What is the connection between RECs, Green Certificates, Green Tags, Tradeable Renewable Certificates and Ecological Assets?

Remember that all eco-assets are tied back to the contribution of ecosystem services to regional productivity, whether ecological or economic. This productivity has to be measurable, or tangible, contributing to marketplace viability we're interested in demonstrating for these fundamental, sustainable, natural resources & processes.

RECs represent alternative ways of generating energy that minimize or even avoid impacts to ecosystem services. The value of these alternative forms of energy arises when the environmental attributes of eco-friendly kilowatt-hours replace kilowatt-hours that would otherwise have come from fossil or nuclear energy having a greater known environmental impact. As the Environmental Action Desk states:

     "When a windmill is built and operates, it produces two products:

          1. The system electricity that goes into the grid and flows to homes, schools, businesses, etc.

          2. All of the environmental attributes or benefits that are associated with the production of this               energy. This is the RECertificate."

By purchasing RECs one can invest in wind, solar, landfill gas, and other forms of renewable energy projects that offer desirable environmental attributes. The benefits of investing include supporting environmentally preferable energy sources, diversification of the energy grid, offsetting the environmental impact of one's own activities, and contributing directly towards ecosystem health & integrity. Many individuals and organizations find these benefits compelling and, in growing numbers, are investing in these certificates. The German energy giant, EGL, puts it this way:

               "(RECs) represent the ecological added value of energy that is produced with the help of                renewable energy. These certificates are traded separately from the physical energy.                Award, transfer and amortization of the RECs certificates are monitored by independent                authorities. EGL is active in this market (because) a producer can sell green energy even                without green production facilities. These instruments are processed financially. By this                way the customer receives certification approved by a third party and can comply with the                EU proof of origin regulations."

A growing number of U.S. organizations are interested in Green Certificates, as reported by the Green Power Network:

Certificate Marketers