The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

     (1) "Applicant" has the meaning provided in RCW 80.50.020 and includes an applicant for a permit for a fossil-fueled thermal electric generation facility subject to RCW 70.94.152 and 80.70.020(1) (b) or (d).

     (2) "Authority" means any air pollution control agency whose jurisdictional boundaries are coextensive with the boundaries of one or more counties.

     (3) "Carbon credit" means a verified reduction in carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide equivalents that is registered with a state, national, or international trading authority or exchange that has been recognized by the council.

     (4) "Carbon dioxide equivalents" means a metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential.

     (5) "Cogeneration credit" means the carbon dioxide emissions that the council, department, or authority, as appropriate, estimates would be produced on an annual basis by a stand-alone industrial and commercial facility equivalent in operating characteristics and output to the industrial or commercial heating or cooling process component of the cogeneration plant.

     (6) "Cogeneration plant" means a fossil-fueled thermal power plant in which the heat or steam is also used for industrial or commercial heating or cooling purposes and that meets federal energy regulatory commission standards for qualifying facilities under the public utility regulatory policies act of 1978.

     (7) "Commercial operation" means the date that the first electricity produced by a facility is delivered for commercial sale to the power grid.

     (8) "Council" means the energy facility site evaluation council created by RCW 80.50.030.

     (9) "Department" means the department of ecology.

     (10) "Fossil fuel" means natural gas, petroleum, coal, or any form of solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel derived from such material to produce heat for the generation of electricity.

     (11) "Mitigation plan" means a proposal that includes the process or means to achieve carbon dioxide mitigation through use of mitigation projects or carbon credits.

     (12) "Mitigation project" means one or more of the following:

     (a) Projects or actions that are implemented by the certificate holder or order of approval holder, directly or through its agent, or by an independent qualified organization to mitigate the emission of carbon dioxide produced by the fossil-fueled thermal electric generation facility. This term includes but is not limited to the use of, energy efficiency measures, clean and efficient transportation measures, qualified alternative energy resources, demand side management of electricity consumption, and carbon sequestration programs;

     (b) Direct application of combined heat and power (cogeneration);

     (c) Verified carbon credits traded on a recognized trading authority or exchange; or

     (d) Enforceable and permanent reductions in carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide equivalents through process change, equipment shutdown, or other activities under the control of the applicant and approved as part of a carbon dioxide mitigation plan.

     (13) "Order of approval" means an order issued under RCW 70.94.152 with respect to a fossil-fueled thermal electric generation facility subject to RCW 80.70.020(1) (b) or (d).

     (14) "Permanent" means that emission reductions used to offset emission increases are assured for the life of the corresponding increase, whether unlimited or limited in duration.

     (15) "Qualified alternative energy resource" has the same meaning as in RCW 19.29A.090.

     (16) "Station generating capability" means the maximum load a generator can sustain over a given period of time without exceeding design limits, and measured using maximum continuous electric generation capacity, less net auxiliary load, at average ambient temperature and barometric pressure.

     (17) "Total carbon dioxide emissions" means:

     (a) For a fossil-fueled thermal electric generation facility described under RCW 80.70.020(1) (a) and (b), the amount of carbon dioxide emitted over a thirty-year period based on the manufacturer's or designer's guaranteed total net station generating capability, new equipment heat rate, an assumed sixty percent capacity factor for facilities under the council's jurisdiction or sixty percent of the operational limitations on facilities subject to an order of approval, and taking into account any enforceable limitations on operational hours or fuel types and use; and

     (b) For a fossil-fueled thermal electric generation facility described under RCW 80.70.020(1) (c) and (d), the amount of carbon dioxide emitted over a thirty-year period based on the proposed increase in the amount of electrical output of the facility that exceeds the station generation capability of the facility prior to the applicant applying for certification or an order of approval pursuant to RCW 80.70.020(1) (c) and (d), new equipment heat rate, an assumed sixty percent capacity factor for facilities under the council's jurisdiction or sixty percent of the operational limitations on facilities subject to an order of approval, and taking into account any enforceable limitations on operational hours or fuel types and use.

[2004 c 224 § 1.]