Green-e Certifies Six "Green Tag"
Providers
May 9, 2002
San Francisco, CA (May 9, 2002)-- From an Olympia, WA coffee roaster,
to a Rhode Island supermarket chain, to offices of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs), (aka
"Green Tags") are providing green energy choice to millions
of customers and much of the business sector for the first time.
The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced today that six
providers of Tradable Renewable Certificates have earned Green-e
certification. Customers purchasing Green Tags from these six providers
have an independent assurance that their purchase supports generation
from high-quality newly developed renewable energy plants. Green-e
will introduce TRCs and these certified marketers to the country
at a May 23rd press conference in Washington, DC.
Currently, green power is only available to roughly one third of
U.S. electricity consumers through competitive power markets and
utility green pricing programs. Green Tags make it possible for
all Americans to support renewable energy, regardless of whether
their state is deregulating its energy markets. Five different Green-e
certified TRC providers are helping to bring new renewable energy
plants online in the Northeast, Mid Atlantic, Great Plains, Texas,
Pacific Northwest, and California.
"We decided to purchase Green Tags to offset our greenhouse
gas emissions for three of our store locations in Rhode Island,"
said Kathleen Loftus of Shaw's Supermarkets, "Since the product
is Green-e certified, Shaw's feels confident our purchase makes
a difference in the air we breathe."
"Through the purchase of TRC products, consumers help reduce
our nation's dependence on fossil fuels to produce electricity,
and contribute to the reduction of air emissions," said Jan
Hamrin, Executive Director of CRS. "When TRC products are Green-e
certified, consumers can be confident they are receiving the environmental
benefits of green power as well as helping to expand the market
for clean renewable energy."
TRCs, also known as "Green Tags," are created when renewable
energy is substituted for traditional power. TRCs represent added
benefits and costs of renewable generation and are purchased in
addition to the electricity that most consumers now use. Green Tags
provide a way to buy and sell the environmental attributes of renewable
generation separately from the electricity generated. Green Tags
help overcome the obstacle of delivering the benefits of renewable
energy to customers who are typically far from generating plants.
The purchaser of a Green Tag is the sole "owner" of the
environmental attributes of a specific megawatt hour (MWh) of energy
added to the grid. Independent verification ensures that no two
Green Tags represent the same MWh of energy.
"TRC markets mean renewable energy developers can find the
best customers for their products regardless of where the actual
generating facility is located," said Karl R. Rábago,
chair of the Green-e Green Power Board that oversees the certification
program, "and Green-e certification means customers will have
more choices of high-quality projects and products they can choose
to support. The combination of these benefits will greatly increase
liquidity in renewable energy markets and can be the catalyst for
a huge expansion in renewable energy development."
Since 1997, Green-e has served as a nationally recognized tool
to help consumers identify environmentally superior renewable energy
offerings. Green-e is a voluntary certification program for renewable
energy products sold in competitive retail electricity markets,
regulated markets, and nationwide through Tradable Renewable Certificates.
To earn Green-e certification, a TRC product must originate entirely
from new renewable facilities that generate energy from the sun,
the wind, the heat of the Earth, low-impact hydropower, biogas,
or biofuels. Certified providers undergo an annual verification
process audit to document that the company purchased enough quantity
and type of renewable certificates to meet customer demand and marketing
claims. Each certified provider also agrees to abide by the Green-e
Code of Conduct, and to submit marketing materials to CRS to meet
Green-e disclosure and truth-in-advertising requirements.
Green-e certified TRC providers now include:
For further information, please contact Center for Resource Solutions
(CRS) at (415) 561-2100, or visit the website(s) www.resource-solutions.org
or www.green-e.org. CRS is a nonprofit
organization that encourages sustainable growth and promotes the
use of clean energy.
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