Tracking System for Green Tags on the Horizon

In an accounting move that could facilitate participation in California?s renewables portfolio standard (RPS), the Western Electricity Coordinating Council said it will install a system to track renewables generation. The organization said the accounting system would create green tags for renewables generators. Though registering will be voluntary, the database will keep tabs on compliance with the RPS and other state-mandated renewables programs. Green tags, otherwise known as renewable energy certificates, will be used to buy and sell the environmental benefits associated with renewables. The system, developed by the Western Governors? Association and the California Energy Commission, will track green activity across 11 Western states; Alberta, Canada; and Baja California, Mexico. WECC expects it to be running next year. ?This will be the single formal structure for issuing and trading renewable energy certificates, instead of a patchwork of companies issuing certificates,? which is currently the case, said Jan Hamrin, Center for Resource Solutions executive director. The San Francisco?based nonprofit center focuses on renewables policy and implementation. In 2003, 2.9 million green tags were issued and traded in the Texas market to prove compliance with that state?s RPS program. In addition, 3.8 million tags were circulated in the New England market, according to the Center for Resource Solutions. Earlier this month, the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) said it is seeking green tags for Environmental Protection Agency facilities, including 2, 275 MWh for the agency?s San Francisco office. The agency wants green tags because it is too difficult or costly to feed green power into the facilities, said LaVerne Kyriss, WAPA spokesperson ( Circuit , August 6, 2004). The energy commission, the Western Governors? Association, and the Western Regional Air Partnership will pay for up-front costs for the tracking system. Ongoing operational costs will be covered by user fees.

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Tracking System for Green Tags on the Horizon

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