Parties to power purchase agreements (PPAs) may wish to provide for generation and environmental attributes, including renewable energy certificates (RECs), that meet the environmental quality standards established by the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) as part of its Green-e® certification program for renewable energy. CRS recommends the language below to provide for Green-e® certification.
CRS does not recommend or support agreements purporting to require other than Green-e® certified renewable energy or environmental attributes, and expressly disavows terms such as “Green-e® eligible” or “Green-e® certifiable,” which CRS does not recognize and do not have any meaning for the purposes of Green-e® certification. Further, “Green-e” is a trademark of CRS, registered in the United States; unauthorized use may constitute trademark infringement.
Standardized PPA Language
Applicable Standard: The Green-e® Renewable Energy Standard for Canada and the United States (version 3.4 or its successor version) as administered by the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS).
Green-e® Certification: Seller* shall be responsible, at Seller’s sole cost, for certification of energy and Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) in the form of certificates issued in accordance with the Applicable Standard. Seller is responsible, at Seller’s cost, for transferring the certified RECs to Buyer’s Account in a Tracking System. In some cases, Buyer may be responsible at Buyer’s cost for maintaining Buyer’s Account in a Tracking System during the term of the PPA. Seller also shall be responsible for the submission of an active Green-e® Energy Tracking Attestation Form administered by the Center for Resource Solutions for the Project(s) or Facility(ies). The Parties acknowledge that nothing in this Agreement grants any right to or authorizes the use of any logos or marks associated with Green-e® certification and that such permission must be obtained directly from CRS.
Green-e® Verification and Audit Costs: Seller shall be responsible, at its sole cost, for all requirements of the annual verification audit (including the selection and appointment of any required third party auditor) as set forth under the terms and conditions of the Applicable Standard, as further subject to any agreement with CRS for certification under the Applicable Standard.
* Although, under CRS’s form language, Seller bears these obligations, the parties to the PPA may wish to allocate these obligations to the Buyer. Nothing in the Green-e® certification requirements prohibits such an allocation. However, only a party that has entered into a certification agreement with CRS is permitted to use Green-e® logos and marks, subject to the terms and conditions of such agreement with a certification agreement. A Buyer wishing to use a Green-e® logo may prefer to be responsible for obtaining certification.