Clean Electricity Regulations (SOR/2024-263)

Purpose

Marginal note:Purpose

1 The purpose of these Regulations is to protect the environment and human health from the threat of climate change by establishing a regime that prohibits excessive carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the use of fossil fuel to generate electricity.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 2 (1) The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

  ASTM

  ASTM means ASTM International. (ASTM)

  auditor

  auditor means an individual who

  • (a) is independent of the responsible person that is to be audited; and

  • (b) has knowledge of and experience with respect to

    • (i) the certification, operation and relative accuracy test audit of continuous emission monitoring systems, and

    • (ii) quality assurance and quality control procedures in relation to those systems. (vérificateur)

  authorized official

  authorized official means

  • (a) in respect of a responsible person who is an individual, that individual or an individual who is authorized to act on that individual’s behalf;

  • (b) in respect of a responsible person that is a corporation, an officer of the corporation that is authorized to act on its behalf; and

  • (c) in respect of a responsible person that is another entity, an individual who is authorized to act on its behalf. (agent autorisé)

  biogas

  biogas means a gaseous mixture — including landfill gas and sludge digestion gas — that consists primarily of methane and CO₂ that is recovered from the anaerobic decomposition of biomass and that contains other constituents that prevent it from meeting the standard for injection into the nearest natural gas pipeline. (biogaz)

  biomass

  biomass means material that originates from plants or animals, including animal waste, or any product derived from any of these, and includes wood, wood products, agricultural residues, biologically derived organic matter in municipal or industrial wastes, biogas, renewable natural gas, bio-alcohols, pulping liquor and other fuels that consist only of non-fossilized, biodegradable organic material that originates from plants or animals but does not originate from a geological formation. (biomasse)

  Canadian offset credit

  Canadian offset credit means

  • (a) an offset credit issued under subsection 29(1) of the Canadian Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Regulations; or

  • (b) a unit or credit that is recognized under subsection 78(1) of the Output-Based Pricing System Regulations and meets the conditions set out in paragraphs 78(4)(a) to (d) of those Regulations. (crédit compensatoire canadien)

  CEMS Protocol

  CEMS Protocol means the document entitled Protocols and performance specifications for continuous monitoring of gaseous emissions from thermal power generation and other sources, published by the Department of the Environment in 2023. (Protocole SMECE)

  coal

  coal includes petroleum coke and synthetic gas that is derived from coal or petroleum coke. (charbon)

  combustion engine

  combustion engine means an engine, other than an engine that is self-propelled or designed to be propelled while performing its function, that

  • (a) operates according to the Brayton thermodynamic cycle and combusts fossil fuel to produce a net amount of motive power; or

  • (b) combusts fossil fuel and uses reciprocating motion to convert thermal energy into mechanical work. (moteur à combustion)

  commissioning date

  commissioning date, in respect of a unit, means the day on which the oldest boiler or combustion engine in the unit starts operating. (date de mise en service)

  continuous emission monitoring system

  continuous emission monitoring system or CEMS means equipment for the sampling, conditioning and analyzing of emissions from a given source and the recording of data related to those emissions. (système de mesure et d’enregistrement en continu des émissions ou SMECE)

  deduction period

  deduction period means the period for which the beginning and end is determined in accordance with subsection 25(2). (période de déduction)

  electricity generation capacity

  electricity generation capacity means the capacity of a unit, expressed in MW and determined in accordance with section 6. (capacité de production d’électricité)

  electricity system

  electricity system means an electricity system that is subject to the standards of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. (réseau électrique)

  electricity system operator

  electricity system operator, in respect of a unit, means the person that operates the electricity system within a province and to which the unit is required to report in order to transmit electricity to the electricity system. (exploitant de réseau électrique)

  facility

  facility means the units, buildings, other structures and stationary equipment — including equipment used for hydrogen or ammonia production and equipment used for fuel production from coal gasification — that have in common at least one owner or person who has the charge, management or control of each of them and that are located on a single site, or on contiguous or adjacent sites that function as a single integrated site, where an industrial activity is carried out. (installation)

  fossil fuel

  fossil fuel means a fuel, other than biomass, that releases CO₂ when combusted or that is produced using a process that results in CO₂ emissions. (combustible fossile)

