Here are a few reliable resources to help you learn more about renewable energy, RECs, carbon offsets, and carbon accounting best practices.
Climate Action Reserve: The only program that has been endorsed by regulators in California and Pennsylvania and is the expected standard for any future U.S. carbon market.
Climate Action Reserve Landfill Gas Protocol: The full protocol with guidance for accounting for CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent)...
Reflection on the Seattle Trade Alliance's 2012 Cleantech Business Mission to China
Oct 8, 2012
American cleantech entrepreneurs are compelled to spit out facts and figures about China’s miraculous renewable energy achievements; Industry executives breathlessly recite the latest Chinese “production capacity” and “cost per watt” data at conferences and coffee shops from Seattle to New Jersey. As one of these entrepreneurs, I hoped that a visit to China would add context to the incredible statistics that summarize the Chinese cleantech...
Corporate Sustainability: Getting Leaders to Buy-In
Sep 28, 2012
Recently, I had the privilege of attending the Retail Industry Leaders Association Retail Sustainability Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The three-day event focused on information sharing between some of the country’s largest retail organizations. Thursday’s evening session, “Pitching Sustainability to Top Executives” included a panel of top marketing executives from REI, Target, Costco and Schneider Electric. Below are some of the questions...
Purchased electricity accounts for more than 40 percent of campus emissions at U.S. colleges and universities. For most schools, it is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. As an increasing number of facilities managers examine how to support their institution’s sustainability initiatives, purchased electricity holds an enormous opportunity for reducing emissions.
While the cleanest (and cheapest) electricity will always...
WHAT ARE REC TRACKING SYSTEMS?
There are nine electronic REC tracking systems in the U.S. which exist to provide the most transparent assurance that RECs are based on actual metered electric production at renewable energy projects, and that RECs are not double counted. [The tracking systems are: WREGIS; M-RETS; Texas REC; PJM-EIS; NEPOOL GIS; MI-RECS; NC-RETS; North American Renewable Registry (NARR); and NVTREC.
HOW DO THEY WORK?
These...
Understanding the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC)
Mar 26, 2012
What is a REC?
A renewable energy certificate (REC) is created when one megawatt-hour (MWh) of renewable electricity is fed into the power grid. A REC represents the positive environmental benefits associated with renewable energy generation. Renewable energy facilities generate electrons that are no different from the electrons generated by coal or nuclear. The benefits of renewable energy stem from the environmentally-friendly way in...
OneEnergy Renewables Finds New REC Inventory Source in PáTu Wind Project
Jan 4, 2012
The 9-megawatt (MW) PáTu wind project is a small, community-owned wind farm nestled among 850 MW of wind power behemoths: the Klondike and Biglow Canyon wind farms in Sherman County, Ore. The wind farm, which consists of six GE 1.5-megawatt (MW) turbines, was developed by Ormand and Jeff Hilderbrand on land their family has been farming for more than a century. The project is the first community-owned wind farm in Oregon, and one of only...
Karbone Structures 20-Year REC Off-Take Agreement for Oregon Community Wind Project with Seattle City Light and OneEnergy Renewables.
Karbone, a full service environmental commodities firm, today announced it has successfully structured and closed two long-term off-take agreements for renewable energy certificates (RECs). The agreements are for the next 20 years of full capacity power generation from PáTu Wind Farm LLC (PáTu Wind), a...
OneEnergy Renewables Raises Funding for Large Generators
Oct 7, 2011
While the recent collapse of California solar-equipment maker Solyndra raises questions about the competitiveness of America’s solar power industry, one Seattle clean energy developer has received a vote of confidence from investors.
OneEnergy Renewables says it has raised nearly $1 million in its latest investment round, including $345,000 in capital from clean-tech nonprofit Northwest Energy Angels.
To OneEnergy CEO Bryce Smith, the...
Climate Action Offsetter: The Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle
Sep 2, 2011
Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle is a luxury hotel located in the innovative South Lake Union neighborhood in Seattle, home to cutting edge technology companies and innovative life sciences organizations. In 2010, the hotel made a conscious decision to institute a comprehensive sustainability program called PanEarth, which honors the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit.
The program began as a conscious effort to place sustainable and...
Going green is proving the way to get in the black on balance sheets and, apparently, in the good graces of planners. And as the hotel industry continues to pick up speed, companies are embracing new energy-saving technologies, sustainability initiatives and environmentally friendly programs aimed at achieving both these results. Do the fancy new bells and whistles really soften a hotel's operating footprint on the planet, or is it all...
Globally Responsible Practices Important to Business Travelers
May 25, 2011
According to a Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle survey of top corporate clients, globally responsible practices make a significant difference when choosing a hotel for business travel or professional meetings. Developing innovative sustainability initiatives is a priority for David Sullivan, general manager for the 160-room property, located in Seattle’s South Lake Union district. In an effort to neutralize environmental impact, the hotel recently...
Center for Resource Solutions announced today that OneEnergy Renewables' new renewable energy certificate (REC) product "OneEnergy Wind RECs" is now Green-e® Energy Certified. OneEnergy Renewables joins the growing network of renewable energy providers that offer products certified by Green-e Energy, the nation's leading certification and verification program for renewable energy.
"We commend OneEnergy Renewables for offering its customers...
