Green-e® Renewable Energy Standard for Canada and the U.S. Updated to v4.0
Dear Green-e® Energy program participants,
We are excited to announce the approval of version 4.0 of the Green-e® Renewable Energy Standard for Canada and the United States by the Green-e® Governance Board, after several stakeholder comment periods and much discussion. The changes to the Standard reflect our commitment to promoting high-quality renewable electricity development and generation, and the environmental benefits of such generation in place of fossil fuels. Updates to this version of the Standard include:
- Changes to the eligibility criteria of gaseous biomass, in order to bring consistency between this Standard and the Green-e® Renewable Fuels Standard
- Further clarity on the interaction of the Green-e® Energy program with state and local regulatory programs
- The inclusion of off-grid renewables that meet specific criteria
- Requiring all generators above 2 MW in capacity that provide supply to certified sales to be registered in an approved tracking system unless certain exceptions are met (previously the capacity cutoff was 10 MW)
- An overhaul of the section of the Standard focused on regulated utility products to add clarity and fully account for new types of long-term tariff products
- Changes to Appendix A to remove out-of-date references, to add clarity, and to account for Pennsylvania's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
The new Green-e® 4.0 Standard as well as a redlined version showing all changes from the previous version of the Standard are available at Green-e® Energy Documents.
As per Section VI of the Standard, current Green-e® Energy participants have a period of one year to account for all changes to eligibility criteria and to bring their products into compliance. Current participants may also apply for a continued use Exception for a facility that would otherwise become ineligible under Version 4.0 of the Standard using the Green-e® Energy Extended Use Worksheet.
If you have any questions about the new version of the Standard or about the extended use process, please feel free to contact us directly.
About Green-e® Certification and Center for Resource Solutions
The Green-e® certification program is run by the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions, and is the leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market. CRS offers certification and verification services through Green-e® Energy, a renewable energy certification program; Green-e® Climate, a greenhouse gas emission reduction certification program; Green-e® Marketplace, a program that provides forward-thinking organizations a simple, internationally recognized logo they can use to communicate their renewable energy and climate commitment to their customers and stakeholders; and Green-e® Renewable Fuels, a biomethane certification program. To learn more about Green-e® certified products and programs, visit www.green-e.org.