A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide that energy produced by a Waste‑to‑Energy facility Utilizing Municipal waste is a Renewable Energy resource for purposes of compliance with the Renewable Energy and energy efficiency portfolio standards.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 62.133.8(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Definitions. – As used in this section:
(1)	"Combined heat and power system" means a system that uses waste heat to produce electricity or useful, measurable thermal or mechanical energy at a retail electric customer's facility.
(2)	"Demand‑side management" means activities, programs, or initiatives undertaken by an electric power supplier or its customers to shift the timing of electricity use from peak to nonpeak demand periods. "Demand‑side management" includes, but is not limited to, load management, electric system equipment and operating controls, direct load control, and interruptible load.
(3)	"Electric power supplier" means a public utility, an electric membership corporation, or a municipality that sells electric power to retail electric power customers in the State.
(3a)	"Electricity demand reduction" means a measurable reduction in the electricity demand of a retail electric customer that is voluntary, under the real‑time control of both the electric power supplier and the retail electric customer, and measured in real time, using two‑way communications devices that communicate on the basis of standards.
(4)	"Energy efficiency measure" means an equipment, physical, or program change implemented after January 1, 2007, that results in less energy used to perform the same function. "Energy efficiency measure" includes, but is not limited to, energy produced from a combined heat and power system that uses nonrenewable energy resources. "Energy efficiency measure" does not include demand‑side management.
(5)	"New renewable energy facility" means a renewable energy facility that either:
a.	Was placed into service on or after January 1, 2007.
b.	Delivers or has delivered electric power to an electric power supplier pursuant to a contract with NC GreenPower Corporation that was entered into prior to January 1, 2007.
c.	Is a hydroelectric power facility with a generation capacity of 10 megawatts or less that delivers electric power to an electric power supplier.
(6)	"Renewable energy certificate" means a tradable instrument that is equal to one megawatt hour of electricity or equivalent energy supplied by a renewable energy facility, new renewable energy facility, or reduced by implementation of an energy efficiency measure that is used to track and verify compliance with the requirements of this section as determined by the Commission. A "renewable energy certificate" does not include the related emission reductions, including, but not limited to, reductions of sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, mercury, or carbon dioxide.
(7)	"Renewable energy facility" means a facility, other than a hydroelectric power facility with a generation capacity of more than 10 megawatts, that either:
a.	Generates electric power by the use of a renewable energy resource.
b.	Generates useful, measurable combined heat and power derived from a renewable energy resource.
c.	Is a solar thermal energy facility.
(8)	"Renewable energy resource" means a solar electric, solar thermal, wind, hydropower, geothermal, or ocean current or wave energy resource; a biomass resource, including agricultural waste, animal waste, wood waste, spent pulping liquors, combustible residues, combustible liquids, combustible gases, energy crops, or landfill methane; waste heat derived from a renewable energy resource and used to produce electricity or useful, measurable thermal energy at a retail electric customer's facility; energy produced by a waste‑to‑energy facility utilizing municipal waste; or hydrogen derived from a renewable energy resource. "Renewable energy resource" does not include peat, a fossil fuel, or nuclear energy resource."SECTION 2.  This act applies only in New Hanover County.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to renewable energy certificates created on or after that date.