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Green-e® Energy Stakeholder Comment Period Open for Consumers Energy “Renewable Energy Program” and “Solar Gardens”

Comments accepted through Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Dear Green-e® Energy Stakeholders,

Consumers Energy is pursuing Green-e® Energy Certification for the “Renewable Energy Program”. The Renewable Energy Program is a voluntary green pricing offering allowing all residential and business customers to match 1 to 100% of their monthly electric energy usage with Michigan-based solar or wind assets at ~$0.064/kWh while receiving the value of the capacity and energy credits in its entirety. This product meets the requirements in the Green-e® Renewable Energy Standard for Canada and the United States.

Consumers Energy is also pursuing Green-e® Energy Certification for “Solar Gardens”. The program is a voluntary green pricing offering allowing all residential and business customers to subscribe to either 150 or 500 watt blocks up to their annual electric usage with Michigan-based solar assets at $0.16/kWh while receiving the value of the capacity and energy credits in its entirety. This product meets the requirements in the Green-e® Renewable Energy Standard for Canada and the United States.

At this time, Consumers Energy is seeking certification for the Renewable Energy Program and Solar Gardens products, which meet the requirements outlined in the Green-e® Renewable Energy Standard for Canada and the United States and the Green-e® Energy Code of Conduct for Canada and the United States, as highlighted below.

  • New Renewables: Resources that are allocated to the program or procured will meet the requirement for beginning operation or having been repowered or approved for extended use according to the “New Date” as listed in the Standard.
  • Renewable Energy Credit (REC) Tracking: The RECs generated from the facilities meet the requirements set forth in the Standard and will be tracked in the Michigan Renewable Energy Certification System (MIRECS). Consumers Energy will then retire these RECs on behalf of the Renewable Energy Program or Solar Gardens customers by transferring the designated RECs into the MIRECS retirement sub-account established for that calendar year's program. These RECs will not count towards Consumers Energy Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) targets.
  • Verification Audit: Consumers Energy plans to choose a third-party auditor, from the Green-e preselected vendor list, to perform a detailed audit in Q1 of 2025.
  • Marketing Compliance Review (MCR): Consumers Energy will be participating in the annual MCR where the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) staff confirms that Consumers Energy is not making false or misleading statements about their product and that they have made pricing, power, and contract disclosure to customers in a standardized format. In addition to the MCR, Consumers Energy is submitting the program marketing materials to CRS to review in advance of the program launch which is currently scheduled for 2025.
  • RPS Requirements: Consumers Energy is required to meet any state or federal RPS requirements, legislation, or settlement agreements. Consumers Energy will comply with the Green-e® requirements for regulatory additionality by procuring renewables additional to state RPS requirements for this voluntary product, with the exception of customers signed up for the 100% level (to avoid over-procuring).

This 21-day stakeholder comment process is your opportunity to weigh in on the product offering to make sure it meets your needs and expectations. Comments will be provided to the applicant and the Green-e® Governance Board; the Board will review the application, comments, and responses, and consider whether to approve the application for certification of Consumers Energy’s Renewable Energy Program and Solar Gardens products as submitted or to suggest changes.

 

The application is available for download below. If you would like to review the Standard or other governing documents, visit Green-e® Energy Documents.

CRS is accepting stakeholder comments on the application for 21 days—please submit any comments by Wednesday, December 18, 2024. Comments can be sent to info@green-e.org. Please feel free to forward this to other interested parties. Any comments received may be posted on the Green-e® website.

Thank you in advance for your review and feedback on this application.

REVIEW "SOLAR GARDENS" APPLICATION

REVIEW "RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAM" APPLICATION