The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Order 2007

PART 1Introductory Provisions

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Order 2007 and shall come into force on 1st April 2007.

(2) This Order extends to Scotland only.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order–

“the 2006 Order” means the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Order 2006(1);

“the Act” means the Electricity Act 1989;

“accreditation” means accreditation as a generating station capable of generating electricity from eligible renewable sources;

“advanced conversion technologies” means gasification, pyrolysis or anaerobic digestion, or any combination thereof;

“advanced conversion technology fuel” means fuel that is in a gaseous or liquid form and has been manufactured using one or more advanced conversion technologies;

“anaerobic digestion” means the bacterial fermentation of organic material in the absence of free oxygen;

“banking day” means a day on which banks are generally open in the City of London excluding Saturdays or Sundays;

“biomass” means fuel used in a generating station of which at least 90 per cent of the energy content (measured over such period and with such frequency as the Authority deems appropriate) is derived from plant or animal matter or substances derived directly or indirectly therefrom (whether or not such matter or substances are waste) and includes agricultural, forestry or wood wastes or residues, sewage and energy crops (provided that such plant or animal matter is not or is not derived directly or indirectly from fossil fuel), provided that:

“CHPQA” means the Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance Standard, Issue 1, November 2000 published by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions(2);

“combined heat and power generating station” means a station producing electricity that is (or may be) operated for purposes including the supply to any premises of–

“commissioned” means the completion of a process of such procedures and tests as from time to time constitute usual industry standards and practices for commissioning a generating station in order to demonstrate that the generating station is capable of commercial operation;

“connected person”, in relation to an owner or operator of a generating station, or a party to a qualifying arrangement, means a person connected to that person within the meaning of section 839 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988(3);

“declared net capacity” means the highest generation of electricity (calculated by adding together the highest generation of electricity at the main terminals of each alternator and dynamo) which, on the assumption that the source of power is available uninterruptedly, can be maintained indefinitely without causing damage to the plant less so much of that electricity as is consumed by the plant;

“designated electricity supplier” means any electricity supplier supplying electricity in Scotland;

“eligible NIROC” means a NIROC that satisfies the conditions for eligibility set out in Schedule 3;

“eligible renewable sources” has the meaning given to it in articles 6 to 9;

“energy content” of a fuel means the gross calorific value of that fuel (as expressed by weight or by volume) multiplied by the weight or volume of that fuel;

“energy crops” means a plant crop planted after 31st December 1989 which is grown primarily for the purpose of being used as fuel or which is one of the following–

“gasification” means the substoichiometric oxidation or steam reformation of a substance to produce a gaseous mixture containing two or all of the following: oxides of carbon, methane and hydrogen;

“hydro generating station” means a generating station which is wholly or mainly driven by water (other than a generating station driven by tidal flows, waves, ocean currents or geothermal sources) and the “generating station” extends to all turbines supplied by the same civil works, except that any turbine driven by a compensation flow supplied by those civil works where there is a statutory obligation to maintain such compensation flow in a natural water course shall be regarded as a separate hydro generating station;

“interconnector” means the electric lines, electrical plant and meters operated solely for the transfer of electricity between a transmission and distribution network in Great Britain and a transmission and distribution network in another country or in Northern Ireland;

“large hydro generating station” means a hydro generating station which has, or has had at any time since 1st April 2002, a declared net capacity of more than 20 megawatts;

“late payment period” in relation to an obligation period, means the period from the specified day in relation to that obligation period to the 31st October immediately following;

“micro hydro generating station” means a hydro generating station which–

“minimum tidal requirement” has the meaning given in article 5(4);

“minimum wave requirement” has the meaning given in article 5(1);

“NIRO Order” means any order made pursuant to article 52 of the Northern Ireland Energy Order;

“NIROC” means a certificate issued by the Northern Ireland Authority under article 54 of the Northern Ireland Energy Order and pursuant to a NIRO Order and, save where the context otherwise requires, includes a replacement NIROC;

“NIROC identifier” means an identifier unique to a NIROC determined by the Northern Ireland Authority and containing the following information (or reference to that information in coded format)–

“nominated person” has the same meaning in this Order as is given to it in the Electricity from Non Fossil Fuel Sources Saving Arrangements Order 2000(4) or in the Electricity from Non Fossil Fuel Sources (Scotland) Saving Arrangements Order 2005(5) (as the case may be);

“Non Fossil Fuel Order” means (except where used in Schedule 3) any of the following orders: the Electricity (Non Fossil Fuel Sources) (England and Wales) Order 1994(6); the Electricity (Non Fossil Fuel Sources) (Scotland) Order 1994(7); the Electricity (Non Fossil Fuel Sources) (England and Wales) Order 1997(8); the Electricity (Non Fossil Fuel Sources) (Scotland) Order 1997(9); the Electricity (Non Fossil Fuel Sources) (England and Wales) Order 1998(10); and the Electricity (Non Fossil Fuel Sources) (Scotland) Order 1999(11);

