by Kate Rusnak
Canada’s long-standing program for certifying low-impact renewable electricity is about to take a significant step forward by certifying Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) that are sold separately from the physical delivery of electricity. The new standard will help make it easier to market greener power to consumers, while offering new opportunities to ensure sales of certified “green” power products are bona fide and truly producing incremental “green” electricity generation.
TerraChoice, the environmental marketing firm that manages the EcoLogo Program, announced in May that a new standard will be launched in the next few months that will include the certification of greener attributes of power generation. The EcoLogo standard for Renewable, Low-Impact Electricity has been operating for more than ten years and has certified a total capacity of more than 2,600 MW. While in the past the Program focused on certifying renewable low-impact electricity from generation facilities, this updated standard will include Renewable Energy Certificates, certificates of greener attributes that have been separated from the renewably generated electricity.
The EcoLogo Standard
The EcoLogo Program, one of North America’s oldest and most respected multi-attribute environmental standards and certification marks, has been at work on the revision of its renewable, low-impact electricity standard for almost two years, during which time it proposed new rules and its systems underwent an intensive stakeholder consultation process.
The EcoLogo Program rigorously researches renewable energy products and a wide range of other commercial and consumer goods, and when certified, the products are authorized to display the EcoLogo mark as part of their marketing efforts. EcoLogo bases its reviews on currently available life cycle information and then determines whether the product represents significant environmental leadership. The goal of the EcoLogo Program is to establish achievable environmental leadership standards that could be met by approximately the top 20% of the market. In this way, it is able to give consumers confidence when they are choosing between alternative products that those offerings that claim to be environmentally preferable and carry the certification actually are so.
Dr. Angela Griffiths, EcoLogo Program Executive Director, explains the importance of the standard in shaping the renewable electricity market: “Certification from credible third-parties like EcoLogo will help ensure companies and individuals are buying the greenest electricity available. Requiring the renewable electricity products to be low-impact is also a signal to the energy market that greener electricity generators should be recognized for their efforts.”
Encompassed in this standard are many types of renewable resources – biomass, biogas, geothermal, solar and photovoltaic, tidal, wave, hydro and wind. While the methods of generating “green” power have varying benefits and environmental impacts, EcoLogo certified products represent one of the most dependable ways to source and purchase renewable, low-impact electricity. The use of the term “low-impact” in addition to “renewable” refers to the consideration of a broad range of potential environmental impacts, not just the direct emissions from power generation. For example, in the case of hydro-electricity, carrying the EcoLogo label would mean that the generator was not just producing power from a renewable resource, but that it had also minimized impact on fish populations and other users of the water supply when using the renewable resource.
Renewable Energy Certificates
When sourcing greener electricity from the provincial grid is not possible for purchasers and consumers, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are available for those who want to support renewable low-impact electricity generation. In some jurisdictions, it’s very difficult to trace the physical flow of power, which seriously complicates the marketing of green power to retail consumers. In some cases, the rules do not provide a straightforward method for ordinary consumers to purchase green power directly from suppliers, leaving consumers no choice but to buy conventional electricity. In other cases where retail competition is allowed, there may be no suppliers offering attractive green power options to consumers. When sourcing greener electricity directly from the grid is not convenient or possible for purchasers and consumers, renewable energy certificates are an option.
RECs represent the “green” attributes of renewable energy generation such as the reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from greener energy production. RECs are derived from a system that separates renewable electricity generation into two parts: the electricity or electrical energy produced by a renewable generator and the “green attributes” of that electricity. The electricity that was unbundled from the REC is no longer considered “renewable” and cannot be counted as renewable by whoever buys it. Allowing RECs to be separated from the initial energy production can sometimes allow them to be bought by people who may not presently be able to purchase “green” electricity in their community. Systems for buying, selling and certifying RECs have been in operation in the U.S. and Europe for several years.
Purchasing certified RECs can help build a market for renewable low-impact electricity because they are easily transferable and REC purchases can drive the demand for greener electricity. RECs can also contribute to reducing air pollution, stabilizing energy costs by reducing price volatility through continuous energy supply, and creating jobs domestically through the construction and maintenance of new renewable electricity generation facilities. In the U.S., the REC market has grown considerably in recent years, and the Green-e Energy system certifies the majority of retail REC sales. In Canada, the EcoLogo Program will soon be third-party certifying RECs.
This trend toward renewable electricity products such as RECs is gaining traction in Canada and is maturing in the American marketplace. As RECs continue to gain momentum in North America, there will be growing emphasis placed on the importance of understanding this product and being able to communicate its benefits to stakeholders.
Renewable, Low-impact Electricity for the Future
The voluntary market for environmental commodities like RECs is constantly evolving. It’s important for consumers to know that there is currently very little regulatory oversight on the sale of RECs. Although there have been no major cases of fraudulent marketing of RECs in Canada, the protections that currently exist against such abuse are not very strong in this country.
TerraChoice staff note that until, and if, federal governments turn their attention to monitoring this voluntary market, consumers and purchasers of renewable, low-impact energy products will need to exercise due diligence and seek out “green” renewable energy products with third-party certifications such as EcoLogo before entering into contracts.
In terms of the voluntary marketplace, TerraChoice believes that purchasers and consumers will likely continue to lead the demand for renewable, low-impact electricity for the foreseeable future.
For more information about EcoLogo’s Renewable, Low-impact Electricity Products standard, visit http://www.ecologo.org.
— Kate Rusnak is the Media and Communications Consultant at TerraChoice Environmental Marketing.