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FAQs about EAc7 :

Can I still earn this credit through green power or RECs alone?

Do onsite renewables count? 

The owner has purchased RECs for a percentage of energy use of its whole portfolio of buildings, or whole campus. Can we earn this credit for a single LEED building with this purchase?

The owner purchased RECs / carbon offsets based on an earlier prediction, but our energy model is now showing that we are just a little short of the credit threshold. What should we do?

We will have cogeneration onsite. Do the credit requirements apply to all electricity used onsite, or only that which is purchased from the grid?

My project is not located in the U.S. Should I still use the emissions factors from the Energy Star program listed in the Reference Guide, or find something closer to home? 

My project is located in the U.S. Can I buy green power or offsets from another part of the world?

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Forum discussion

NC-v4 EAc7:Green power and carbon offsets

Carbon Offsets

Hello. I am new to the entire LEED topic, therefore I have some general questions. Moreover I would like to hear some recommendations. First of all, Carbon offsets must be Green-e certified. My questions is whether there are other certifications that comply with the LEED guidelines. The v4 allows to buy offsets for scope 1 and 2 emissions, if I understood it correctly. This feature was not available in the predecessors, so would you recommend to buy offsets or focus on RECs?

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Thu, 09/18/2014 - 10:27

I hope we will see interesting information about alternative paths in Europe in the next Alternative Compliance Paths. I think that the convenience of RECs or offsets depends on economical issues. Regards
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Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow
7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
4454 thumbs up

Thu, 09/18/2014 - 15:12

I heard the European ACPs are supposed to be coming out soon. My guess is that they will be announced at Greenbuild next month.

Sat, 10/11/2014 - 00:09

Hi, I have a similar question, CERs (Certified emissions reductions) can be considered as carbon-offsets for the credit? They are carbon credits from CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) projects. We want to use CERs from a CDM project approved by UFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).
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Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow
7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
4454 thumbs up

Sun, 11/02/2014 - 23:53

The European ACPs were released a couple of weeks ago. http://www.usgbc.org/resources/leed-2009-bdc-supplemental-reference-guide-alternative-compliance-paths-europe Projects in Europe may use EKO Energy or Guarantees of Origin (GOs) with additional parameters. More details in the RG supplement in the link above.
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Lise Dannesboe
Sustainability Manager
COWI
LEEDuser Premium Member
54 thumbs up

Wed, 06/13/2018 - 15:47

Hi Which are the additional parameters for the GO's? Kind regards, Lise
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Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow
7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
4454 thumbs up

Wed, 06/13/2018 - 17:08

Additional parameters are in the Reference Guide supplement link in my comment.

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