“Northern Ireland Authority” means the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation;

“Northern Ireland Electricity Order” means the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992(12);

“Northern Ireland Energy Order” means the Energy (Northern Ireland) Order 2003(13);

“Northern Ireland supplier” means an electricity supplier within the meaning of Part 7 of the Northern Ireland Energy Order;

“obligation period” means any of the periods referred to in the first column of Schedule 1;

“on land”, in relation to the location of a generating station, means wholly or partly on land above mean high water level;

“particulars”, in relation to a SROC, has the meaning given to it in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2;

“plant”, with reference to crops or plant matter, includes shrubs and trees;

“pyrolysis” means the thermal degradation of a substance in the absence of any oxidising agent (other than that which forms part of the substance itself) to produce char and one or both of gas and liquid;

“qualifying arrangement” means (except in the definition of “micro hydro generating station” and in Schedule 3) an arrangement which was originally made pursuant to a Non Fossil Fuel Order (and includes any replacement of such an arrangement where that replacement was made pursuant to an order made under section 67 of the Utilities Act 2000);

“qualifying certificate” means a certificate issued pursuant to an order made under section 32 of the Act and which relates to electricity produced from eligible renewable sources, or an eligible NIROC;

“qualifying combined heat and power generating station” means a combined heat and power generating station which is fuelled wholly or partly by waste and which has been accredited under CHPQA;

“Register” has the meaning given to it in article 23(1);

“registered holder” has the meaning given to it in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2;

“renewables obligation” has the meaning given to it in article 3 except where this term is referred to in articles 27(4), 27(5), 27(6), 31(5), 31(6), 32(4), 32(5), 32(6), 33(8), 34(1)(a) and 34(1)(e);

“replacement NIROC” means a NIROC issued in accordance with the provisions of the NIRO Order to replace another NIROC;

“replacement SROC” means a SROC issued in accordance with article 24(4)(b) and (6);

“retail prices index” means–

“Scottish area of the Renewable Energy Zone” means the area designated in the Renewable Energy Zone (Designation of Area) (Scottish Ministers) Order 2005(14) as the area in relation to which the Scottish Ministers are to have functions;

“Scottish waters” means so much of the internal waters and territorial sea of the United Kingdom as are adjacent to Scotland;

“specified day”, in relation to an obligation period, means the 1st September immediately following it;

“SROC” means a certificate issued by the Authority under section 32B of the Act and pursuant to this Order;

“SROC identifier” has the meaning given by paragraph 2 of Schedule 2;

“SROC sequence number” has the meaning given to it in article 22(1);

“total SROC claim” means the total number of SROCs which have been claimed in respect of a particular obligation period, after deducting–

“transmission and distribution network” means any transmission system or any distribution system or both (as transmission system is defined and distribution system is used in the definition of “distribute” in section 4(4) of the Act(15)) in Great Britain or any equivalent system in another country or in Northern Ireland;

“United Kingdom supplier” means a designated electricity supplier, an electricity supplier supplying electricity in England and Wales or a Northern Ireland supplier;

“waste” has the meaning given to it in section 75(2) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990(16), but does not include gas derived from landfill sites or gas produced from the treatment of sewage; and

the expression “the United Kingdom” includes the territorial sea of the United Kingdom and waters in any area designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964(17).

(2) For the purposes of this Order, any fuel used in a generating station (not being biomass) shall be treated as biomass if–

(a)it is one of at least two fuels (not being fossil fuels within the meaning of article 9) used to fuel or drive that generating station (whether or not those fuels are the only ones so used); and

(b)at least 90 per cent of the total energy content of those fuels (measured over such period and with such frequency as the Authority deems appropriate) is derived from material which is of such a nature that, if 90 per cent of the energy content of a single fuel was so derived, that fuel would constitute biomass.

(3) Accordingly, any reference in this Order to biomass shall be construed as a reference to biomass or fuel which is treated as biomass.

(4) For the purposes of the definition of “hydro generating station”, the “civil works” which are to be regarded as supplying a particular turbine (“the relevant turbine”) are all the man-made weirs, man-made structures and man-made works for holding water which are located on the inlet side of the relevant turbine, but excluding any such weirs, structures or works which supply another turbine before water is supplied to the weirs, structures and works which supply the relevant turbine.

(5) Any reference in this Order to the provision of information “in writing” shall include the provision of such information by electronic mail, facsimile or similar means which are capable of producing a document containing the text of any communication.

(6) Unless the context otherwise requires any reference in this Order to a numbered article or Schedule is a reference to the article in or the Schedule to this Order bearing that number and any reference in an article or a Schedule to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that article or Schedule bearing that number.

(7) Any reference in this Order to the supply of electricity shall, in respect of a supply made to customers in Northern Ireland, be construed in accordance with the definition of “supply” in article 3 of the Northern Ireland Electricity Order.