Jan 26 2008
"Renewable Energy Certificates in North America," a new report published by Energy Business Reports, examines Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) or Green Tags, which are a market-based commodity designed to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers of renewable energy, free from the constraints of the electricity grid.
By unbundling the renewable characteristic from the actual electricity commodity, RECs allow renewable energy generators more flexibility in the distribution of their products, and therefore encourages further development of the renewable energy market. In states or regions that have an REC program, one REC represents the environmental attributes generally associated with one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity from renewable resources.
Currently, the United States has two distinct REC markets - the compliance market and the voluntary market. The compliance market is driven by state government regulation, while consumers drive the voluntary market interested in supporting renewable energy or reducing their environmental footprint.
Other Topics covered in this report include:
- REC Certification
- Benefits and Barriers to REC Market Development
- REC Markets, including Compliance Markets
- REC Tracking, including Tracking Methods
- Leading REC Programs