What are Renewable Energy Certificates? How you can choose clean energy through RECs

What are Renewable Energy Certificates?

When a wind or solar farm generates a megawatt-hour of electricity, a renewable energy certificate (REC) is created. Once electricity is on the power grid, it’s impossible to distinguish the source of that electricity, so RECs track the production and use of clean energy. 

The federal government, along with state regulatory and legislative authorities, recognizes RECs as the credible way to track renewable energy content in electricity products, and for a consumer to legally claim they are using clean energy. In short, RECs are the “clean” in “clean energy.” For more in depth reading on the legal basis of RECs, please see the Center for Resource Solutions' paper on the Legal Basis for Renewable Energy Certificates.

RECs are tracked through registries such as PJM-EIS and NYGATS, and include several data attributes including renewable fuel type, renewable facility location, the vintage (date) of both the project and the power generation, unique identification number, utility to which project is interconnected, eligibility for certification or renewable portfolio standard (RPS), and the emissions rate of the renewable resource.

The demand for renewable energy certificates supports the financial health of wind and solar farms, and also drives investment in future clean energy sources. The end result: the individuals and companies working to transition the grid to clean energy can build more clean energy.

Who uses RECs?

You may have heard of big companies like Starbucks, Apple, and Google using RECs to track how they meet their carbon-reduction goals. Thousands of companies, states, and cities, big and small, are using RECs to track their clean energy use. 

It's not just big companies that have a responsibility to use clean energy. Each of us has an opportunity to do our part to create a greener, cleaner future—and now you can do this too using RECs.

How you can choose 100% clean energy for your home through RECs

One of the reasons renewable energy certificates are so valuable is because they allow anyone to have access to clean energy. Rooftop solar can be difficult for many Americans to access. Renting, owning a condo, having a shaded or north-facing room, financial hurdles or simply a busy lifestyle can all be reasons why you might not be able to invest in rooftop solar. 

When you choose CleanChoice Energy as your electricity supplier, you’ll be powering your home with clean energy through RECs—and helping add more clean energy to the grid.

CleanChoice Energy connects consumers to wind and solar farms by matching 100% of your home electricity use with RECs. 

Where do CleanChoice Energy's RECs come from?

CleanChoice Energy purchases renewable energy certificates from dozens of solar and wind farms. Here are a few of the farms we worked with in 2022:

Learn more about Renewable Energy Certificates

To learn more about how RECs work and the important role of RECs in making clean energy possible for electricity consumers nationwide, check out the Environmental Protection Agency’s webpage on RECs, or watch this video from the EPA.