ARIZONA CORPORATION COMMISSION

SPECIAL OPEN MEETING MINUTES

DATE: March 23, 2001

TIME: 12:30 p.m.

PLACE: Arizona Corporation Commission, Pipeline Safety Conference Room, 1200

W. Washington, Phoenix, Arizona 85007

ATTENDANCE: No Quorum of Commissioners. See attendance list in Attachment 1.

TOPIC: ENVIRONMENTAL PORTFOLIO STANDARD (EPS)

WORKSHOP

MATTERS DISCUSSED:

Ray Williamson of Commission Staff welcomed everyone to the meeting. All participants introduced themselves. Mr. Williamson mentioned the special Open Meeting scheduled for March 29, 2001, and described Staff's recommendations regarding the requests for rehearing and reconsideration.

The minutes from the February 15, 2001, meeting were discussed. The following change was made in the fifth line of the second paragraph: replace "solar air conditioning" with "solar water heating."

A question was raised about standards for technologies not ranked as "high priority." Mr. Williamson welcomed participants to send suggested standards to him electronically, and he will circulate them to the group.

There was discussion about Issue No. 8 (Who owns the credits when the resources are installed in other service areas?). Pages 31-32 of Decision No. 63364 address the issue.

The group reviewed the Master Issues List. The following issues were added:

29. Establish methodology to determine solar content of solar/fuel hybrid generation system.

30. Can unused affiliate credits be sold?

31. Reporting guidelines (what, when, how)

32. Can a Load-Serving Entity sell credits?

33. How is retail load calculated? Mr. Williamson explained that retail load is the load you are serving.

34. If a Load-Serving Entity has a shortfall in one year, does it carry over to the next year?

35. Are details required in reports?

36. At what point does a Load-Serving Entity start getting surcharge money? What about green-only providers? Mr. Williamson explained that an Electric Service Provider (ESP) would start receiving funds when it makes the election to opt in. The ESP would get the prorated portion of the surcharge equivalent to the portion of a customer's load being served by the ESP.

37. Develop customer scenarios.

The group prioritized the issues on the Master Issues List along with the ones added at the meeting. The following issues were ranked as high priority: 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 23, 36, and 37. Issues 3 and 4 were ranked as medium priority. The group did not rank the other issues.

Carl Dabelstein of Citizens Utilities presented a report from the Accounting Issues Subcommittee. The subcommittee has identified areas of the rules that need accounting consideration. Areas include Issue 16, regulatory liability regarding deficiency payments, Utility Distribution Companies providing prorated surcharge money to ESPs, and the trading of credits. Anyone who wants to join the subcommittee can contact Mr. Dabelstein at cdabelst@czn.com.

Mr. Williamson distributed draft standards for solar water heating. (See Attachment 2.) The following suggestions/comments were made: (1) add "unless installed by owner" to the second and third items under Residential Systems and to the second item under Non- Residential Systems, (2) the Commission does not need to include consumer protection in standards, (3) ignoring consumer protection could lead to a black eye on the industry, (4) the Arizona Department of Commerce has requirements for tax credits, (5) add OG-100 standard, (6) the Load-Serving Entity will have standards to ensure that equipment performs properly, (7) there should be inspections instead of installation standards, and (8) references should be listed. Mr. Williamson suggested that anyone with comments on the proposed standard should e-mail those comments to him at rwilliamson@cc.state.az.us.

Mr. Williamson distributed a draft of photovoltaic standards. (See Attachment 3.)

The following suggestions/comments were made: (1) put "national standards" back in first paragraph, (2) reduce the draft to just a couple of paragraphs because utilities should be allowed to set their own interconnection standards, (3) each standard should have the same introduction, (4) keep both Alternative A and Alternative B, (5) move the last two paragraphs under "Systems Accessible by the Public" to Alternative A, (6) move Alternative B to start the "Utility Interactive Systems" section, (7) IEEE Standard 929 applies only to 10 kW and below, (8) Steve Chalmers volunteered to prepare a summary of the national standards referenced, (9) there is a need for a subcommittee on photovoltaic standards, (10) "recommend" rather than "require", (11) uses IEEE Standard 929 for small systems and keep extra costs to a minimum, (12) have standard for estimation of nonmetered output. Steve Chalmers agreed to chair the Subcommittee on Photovoltaic Standards. Other members are Tom Hansen, Lane Garrett, Cassius McChesney, and Steve Spanjer. Comments on the proposed standard should be e-mailed to rwilliamson@cc.state.az.us.

The next meeting of the working group will be held on April 20, 2001, at 12:30 p.m. in the Pipeline Safety Conference Room of the Commission. For the next meeting, participants should draft scenarios with questions. In addition, each participant should look at the high priority issues and suggest solutions. Mr. Williamson will look into the issue of separation of credits from kWh.

Barbara Keene, Utilities Division

 

Attachment 1

Participants at Environmental Portfolio Standard Workshop

March 23, 2001

Name Organization

Bud Annan Arizona Clean Energy Industries Alliance

David Berry Navigant Consulting

Sean Breen Citizens Utilities

Steve Chalmers PowerMark

Chris Clark ITCA

David Couture Tucson Electric Power

Carl Dabelstein Citizens Utilities

Gordon Fox Commission Staff

Donald R. Garrett Danneypat Solar

Lane S. Garrett ETA Engineering. Inc.

