The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the grid operator for most of the state, issued more than 13 million renewable energy certificates (RECs) in 2008, including a record increase in voluntary participation to support environmental initiatives.
The state's 135 competitive retail electricity providers retired 6.74 million RECs in order to satisfy the annual mandate within the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS). An additional 6.77 million RECs were retired in the voluntary market to substantiate green energy purchases, far surpassing last year's 1.6 million.
Under the Texas program, retail electric providers must acquire and retire RECs based on their load-ratio share of the RPS' annual mandate. In addition, electric providers may retire RECs voluntarily to substantiate claims of green energy to consumers.
‘The REC program in Texas is the longest running and the most active in the nation,’ says Bob Kahn, ERCOT's CEO. ‘And, it is accomplishing its goal of helping to bring clean, renewable resources into Texas at a record pace.’
SOURCE: The Electric Reliability Council of Texas