  GHGRP

  GHGRP means the document entitled Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Quantification Requirements, Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, Version 5.0, published by the Department of the Environment in December 2021. (PDGES)

  maximum continuous rating

  maximum continuous rating means the maximum net power that a unit can continuously sustain, expressed in MW, as reported to the electricity system operator for the unit. (puissance maximale continue)

  net supply

  net supply means the quantity of electricity supplied to an electricity system during a calendar year, expressed in GWh and determined in accordance with subsection 13(2). (solde de fourniture)

  planned unit

  planned unit means a unit referred to in section 3. (groupe prévu)

  renewable natural gas

  renewable natural gas means natural gas that meets the standard for injection into the nearest natural gas pipeline and that is either gas derived from the processing of biogas or synthetic natural gas derived from biomass. (gaz naturel renouvelable)

  responsible person

  responsible person means an owner or a person that has the charge, management or control of a unit. (personne responsable)

  standard conditions

  standard conditions means a temperature of 15˚C and a pressure of 101.325 kPa. (conditions normales)

  unit

  unit means an assembly consisting of equipment that is physically connected and that operates together to generate electricity, including at least one boiler or combustion engine along with any other equipment, such as duct burners or other combustion devices, heat recovery systems, steam turbines, generators, emission control devices and carbon capture and storage systems. (groupe)

  useful thermal energy

  useful thermal energy means energy in the form of steam or hot water that is destined for a use, other than the generation of electricity, that would have required the consumption of energy in the form of fuel or electricity had that steam or hot water not been used. (énergie thermique utile)

• Marginal note:Carbon capture and storage

  (2) For the purposes of the definition unit in subsection (1), equipment that is connected only by a carbon capture and storage system is not considered to be physically connected. However, that carbon capture and storage system is considered to be part of each unit to which it is connected.

Marginal note:Planned unit

3 A unit is planned if its commissioning date is within the period that begins on January 1, 2025 and ends on December 31, 2034 and if the Minister is satisfied that the unit is substantially the same on its commissioning date as the unit in relation to which the following criteria were met:

• (a) on or before December 31, 2025,

  • (i) all information required to initiate any impact assessment or environmental assessment required in relation to the unit under a federal or provincial law has been submitted to the relevant authority,

  • (ii) the proponent responsible for the development of the unit owns or has a lease for the land on which the unit is located,

  • (iii) all information required to initiate the process to obtain any permit required to begin construction at the site where the unit is located has been submitted to the relevant authority, and

  • (iv) contracts with a value of at least $10 million have been entered into for the purchase of any equipment referred to in the definition unit in subsection 2(1) for use in the unit; and

• (b) on or before December 31, 2027, construction has begun at the site where the unit is located.

Marginal note:Incorporation by reference

• 4 (1) A reference to any document incorporated by reference into these Regulations, other than the GHGRP and the CEMS Protocol, is a reference to the most recently published version of the document.

• Marginal note:Interpretation of documents incorporated by reference

  (2) For the purposes of interpreting any document that is incorporated by reference into these Regulations, “should” is to be read as “must” and any recommendation or suggestion is to be read as an obligation.

• Marginal note:Adaptation of GHGRP

  (3) For the purposes of these Regulations, any reference in the GHGRP to the document entitled Reference Method for Source Testing: Quantification of Carbon Dioxide Releases by Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems from Thermal Power Generation is to be read as a reference to the CEMS Protocol.

• Marginal note:Adaptation of CEMS Protocol

  (4) For the purposes of these Regulations, the CEMS Protocol is to be read as follows:

  • (a) the references to “appropriate regulatory authority”, “applicable regulating authority”, “appropriate regulatory agency” and “corresponding regulating authority” are to be read as references to the Minister, except in section 5.3.1, where “the appropriate regulatory authority” is to be read as “subsection 46(1) of the Clean Electricity Regulations”; and

  • (b) the reference to “the most recent version of the ECCC Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Quantification Requirements” in section 7.1 is to be read as a reference to “section 16 of the Clean Electricity Regulations”.