Rick Gilliam Land and Water Fund of the Rockies

Tom Hansen Tucson Electric Power

Byford E. Hoffman Salt River Project

Barbara Keene Commission Staff

Phil Key First Solar

Cassius McChesney Pinnacle West

Paul Michaud York Research Corp.

Rick Moore Grand Canyon Trust

Daniel Musgrove Universal Entech

Michael Neary ARISEIA

David Rowley Solar Farms, Inc.

Steve Spanjer Kyocera Solar

John Wallace Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Assoc.

Ray Williamson Commission Staff

 

Attachment 2

Solar Water Heating Standard (DRAFT)

In order for solar water heating systems to qualify as eligible for the Environmental Portfolio

Standard, the systems and/or components must meet the following standards:

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Residential Systems:

Residential solar water heating systems shall be certified by the Solar Rating and

Certification Corporation (SRCC) Standard OG-300 " "

Residential solar water heaters shall be installed by a licensed solar contractor.

The individual installing the system shall be a certified solar technician.

The system shall meet all applicable local building codes.

Non-Residential Systems:

The collector panels of the solar water heating system shall be certified by the Solar

Rating and Certification Corporation Standard OG-100, " ", if that standard applies

to the type of panel used.

The solar water heaters shall be installed by a licensed solar contractor.

The system shall meet all applicable local building codes.

6

Attachment 3

PHOTOVOLTAIC STANDARDS

Rough Draft (R3-22-01)

Photovoltaic generating facilities installed in response to the Arizona Corporation Commission's

Environmental Portfolio Standard shall obtain all required permits and inspections indicating that the

generating facility complies with local and other applicable safety codes comply with the applicable

national standards and codes.

SAFETY STANDARDS

Systems Accessible by the Public:

Photovoltaic systems on buildings accessible by the public, shall utilize components listed by

Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) or other approved facility, where they exist and be installed to comply with

the local codes. (Alternative A)

Any generating facility that parallels with, or constitutes a potential backfeed source to the utility shall

comply with the interconnection and safety requirements of that utility until such time as Arizona statewide

interconnection requirements for distributed generation are approved and adopted for use by Arizona

utilities. (Alternative B)

Photovoltaic panels and modules shall meet the UL Standard 1703: "Standard for Safety Flat-Plate

Photovoltaic Modules and Panels."

Photovoltaic installations shall be installed in accordance with the National Electric Code Article 690: "Solar

Photovoltaic Systems."

Utility Interactive Systems

Utility interactive photovoltaic systems shall meet the requirements of the Institute of Electrical and

Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) Standard 929: "Recommended Practice for Utility Interface of Photovoltaic

(PV) Systems" and shall meet Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Standard 1741: "Standard for Safety- Static

Inverters and Charge Controllers for Photovoltaic Systems."

Utility-Owned Systems, not accessible by the public:

Utility owned facilities that are not accessible by the public and only accessible by qualified persons may

not be subject to compliance with local codes. The use by utilities of listed components and compliance to

national codes and standards, such as the requirements of the National Electric Code (NEC), Institute of

Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is recommended.

PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY STANDARDS

PV Modules :

Shall have been tested by the Arizona State University Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory or other approved

facility

 

All PV modules shall have been tested and qualified to the US IEEE Standard 1262-1995: "Recommended

Practice for Qualification of Photovoltaic (PV) Modules." Modules that have been tested and qualified to

international module qualification standards are alternatives to IEEE Standard 1262. The alternative

standards are:

· International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard 61215: "Crystalline Silicone

Terrestrial Photovoltaic (PV) Modules – Design Qualification and Type Approval," or

· IEC Standard 61646: "Thin-Film Terrestrial Photovoltaic (PV) Modules – Design Qualification

and Type Approval."

The PowerMark Corporation (PMC) program for Testing, Certification and Labeling of Photovoltaic

Modules is required.

Panels or modules in solar electric R & D programs, within the limits authorized in R14-2-1618 B. 3., shall be

exempt from testing and qualification requirements until the end of 2003.

Balance of System (BOS) Components for systems accessible by the public:

Photovoltaic installations shall be installed in accordance with the National Electric Code Article 690: "Solar

Photovoltaic Systems."

If the photovoltaic systems are utility interactive, they must meet the requirements of the Institute of

Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.(IEEE) Standard 929: Recommended Practice for Utility Interface of

Photovoltaic (PV) Systems.

MANUFACTURING FACILITY QUALITY

The modules and balance of system components shall have been produced in a manufacturing plant that

has an current ISO 900X series quality system or be PowerMark Corporation (PMC) approved for the

Photovoltaic products manufactured at the facility.

SYSTEM STANDARDS

None at this time. The commission Staff intends to adopt national and international system testing

standards as they are developed and approved in the future.

Rough Draft

R 3-22-01

Notes & questions:

1. ASU testing & PowerMark certification

2. "qualified person" is this a generally used term? Is there a definition?

3. Merchant plants: do they qualify to the same exception from local codes as utilities?

4. ISO 900X: Should it be required immediately or at some specified time in the future to allow time to meet

the requirement??