Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 469 § 469.320 — Site

Site certificate required; exceptions. (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (5) of this section, no facility shall be constructed or expanded unless a site certificate has been issued for the site thereof in the manner provided in ORS 469.300 to 469.563, 469.590 to 469.619, 469.930 and 469.992. No facility shall be constructed or operated except in conformity with the requirements of ORS 469.300 to 469.563, 469.590 to 469.619, 469.930 and 469.992. (2) A site certificate is not required for: (a) An energy facility for which no site certificate has been issued that, on August 2, 1993, had operable electric generating equipment for a modification that uses the same fuel type and increases electric generating capacity, if: (A) The site is not enlarged; and (B) The ability of the energy facility to use fuel for electricity production under peak steady state operating conditions is not more than 200 million Btu per hour greater than it was on August 2, 1993, or the energy facility expansion is called for in the short-term plan of action of an energy resource plan that has been acknowledged by the Public Utility Commission of Oregon. (b) Construction or expansion of any interstate natural gas pipeline or associated underground natural gas storage facility authorized by and subject to the continuing regulation of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or successor agency. (c) An energy facility, except coal and nuclear power plants, if the energy facility: (A) Sequentially produces electrical energy and useful thermal energy from the same fuel source; and (B) Under average annual operating conditions, has a nominal electric generating capacity: (i) Of less than 50 megawatts and the fuel chargeable to power heat rate value is not greater than 6,000 Btu per kilowatt hour; (ii) Of 50 megawatts or more and the fuel chargeable to power heat rate value is not greater than 5,500 Btu per kilowatt hour; or (iii) Specified by the Energy Facility Siting Council by rule based on the council’s determination relating to emissions of the energy facility. (d) Temporary storage, at the site of a nuclear-fueled thermal power plant for which a site certificate has been issued by the State of Oregon, of radioactive waste from the plant. (e) An energy facility as defined in ORS 469.300 (12)(a)(G), if the plant also produces a secondary fuel used on site for the production of heat or electricity, if the output of the primary fuel is less than six billion Btu of heat a day. (f) An energy facility as defined in ORS 469.300 (12)(a)(G), if the facility: (A) Exclusively uses biomass, including but not limited to grain, whey, potatoes, oilseeds, waste vegetable oil or cellulosic biomass, as the source of material for conversion to a liquid fuel; (B) Has received local land use approval under the applicable acknowledged comprehensive plan and land use regulations of the affected local government and the facility complies with any statewide planning goals or rules of the Land Conservation and Development Commission that are directly applicable to the facility; (C) Requires no new electric transmission lines or gas or petroleum product pipelines that would require a site certificate under subsection (1) of this section; (D) Produces synthetic fuel, at least 90 percent of which is used in an industrial or refueling facility located within one mile of the facility or is transported from the facility by rail or barge; and (E) Emits less than 118 pounds of carbon dioxide per million Btu from fossil fuel used for conversion energy. (g) A standby generation facility, if the facility complies with all of the following: (A) The facility has received local land use approval under the applicable acknowledged comprehensive plan and land use regulations of the affected local government and the facility complies with all statewide planning goals and applicable rules of the Land Conservation and Development Commission; (B) The standby generators have been approved by the Department of Environmental Quality as having complied with all applicable air and water quality requirements. For an applicant that proposes to provide the physical facilities for the installation of standby generators, the requirement of this subparagraph may be met by agreeing to require such a term in the lease contract for the facility; and (C) The standby generators are: (i) Electrically incapable of being interconnected to the transmission grid. For an applicant that proposes to provide the physical facilities for the installation of standby generators under this sub-subparagraph, the requirement of this sub-subparagraph may be met by agreeing to require such a term in the lease contract for the facility; or (ii) Electrically capable of being interconnected to the grid but are dispatched to the grid by a local transmission and distribution grid operator or balancing authority to support grid reliability, ar