Application

Marginal note:Criteria

• 5 (1) These Regulations begin to apply in respect of a unit on the day on which the unit meets the following criteria and, subject to subsection 43(2), continue to apply until the responsible person for the unit submits the notice of permanent cessation of electricity generation in accordance with subsection 43(1):

  • (a) the unit has an electricity generation capacity of at least 25 MW;

  • (b) the unit generates electricity using fossil fuel; and

  • (c) the unit is connected, directly or indirectly, to an electricity system.

• Marginal note:Sum of electricity generation capacity

  (2) Subject to subsection (3), a unit that has an electricity generation capacity of less than 25 MW is deemed to meet the criterion set out in paragraph (1)(a) if

  • (a) the unit’s commissioning date is on or after January 1, 2025; and

  • (b) the sum of the electricity generation capacity of all units, other than planned units, that are located at the facility where the unit is located and that have commissioning dates on or after January 1, 2025 is at least 25 MW.

• Marginal note:Non-application — planned units

  (3) These Regulations do not apply in respect of a planned unit that has an electricity generation capacity of less than 25 MW.

Marginal note:Electricity generation capacity

• 6 (1) Subject to subsection (6), a unit’s electricity generation capacity is

  • (a) the unit’s maximum gross power, measured at the electrical terminals of the unit’s generators and determined in accordance with subsections (2) to (4); or

  • (b) if the responsible person has not determined the unit’s maximum gross power, the unit’s most recent maximum continuous rating.

• Marginal note:Performance test

  (2) To determine a unit’s maximum gross power, the responsible person must conduct, in the presence of the performance test verifier referred to in subsection (3), a performance test that

  • (a) is conducted on or after January 1, 2025;

  • (b) is a continuous test that lasts at least two hours;

  • (c) does not compromise the continued operation of the unit by exceeding the operating specifications for temperature, pressure or electrical conductivity recommended by the manufacturer of the equipment that is part of the unit;

  • (d) does not require that the planned maintenance schedule of the unit be altered; and

  • (e) has results that are adjusted to standard conditions.

• Marginal note:Performance test verifier

  (3) The performance test verifier is an individual who

  • (a) is independent of the responsible person; and

  • (b) has demonstrated knowledge of the performance testing of units that generate electricity using fossil fuel and at least five years’ experience with respect to such testing.

• Marginal note:Performance test report

  (4) A responsible person that conducts a performance test must submit to the Minister a performance test report prepared by the performance test verifier that contains the information set out in Schedule 1.

• Marginal note:Report submitted after registration

  (5) A responsible person that submits a performance test report for a unit after the registration report for the unit is submitted under subsection 7(1), paragraph 7(2)(a) or subsection 8(2) must submit to the Minister, no later than 60 days after the day on which the test is conducted, the performance test report along with the updated registration report referred to in subsection 7(4).

• Marginal note:Change of electricity generation capacity

  (6) If, during a calendar year in which a unit is subject to an emission limit under subsection 9(1), the maximum gross power or maximum continuous rating of the unit changes, the unit’s electricity generation capacity for that calendar year is determined by the formula

  

  where

  i

  is the i^th period of the calendar year, where “i” goes from 1 to n and where n is the number of periods in the calendar year during which the unit’s electricity generation capacity differs from the preceding or subsequent period;

  C_i

  is the electricity generation capacity of the unit during the i^th period of the calendar year;

  D_i

  is the length of the i^th period of the calendar year, expressed in days; and

  N

  is the number of days during the calendar year that the unit’s electricity generation capacity is greater than zero.

• Marginal note:Rounding

  (7) The electricity generation capacity determined under subsection (2) or (6) is to be rounded to the nearest whole number or, if equidistant between two consecutive whole numbers, to the higher number.