The information provided below will help you understand and navigate through the regulatory environment in Oklahoma.
Number of CHP Sites: 18
Installed Megawatts: 1.3 GW
Sample Oklahoma Organizations Using CHP
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Industrial
- Firestone Tire & Rubber Company/Dayton Tire Plant
- Citation Oil & Gas
- Weyerhaeuser Company
- Ponca City Refinery
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Education
- University of Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State University
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Electric Industry Restructuring Status
In June 2001, the Governor signed SB 440, which established a 9-member task force to further study the effects of deregulation. Retail competition will not be implemented until after the task force issues its final report at the end of 2002 and the legislature enacts enabling restructuring legislation. In February 2004, the U.S. DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory submitted a report showing that Oklahoma consumers could end up with electric rates up to 25% higher than existing rates if retail competition was implemented. The study was used by the Electric Restructuring Advisory Committee, established under SB 440, to complete their own report concerning transmission issues. No further deregulation action has occurred.
Utility-Related Regulations
Interconnection Regulations
There are no regulations in place at this time.
Net-Metering Rules
Net metering has been available in Oklahoma since 1988 under Oklahoma Corporate Commission Order 326195. This ruling requires investor owned utilities and rural cooperatives under the Commission's jurisdiction to file net metering tariffs for customer-owned renewable energy and cogeneration facilities at 100 kW or less in capacity. The program is available to all customer classes and there is no statewide limit to the amount of net metering capacity.
Exit Fees/Stranded Costs
Each utility must propose a recovery plan for stranded costs under Senate Bill 500 (
55 KB). Transition charges, which can be collected over at 3 - 7-year period, must not cause the total price for electric power to exceed the cost per kWh paid by consumers when the law was enacted during the transition period.
Siting Requirements
An electrical generation facility does not need the permission of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. However, certain environmental and emissions permits must be obtained from the Oklahoma DEQ.
Air Emissions Regulations
There are no areas in non-attainment status.
Minor Source Permitting
Sources emitting more than 5 tons per year of a criteria pollutant must obtain a minor source permit.
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Standards by Criteria Pollutant
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| Criteria Pollutant |
Emissions Standard |
| Nitrogen Oxides |
Any new gas-fired fuel-burning equipment with a rated heat input of 50 million BTUs per hour or more, in excess of 0.20 pound per million BTUs (0.36 gram per million gram-calorie) heat input, two-hour maximum |
| Sulfur Oxides |
0.2 lb/MMBtu for gas
Limit applies to all minor sources |
Units that cannot meet the above limits will be required to install controls. Sources that emit more than 100 tons per year of any criteria pollutant are required to complete a state-level Best Available Control Technology analysis. The cost threshold is $8,000 to $10,000 per ton for NOx.
There is a 30-day public comment period for sources with a potential to emit 100 tons per year or greater. The total permitting time is anywhere from 3 months to 1.5 years for a large project.
Major NSR/PSD Permitting
A potential to emit 250 tons or more of any criteria pollutant triggers a Prevention of Substantial Deterioration.
State Incentives & Grants
Zero-Emissions Facilities Production Tax Credit
Effective January 1, 2003, an income tax credit became available to producers of electric power using renewable energy resources from a zero emission facility located in Oklahoma. The zero-emission facility must have a rated production capacity of fifty megawatts (50 MW) or greater. Renewable energy resources include wind, moving water, sun, and geothermal energy. The construction and operation of the zero-emission facility must result in no pollution or emissions that are or may be harmful to the environment, as determined by the Department of Environmental Quality.
The amount of the credit varies depending on when the electricity is generated. For electricity generated prior to January 1, 2004, the amount of the credit was seventy-five one hundredths of one cent ($0.0075) for each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by zero-emission facilities. For electricity generated after January 1, 2004, but prior to January 1, 2007, the amount of the credit is fifty one hundredths of one cent ($0.0050) per kilowatt-hour for electricity generated by zero-emission facilities. For electricity generated after January 1, 2007, but prior to January 1, 2012, the amount of the credit is twenty-five one hundredths of one cent ($0.0025) per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by zero-emission facilities. [See details]
Community Energy Education Management Program
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce offers a revolving loan fund for local governments to make energy efficient improvements to government buildings. All eligible projects should increase energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption, project a positive return on investment and be paid back within six years of the loan award. Funds from this program can be used to pay for a technical assistance report/audit, energy conservation measures and operation and maintenance procedures that would contribute to overall reduced energy consumption.
Generally, the loans will not be more than $150,000, and the average loan amount is around $60,000. An eligible local government may have only one active loan open at any time.
For more information please contact Carolyn Sullivan (Oklahoma Department of Commerce - State Energy Office) at (405) 815-6552 or carolyn_sullivan@odoc.state.ok.us.
Energy Loan Fund for Schools
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce has established a loan/lease fund for public and non-profit K-12 schools to improve energy efficiency. Two categories of funding are available for schools to reduce energy consumption: Category One funding will pay for technical and energy audits, the development of Energy Management Plans, and any professional services that contribute to the planning and design of energy reduction systems and measures. Category II funding covers the actual acquistion and installation of energy conservation measures.
All projects must be shown to reduce energy consumption, have a positive return on investment, and be able to be repaid within six years. An eligible school district may only have one active loan at a time. [See details]