International Renewable Energy Certificate

In short

Tradable attribute certificates evidencing one MWh of renewable generation.

What it is

The I-REC for electricity is an Energy Attribute Certificate issued under the International Attribute Tracking Standard maintained by the I-TRACK Foundation, with the electricity product code operated by Evident. The certificate records the attributes of electricity generation, including the energy source, so the origin of renewable electricity can be tracked and claimed. One I-REC represents one megawatt-hour of electricity produced and delivered. It is an attribute certificate for electricity and does not by itself represent a greenhouse gas emission reduction credit.

What it rewards

The reward is a credit called a Renewable Energy Certificate (I-REC). One credit stands for one megawatt-hour of renewable electricity that was generated. One MWh of renewable generation, evidenced and retired. A whole period of work is issued as one batch of credits at a time, in the same way a registry issues a batch.

What gets measured

To earn I-REC credits, a project has to measure and prove a few things. An independent reviewer checks the evidence before any credits are issued.

• The generating device: what technology it uses, how big it is and when it started running.

• The energy it actually produced in the period, read straight from the meter.

Who takes part

• Issuer. Operates the registry and issues certificates.

• Registrant. Registers production devices and requests issuance.

• Inspector. Audits device registration and metering evidence.

How it works

1. 1

   The owner registers the device that produces the energy.

2. 2

   An inspector checks that the registration is accurate.

3. 3

   The owner reports the energy generated in the period.

4. 4

   The inspector verifies the meter readings.

5. 5

   One certificate is issued for each unit of clean energy produced.