Renewable energy: Harnessing nature for energy
Renewable energy is electricity created by renewable sources such as sun, wind, biomass, and the like. Renewable electricity reduces greenhouse gas emissions by displacing electricity that would have been generated by a fossil fuel-fired power plant. The emissions benefit of renewable electricity projects depends upon the type of generation the project displaces.
Electricity generation is the most likely sector of the economy to be capped by cap-and-trade legislation. Because offsets, by definition, cannot occur in capped sectors, it is unlikely that renewable electricity will be an offset project type once climate legislation is enacted. That is why The Climate Trust is no longer recruiting renewable electricity projects. However, the renewable electricity project we have funded occurred before the existence of a cap and therefore it still represents high quality offsets with real emission benefits.
|
 |
Innovative Wind Financing
A Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) is a certificate that is issued when one megawatt-hour of electricity is generated and delivered to the grid from a qualifying renewable energy source.
The Offset Quality Initiative outlines the appropriate roles of renewable energy certificates and carbon offsets in climate policy.
LEARN MORE »
|
