Green-e Energy National Standard and Governing Documents

Green-e Energy certified renewable energy products must meet and abide by all criteria and rules put forth in the following Governing Documents:

• The Green-e Energy National Standard, which covers renewable resource eligibility and product specifications
• The Code of Conduct and Customer Disclosure Requirements, which ensures that providers of certified renewable energy abide by consumer protection and environmental standards, and requires providers to disclose clear product information to all customers prior to their purchase and to use the Green-e logo correctly
• The Green-e Logo Use Guidelines, which provides information on appropriate display of the Green-e logo by seller of renewable energy
• Guidelines for Use of Green-e Marks by Renewable Energy Purchasers, which discusses how the trademarked Green-e logo and the term "Green-e" may and may not be used by purchasers of Green-e Energy Certified renewables.

Green-e Energy National Standard

Download the full Standard

The Green-e Governance Board approved the Green-e Energy National Standard in December 2005. This standard went into effect on January 1, 2007, and supersedes all previous regional and product specific criteria. The Green-e Energy National Standard applies to all Green-e Certified renewable energy products: Renewable Energy Certificates, Utility Green Pricing Programs, and Competitive Market Electricity Products.

Please see the end of this section for notes on potential national legislation and precedent for its treatment in the Green-e Energy National Standard.

If your company sells renewable energy and you would like to apply for Green-e certification, please review the complete Green-e Energy National Standard to confirm eligibility.

Updated December 2008

Changes since the previous version only have to do with the addition of an Appendix A, which incorporates regional rules for Texas renewables that had been annouced earlier in 2008 and new rules arising from implementation of the the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in 10 New England and Mid-Atlantic states.

National Standard Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION
II. ELIGIBLE SOURCES OF SUPPLY

A. Definition of Eligible Renewables
B. Co-firing of Biomass with Non-Renewables
C. Emissions Limits on Biomass
D. Emissions Criteria for the Non-Renewable Portion of a Green-e Product
E. New Renewables (including information on repowered facilities)
F. Energy Storage
G. Parasitic Load

III. PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

A. Minimum Purchase Quantity
B. Vintage of Eligible Renewables
C. Fully Aggregated Renewables
D. Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Renewables, Other Mandated Renewables, and Financial Incentives
E. Double Counting and Use of Utility Resources
F. Customer-Sited Facilities
G. Canadian-Sited Facilities and RECs sold into Canada

IV. ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR COMPETITIVE ELECTRICITY AND UTILITY GREEN PRICING PRODUCTS

A. Geographic Eligibility for Electricity Products
B. Use of Renewable Energy Certificates in an Electricity Product

V. ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR UTILITY GREEN PRICING PRODUCTS

A. Product Pricing
B. Marketing and Performance Targets
C. Waitlists
D. Regulatory Approval
E. Programs Serving Multiple Utilities (Hub and Spoke)

VI. REVISIONS TO THIS STANDARD

APPENDIX A: STATE-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRICTIONS

The Green-e Energy National Standard is considered a dynamic document and may change over time to accommodate changes in the renewable energy marketplace, policy changes that affect renewable energy, and/or innovations in renewable energy technology.  For any substantial changes to the Green-e certification criteria document, the Green-e Program commits that:

1. Stakeholders will be solicited in advance of Green-e Governance Board meetings for input on substantive policy change issues; and
2. At least one year of notice (following the date of announcement of Board approval) will be granted to utilities, green power marketers and other stakeholders before the substantive changes go into effect, unless a more timely change is necessary to respond to a significant and imminent problem threatening the integrity of green power markets. 

Federal Policy and the Green-e Energy National Standard

Updated 5/26/09

The Green-e Energy National Standard is a dynamic document, which strives to set rigorous environmental and consumer protection standards for the voluntary renewable energy market to ensure high quality products and processes. The Green-e Energy National Standard responds to changes in the marketplace for renewables, as is evident from Appendix A on State-Specific Requirements and Restrictions. In the event of policies on a national cap-and-trade program or a national renewable energy standard (RES), the Green-e Energy National Standard would necessarily be updated to reflect resulting changes in the renewable energy market.

In certain proposed national legislation, renewable electricity generation could be granted not only a REC, but potentially also a carbon allowance and/or a "Federal REC" (which would be issued exclusively by the federal government and used for compliance with a national RES). While Green-e Energy cannot state precisely how the National Standard would have to change to adapt to these new federal laws, it is worth noting previous treatment of similar state or regional laws by the National Standard.

The Green-e Energy National Standard requires that a REC / renewable MWh is "fully aggregated to the extent possible under law" and contains all environmental attributes that are linked to its generation. In the case of multiple kinds of RECs or attributes being created with each MWh of renewable electricity generation, all types of RECs and attributes associated with generation of a particular MWh must be retired for a voluntary retail purchase in order for the purchaser to have full and exclusive claim to that renewable MWh. For example, a 2008 law passed in Texas issued certain non-wind renewable MWh both a REC and a Compliance Premium, either of which could be used for RPS compliance; in response, Green-e Energy policy adapted by requiring an otherwise Green-e eligible Texas non-wind REC to be bundled with an associated Compliance Premium to remain eligible for Green-e Energy certification. This is analogous to what could be required if each renewable MWh generates both a REC as is currently known as well as a Federal REC.

In the case of a cap-and-trade program, Green-e Energy already has rules about treatment of renewable MWh generated and sold under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). These rules require that RGGI RECs sold in RGGI states (except Delaware) cause a commensurate amount of CO2 emissions allowances to be retired along with the REC in a voluntary sale, so that the purchaser has the full claim to all available environmental benefits of the renewable electricity generation. This is similar to what could be required under a national cap-and-trade program.

If and when laws affecting the voluntary renewable energy market are passed, Green-e Energy will identify what, if any, types of changes are necessary to maintain the integrity and entirety of voluntary market claims on renewable MWh and will act in accordance with Section VI of the National Standard.

Code of Conduct and Customer Disclosure Requirements

Download the Code of Conduct and Customer Disclosure Requirements The Green-e Energy Code of Conduct and Customer Disclosure Requirements is one of the main governing documents of Green-e Energy. It ensures that participating marketers abide by the consumer protection and environmental standards established by the Center for Resource Solutions. Signatories of the Code of Conduct and Customer Disclosure Requirements pledge to abide by the standard and cooperate with the Green-e Governance Board, to ensure that these standards are effective in providing customers information about environmentally superior services in the renewable energy market.

The Code of Conduct and Customer Disclosure Requirements outlines the responsibilities of a company offering a Green-e Energy certified product to disclose product information to all customers prior to their purchase and in the case that their purchase changes during the term of their purchase agreement. This document also provides language for describing Green-e Energy, language for describing a company’s relationship with the Center for Resource Solutions and Green-e Energy, and logo use (see below). Additionally, the Code of Conduct and Customer Disclosure Requirements outlines the process for CRS review of marketing materials including the twice-annual marketing compliance review.

Green-e Logo Use Guidelines

The Green-e Logo Use Guidelines is specifically referenced within the Code of Conduct and Customer Disclosure Requirements and provides detailed information on the appropriate uses of the Green-e logo for all Green-e programs.

Guidelines for Use of Green-e Marks by Renewable Energy Purchasers

The Guidelines for Use of Green-e Marks by Renewable Energy Purchasers offers clarity on the issue of under what circumstances a purchaser of Green-e Energy Certified renewables is able to use the trademarked Green-e logo and the term "Green-e". For additional information on logo use by purchasers, see the Green-e Marketplace section of this Web site as well.