What is a Renewable Energy Credit?

Renewable energy credits (RECs), also known as green certificates, green tags, or tradable renewable certificates, represent the environmental and economic value of electricity produced from clean, renewable, emission-free energy resources that are safe for our environment and will never be depleted. RECs hold real and quantifiable economic value and act like a form of currency that allows the environmental attributes of renewable energy generation to be separated from the electricity commodity and to be sold as a separate product.

 Renewable Energy Credits enable consumers all across the country to support renewable energy generation; RECs contribute to the growth of the renewable energy sector, and with consumer support will continue to help make renewable energy even more cost competititve.

 You can buy RECs from Community Energy whether or not you have access to green power through your local utility or a competitive electricity marketer. And you can purchase RECs without having to switch electricity suppliers.

For more information, visit www.awea.org/greenpower, or www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower

How does purchasing RECs help to build new wind farms?

The REC revenue stream is a vital piece of financing in building new wind farms. Our customers and partners' commitments to renewable energy development in the form of voluntary REC purchases has enhanced the viability of new wind power projects, and demonstrated the demand necessary to seek out and build new projects. In all eight projects that CEI and Iberdrola have developed or helped to finance with REC marketing efforts, REC revenue streams were explicitly valued (based on voluntary market customer contracts or market projections) and vital to project feasibility. As the industry continues to evolve, reliable REC revenue streams will be even more critical to flipping the economics of wind energy in the positive direction.

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, at the end of 2004, over 2,200 megawatts of new renewable energy supply is serving voluntary green power markets, or enough electricity to power over 575,000 typical American homes for a year. http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/resources/tables/new_gp_cap.shtml

What is a Carbon Offset?

A carbon offset is a product that helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions, thus offsetting the carbon dioxide emissions associated with your own behavior. Purchasing offsets in the form of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to offset your electricity usage is easy, cost effective and aligned with best practices in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction programs. Carbon dioxide emissions associated with electricity production, tailpipe emissions, and manufacturing processes all contribute to climate change. As concern for climate change has begun to make the news and penetrate the public consciousness, individual consumers, shareholders, regulators, and leading companies are looking for ways to respond to this pressing global challenge. In combination with finding efficiencies and reducing emissions associated with your own behavior, there are many tools available to help you combat climate change and offset the GHG emissions associated with your daily activities like driving to work, turning on a computer, or flying on an airplane. You can visit our Carbon Calculator to figure out your impact.

What is the Green-e certification?

Green-e is the nation's leading independent certification and verification program for renewable energy. The Green-e logo identifies superior, certified renewable energy options, and is used by businesses to communicate the purchase and/or generation of certified renewable energy. The program is administered by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions in San Francisco. More information is available at www.green-e.org.

For More Information on the Renewable Energy Industry or Marketplace, please visit the following:
- http://www.gwec.net
- http://www.awea.org/greenpower/
- http://www.nrel.gov/

Didn't find the question you want answered here? Please visit our Renewable Energy Basics.