Renewable Energy Credits

A renewable energy certificate, or REC is a market-based instrument that represents the property rights to the environmental, social and other non-power attributes of renewable electricity generation. RECs are issued when one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity is generated and delivered to the electricity grid from a renewable energy resource.  Because the physical electricity consumers receive through the utility grid says nothing of its origin or how it was generated, RECs play an important role in accounting, tracking, and assigning ownership to renewable electricity generation and use. On a shared grid, whether from on-site or off-site resources, RECs are the instruments that electricity consumers must use to substantiate renewable electricity use claims.  RECs are the accepted legal instrument through which renewable energy generation and use claims are substantiated in the U.S. renewable energy market. RECs are supported by several different levels of government, regional electricity transmission authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and trade associations, as well as in U.S. case law.  GFE Sustainable plans to play an active role in the REC Market in the near future.