Section 162-H:2 - DefinitionsI. "Acceptance" means a determination by the committee that it finds that the application is complete and ready for consideration.I-a. "Administrator" means the administrator of the committee established by this chapter.I-b. "Affected municipality" means any municipality or unincorporated place in which any part of an energy facility is proposed to be located and any municipality or unincorporated place from which any part of the proposed energy facility will be visible or audible.II. "Certificate" or "certificate of site and facility" means the document issued by the committee, containing such terms and conditions as the committee deems appropriate, that authorizes the applicant to proceed with the proposed site and facility. III. "Commencement of construction" means any clearing of the land, excavation or other substantial action that would adversely affect the natural environment of the site of the proposed facility, but does not include land surveying, optioning or acquiring land or rights in land, changes desirable for temporary use of the land for public recreational uses, or necessary borings to determine foundation conditions, or other preconstruction monitoring to establish background information related to the suitability of the site or to the protection of environmental use and values. IV. "Committee" means the site evaluation committee established by this chapter.V. "Department" means the department of energy.VI. "Energy" means power, including mechanical power, useful heat, or electricity derived from any resource, including, but not limited to, oil, coal, and gas.VII. "Energy facility" means:(a) Any industrial structure that may be used substantially to extract, produce, manufacture, transport or refine sources of energy, including ancillary facilities as may be used or useful in transporting, storing or otherwise providing for the raw materials or products of any such industrial structure. This shall include, but not be limited to industrial structures such as oil refineries, gas plants, equipment and associated facilities designed to use any, or a combination of, natural gas, propane gas and liquefied natural gas, which store on site a quantity to provide 7 days of continuous operation at a rate equivalent to the energy requirements of a 30 megawatt electric generating station and its associated facilities, plants for coal conversion, onshore and offshore loading and unloading facilities for energy sources and energy transmission pipelines that are not considered part of a local distribution network.(b) Electric generating station equipment and associated facilities designed for, or capable of, operation at any capacity of 30 megawatts or more.(c) An electric transmission line of design rating of 100 kilovolts or more, associated with a generating facility under subparagraph (b), over a route not already occupied by a transmission line or lines.(d) An electric transmission line of a design rating in excess of 100 kilovolts that is in excess of 10 miles in length, over a route not already occupied by a transmission line.(e) A new electric transmission line of design rating in excess of 200 kilovolts.(f) A renewable energy facility.(g) An electrical storage facility with a peak storage capacity of 30 megawatts or greater.(h) Any other facility and associated equipment that the committee determines requires a certificate, consistent with the findings and purposes of RSA 162-H:1, either on its own motion or by petition of the applicant or 2 or more petitioners as defined in RSA 162-H:2, XI. VIII. "Energy facility proceeding time and expenses" means time spent in hearings, meetings, preparation, and travel related to any application or other proceeding before the committee concerning an energy facility, either existing or proposed, and related reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.IX. "Filing" means the date on which the application is first submitted to the committee.X. "Person" means any individual, group, firm, partnership, corporation, cooperative, municipality, political subdivision, government agency or other organization. XI. "Petitioner" means a person filing a petition meeting any of the following conditions:(a) A petition endorsed by 100 or more registered voters in the host community or host communities.(b) A petition endorsed by 100 or more registered voters from abutting communities.(c) A petition endorsed by the governing body of a host community or 2 or more governing bodies of abutting communities.(d) A petition filed by the potential applicant.XI-a. "Qualified repurposing" means the modification of an existing energy facility that meets each of the following criteria: (a) The existing energy facility holds a current certificate from the site evaluation committee, or began operations with state and local approvals prior to the site evaluation committee certification process and continues to hold those state and local approvals.(b) The existing energy facility is certificated or permitted for electric generation or battery storage.(c) The existing energy facility is not a hydroelectric generation facility.(d) The existing energy facility is currently interconnected with the distribution and/or regional transmission system.(e) The modified energy facility, would either be permitted by local zoning ordinance or could be permitted by special exception if local zoning ordinances applied, as supported by a signed opinion of legal counsel or verification by the municipality's zoning enforcement officer.(f) The modified energy facility would not require a variance if local zoning ordinances applied, as supported by a signed opinion of legal counsel or verification by the municipality's zoning enforcement officer.(g) The modified energy facility would be located on the same parcel or parcels of land certificated or approved for the physical location of generation equipment and supporting operational uses, or an addition on an abutting parcel of land. For purposes of this subparagraph, "abutting'' means contiguous to or directly across a road, railroad, or stream from the parcels on, under, or above which the existing energy facility's generation equipment and supporting operational uses are located.(h) The combined generation capacity or storage capacity or both of the modified energy facility, taking into account capacity factors and any planned intermittency, would not exceed the capacity of the interconnection to the grid existing at the time of application, which capacity must be stated in the application.(i) The modification changes the fuel type or source, adds a different fuel type or source, or adds battery storage to or replaces all or a portion of the facility with battery storage.(j) The applicant demonstrates that the modification results in qualitative improvements to the health and safety of the state.XII. "Renewable energy facility" means electric generating station equipment and associated facilities designed for, or capable of, operation at a nameplate capacity of greater than 30 megawatts and powered by wind energy, geothermal energy, hydrogen derived from biomass fuels or methane gas, ocean thermal, wave, current, or tidal energy, methane gas, biomass technologies, solar technologies, or hydroelectric energy. "Renewable energy facility" shall also include electric generating station equipment and associated facilities of 30 megawatts or less nameplate capacity, but at least 5 megawatts which the committee determines requires a certificate, consistent with the findings and purposes set forth in RSA 162-H:1, either on its own motion or by petition of the applicant or 2 or more petitioners as defined in RSA 162-H:2, XI.Amended by 2024, 295:1, eff. 7/26/2024, app. to applications submitted on or after 7/26/2024.Amended by 2024, 212:2, eff. 7/19/2024.Amended by 2023, 233:7, eff. 10/7/2023.Amended by 2021 , 87: 1, eff. 8/20/2021.Amended by 2017 , 115: 1, eff. 8/14/2017.Amended by 2015 , 219: 4, eff. 7/8/2015.Amended by 2014 , 217: §§2, 3, 4, 5eff. 7/1/2014.2024, 295:4 is applicable to applications submitted on or after the effective date of this act.
1991, 295:1. 1997, 298:21-24. 1998, 264:2. 2007, 25 : 1 ; 364:3. 2008, 348 : 8 . 2009, 65 : 2 -4, 24, I-IV, eff. Aug. 8, 2009. 2014, 217 : 2 -5, eff. July 1, 2014. 2015, 219 : 4 , eff. July 8, 2015. 2017, 115 : 1 , eff. Aug. 14, 2017. 2021, 87 : 1 , eff. Aug. 20, 2021.