Green Power Purchasing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Can I use my electric utility’s green pricing or green tariff program for my GHG accounting?

Short answer

You should not. Most of these programs are tied back to RECs, GOs, or PPAs. See Should I use the “location-based” or “market-based” method to estimate my corporate Scope 2 GHG emissions?.

Long explanation

Utility green pricing programs take a variety of forms in how they are financially structured. Many are built upon REC and GO transactions and entail simply allocating claims to existing renewable energy generation to these premium paying customers. Some programs report to use the revenue from the tariff premium to invest in new RE capacity; however, in these cases, utilities are also inappropriately mixing consequential and attributional GHG accounting applications and concepts.