The measure must also reduce the customer’s energy demand (as opposed to shifting demand to off-peak hours). The contribution from energy efficiency measures to meet the portfolio standard is capped at one-quarter of the total standard in any particular year. AB1 of 2007 expanded the definition of efficiency resources to include district heating systems powered by geothermal hot water.
Portfolio Energy Credits and Credit Multipliers
The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) has established a program to allow energy providers to buy and sell portfolio energy credits (PECs) in order to meet energy portfolio requirements. One PEC represents one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity generated by a portfolio energy system, with the exception of photovoltaics (PV), for which 2.4 PECs are credited per one actual kWh of energy produced. SB 252 (2013) repealed this credit multiplier for systems installed after December 31, 2015. An adder of 0.05 is tacked on to the 2.4 multiplier for PV if the system is deemed by the PUCN to be a customer-maintained distributed generation system; that is, customer-sited PV is eligible for a 2.45 multiplier. In addition, the number of kWh saved by energy efficiency measures is multiplied by 1.05 to determine the number of PECs. For electricity saved during peak periods as a result of efficiency measures, the credit multiplier is increased to 2.0. PECs are valid for a period of four years.
AB 388 (2013) clarified that the amount of energy provided by a system does not include any electricity generated by the system and used for its basic operations that reduce the amount of electricity delivered to the grid. The legislation specifically references electricity used for the heating, lighting, air conditioning and equipment of a building located on the site; and electricity used by a geothermal facility for the extraction and transportation of geothermal brine or used to pump or compress geothermal brine. These amendments apply to any facility placed into service on or after January 1, 2016; however, systems which are placed into service after that date but had contracts in place prior to December 31, 2012 are grandfathered in.
350 Megawatt Requirement (NV Energy)
Senate Bill 123 (2013) requires NV Energy to retire 800 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired electric generating plants, in phases, by December 31, 2019. To offset these retirements, the legislation requires the utility to purchase, construct, or aquire 900 MW of power, in phases, from cleaner facilities. Of this total, 350 MW must come from new renewable energy facilities. By the end of years 2014, 2015, and 2016, the utility must issue a request for proposals for 100 MW of generating capacity from new renewable energy facilities. The final 50 MW of generating capacity from new renewable energy facilities must be owned and operated by the utility and construction must be completed by December 31, 2021. These requirements are separate from the 25% requirement under the RPS, and the PECs associated with these projects can be used to comply with the RPS.
Temporary Renewable Energy Development Program
To help facilitate the renewable projects required by the renewable energy portfolio standard, the PUCN established the Temporary Renewable Energy Development (TRED) Program. The TRED Program is meant to insure prompt payment to renewable energy providers in order to encourage completion of renewable energy projects. The TRED Program establishes: (1) a TRED charge, allowing investor-owned utilities to collect revenue from electricity customers to pay for renewable energy separate from other wholesale power purchased by the electric utilities; and (2) an independent TRED trust to receive the proceeds from the TRED charge and remit payment to renewable energy projects that deliver renewable energy to purchasing electric utilities.
NV Energy and Barrick Goldstrike were in compliance for program year 2011 for solar and non-solar components of the Nevada RPS.
- The statutes define "energy recovery processes" as electricity generating systems with a nameplate capacity of 15 megawatts or less that convert the otherwise lost energy from "the heat from exhaust stacks or pipes used for engines or manufacturing or industrial processes; or the reduction of high pressure in water or gas pipelines before the distribution of the water or gas." To qualify, the system cannot use additional fossil fuel or require a combustion process to generate the electricity.
Incentive Contact
| Contact Name | Mark Harris |
|---|---|
| Department | Public Utilities Commission of Nevada |
| Division | Engineering Division |
| Address | 1150 E. William Street |
| Place | Carson City, Nevada |
| Zip/Postal Code | 89701 |
| Phone | (775) 684-6165
|
| mpharris@puc.nv.gov | |
| Website | http://pucweb1.state.nv.us/PUCN/ |
| Contact Name | Darci Dalessio |
|---|---|
| Department | Public Utilities Commission of Nevada |
| Division | PEC Administrator
|
| Place | Carson City, Nevada |
| Zip/Postal Code | 89701 |
| Phone | (775) 684-6171
|
| dalessio@puc.nv.gov | |
| Website | http://pucweb1.state.nv.us/PUCN/ |
Authorities (Please contact the if there are any file problems.)
| Authority 1: | NRS 704.7801 et seq. |
|---|---|
| Date Enacted | 1997
|
| Authority 2: | NAC 704.8831 et seq. |
|---|---|
| Date Effective | 2002
|
| Authority 3: | LCB File R167-05 (Revised Regulations) |
|---|---|
| Date Effective | 2006-02-23
|
| Authority 4: | SB 123 |
|---|---|
| Date Effective | 2013-06-11 |
| Date Enacted | 2013-06-11
|
| Authority 5: | AB 388 |
|---|---|
| Date Effective | 2013-10-01 |
| Date Enacted | 2013-06-12
|
- Incentive and policy data are reviewed and approved by the N.C. Solar Center's DSIRE project staff.[1]