The following information is for all applicants to the RFP.
Total Volume of GHG Offsets. Initiative Participants are seeking to purchase up to 10.5 million short tons of CO2-e. This is the cumulative volume of the two RFP Windows. The total offset purchase is dependent upon the response to the RFP. Final decisions on the number of accepted proposals are at the sole discretion of the Initiative Participants.
Submission Windows. Proposals shall be submitted through one or more of the following windows:
RFP Window #1 : Offsets for use in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
RFP Window #1 anticipated demand: 7.5 million short tons CO2-e.
RFP Window #2 : General Window. Projects that do not meet the requirements of Window #1 should be submitted through RFP Window #2.
RFP Window #2 anticipated demand: 3 million short tons CO2-e.
Details on the specific requirements for each of the RFP Windows are contained in the RFP.
Size of Projects. Initiative Participants prefer GHG offset projects that will generate a minimum of 200,000 short tons of GHG offsets over the project term. GHG offsets will be calculated based on a short ton of carbon dioxide equivalent. For example, a project with a ten-year term would have to generate at least 20,000 short tons of CO 2-e per year to reach the 200,000 ton minimum. The bundling together of similar projects is acceptable. Smaller volume project submissions will be considered, but preference will be given to those that meet the 200,000 ton minimum.
Type of Greenhouse Gases. Offsets resulting from projects that will reduce or avoid all types of greenhouse gases are eligible, as well as those projects that will sequester carbon dioxide. Eligible gases include: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N20), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons, and perfluorocarbons.
Note: There are some ineligible project sectors specific to the RFP windows.
Additionality Requirement. Proposed GHG offsets must be regulatory surplus, i.e. over and above what is required by law. A GHG offset is surplus if it is not otherwise required of a source by current regulations or other legal obligations.
Projects submitted under the RGGI Window must meet the additionality requirements detailed by those programs.
Projects submitted under the General RFP Window will be assessed on a project-by-project basis. Applicants are encouraged to use a barriers test to demonstrate additionality. In essence, this test is a discussion of the barriers faced by the proposed project and how offset funds will be used to overcome those barriers. Barriers may include:
Investment barriers,
Technology barriers, and
Institutional barriers.
Supplemental information on additionality is available here.
Quantifiability of Offsets. The Climate Trust and the Initiative Participants will consider only projects that lead to an amount of GHG offsets that can be quantified. Proposals must identify how project performance will be measured, monitored and evaluated.
Timing of Project Implementation. The Climate Trust and the Initiative Participants will consider only projects where mitigation measures will be implemented in the future, subsequent to contract execution. Expansions of existing projects are eligible as long as the expansions are implemented after execution of an emission reduction purchase agreement (ERPA). Projects selected for funding must be implemented within two years from the date of execution of the ERPA.
Length of Project Contract. The Initiative Participants are interested in purchasing GHG offsets that can be generated in less than 20 years. Thus, if the underlying mitigation measure has an expected life of more than 20 years, the Initiative Participants prefer to only purchase GHG offsets generated in the first 20 years. The Initiative Participants will make exceptions for biological sequestration projects, which typically require a longer contract life to generate cost effective GHG offsets.
Eligible Proposing Entities. Proposals will be accepted from any non-profit organizations, for-profit corporations, government agencies, national laboratories, and combinations of these parties.
Ineligible Proposing Entities. Emission reduction projects undertaken at a facility or source facing a GHG reduction obligation under RGGI regulations will not be accepted. Please refer to the RGGI Model Rule for additional information.
Geographic Restrictions. For all projects submitted through this Initiative, the Initiative Participants will only consider projects based in the U.S. and its jurisdictions.
Project Price Range. The Initiative Participants will use cost effectiveness as one of the primary selection factors for GHG offsets.
