§ 17-160.13. Definitions.

As used in the Oklahoma Wind Energy Development Act:

1.  “Abandonment” means the failure to generate electricity from commercial wind energy equipment for a period of twenty-four (24) consecutive months for reasons other than curtailment, repowering, a valid judicial order or other governmental regulatory action, with no pending negotiations for purchase.  A wind energy facility shall not be considered abandoned if the owner or operator has elected not to run the facility, but it has been maintained in proper working order and is capable of generating electricity;

2.  “Commencement of construction” means beginning excavation of wind turbine foundations or other actions relating to the actual erection and installation of commercial wind energy equipment.  It shall not include erection of meteorological towers, environmental assessments, surveys, preliminary engineering or other activities associated with assessment of development of the wind resources on a given parcel of property;

3.  “Commercial generation date” means the date on which the wind turbine in question first generates electrical energy in commercial quantities;

4.  “Commercial wind energy equipment” means a wind tower and turbine with five hundred kilowatts (500kw) or greater of total nameplate generating capacity;

5.  “Commercial quantities” means an amount of electrical energy sufficient for sale or use off-site from a wind turbine or wind energy facility, and shall not include amounts of electrical energy used only for the maintenance or testing of the wind turbine or wind energy facility itself;

6.  “Owner” means the entity having a majority equity interest in commercial wind energy equipment, including their respective successors and assigns;

7.  “Useful life” means the time during which a wind turbine or wind energy facility is generating electricity in commercial quantities;

8.  “Wind turbine” means a wind energy conversion system which converts wind energy into electricity through the use of a wind turbine generator and includes the turbine, blade, tower, base and pad transformer, if any; and

9.  “Wind energy facility” means an electrical generation facility consisting of one or more wind turbines under common ownership or operating control, and includes substations, meteorological data towers, aboveground and underground electrical transmission lines, transformers, control systems, and other buildings or facilities used to support the operation of the facility, and whose primary purpose is to supply electricity to an off-site customer or customers.  Wind energy facility shall not include a wind energy facility located entirely on property held in fee simple absolute estate by the owner of the wind energy facility.

Added by Laws 2010, c. 319, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2011.