Renewable Energy – Above Green

(6 possible points)

Intent

To reduce the environmental and economic harms associated with fossil fuel energy and reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions by increasing self-supply of renewable energy and the use of grid-source, renewable energy technologies and carbon mitigation projects.

Requirements

Cities or communities may choose one or more strategies for procuring renewable energy (such as solar PV, wind, geothermal, micro or small scale hydro¹, or biomass) from the categories below. Points are based on total city energy consumption from EN Prerequisite Energy and Greenhouse Gas Performance met by the specific strategy as per the table given below. Points achieved in each category may be added for up to a total of 6 points.

On-Site Renewables: Includes on-site nonpolluting renewable energy generation, owned, leased or subsidized by the city, utility (or energy provider).
New Off-Site Renewables: Includes large-scale renewable energy plant with a minimum capacity of 1 MW, to meet the energy needs of the city or community. Plant maybe located within or outside the city boundary and should be owned or leased for a period of fifteen years by the city or utility. The plant built within the last year or contracted prior to renewable energy project development. A new or on-going Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) or Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) between the city/ community, utility and/or renewable energy provider is acceptable.
Existing Off-Site Renewables: Includes renewable energy procured from an existing renewable energy provider or utility (Contract not required).
Green-e Certified RECs and Carbon Offsets: Includes green-e certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), and/or carbon offsets purchased by the city to mitigate the environmental impacts of city energy consumption; if purchased by the utility or energy provider, RECs and Carbon Offsets must be prorated as per the city’s annual energy share in the utility’s generation. RECs and carbon offsets must be Green-e certified. Carbon offsets must be purchased from recognized GHG reduction projects within the country where the city is located. For this purpose, engage in a contract for qualified resources that have come online or been built within the last fifteen years. The contract must be for a minimum of fifteen years to be delivered annually. If RECs or carbon offsets are purchased by the utility serving multiple cities, these must be prorated as per the city’s annual energy share in the utility’s generation.
RECs and Carbon Offsets: Includes other Renewable Energy Credits and Carbon Offsets purchased by the city; if purchased by the utility, RECs and Carbon Offsets must be prorated as per the city’s annual energy share in the utility’s generation.

Prosumers, Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) or other aggregated consumers) with a minimum on-grid capacity of 2 MW which will be owned and operated by consumers may be included in the calculations based on whether these are on-site or off-site renewables. Environmental benefits of all procurement must be retained by the city or utility. All off-site qualifying resources must be contracted, owned, or leased for at least 15 years.

Table 9. Points for Renewables Procurement

Points	On-Site Renewables	New Off-Site Renewables	Existing Off-Site Renewables	Green-e Certified: RECs and Carbon Offsets	RECs and Carbon Offsets
2	2%	20%	60%	100%	150%
3	6%	40%	80%	200%
4	15%	60%	100%	300%
5	35%	80%
6	60%	100%

¹ Small hydroelectric is limited to capacity of 25 MW or as per national standard.