Here in NYC, most costumers choose to purchase supply from a third party source, such as an ESCO, that is independent of their utility provider. Many of these suppliers have a green option, that will allow you to purchase 100% wind, as an example. Now assuming the owner has a PPA program in place with the third party to supply 100% of their consumption with green energy, the agreement is good for 2 years, and that the program is Green-e certified, will this satisfy the requirement of credit? I was hoping yes, but based upon the discussion here, it seems as though, you must pre-purchase 2 years of REC's based upon your EAc1 calculations, which may have little to do with your actual consumption. Sounds like a very expensive proposition.
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Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5909 thumbs up
June 27, 2014 - 10:31 am
In many cases RECs are far cheaper than the green power premium but each offering can be different. You might want to look at it both ways.
The REC option is the most commonly used way to earn EAc6 but it is not the only way.
You can engage in a green power purchase based on your actual consumption that meets the criteria you mention to satisfy the credit requirements.
Kathryn West
LEED AP BD+C, O+M, Green Globes ProfessionalJLL
154 thumbs up
June 27, 2014 - 10:38 am
I concur with Marcus.
Some other input: they probably don't have a PPA; those are usually for much longer terms. They may have a contract but I wouldn't call signing up with an ESCO a "PPA." If the contract is not for ≥ two years then you may have to provide backup documentation to the reviewer to support the claim that the commitment is in place for two years.
I'd encourage you to get a price quote from a supplier like Renewable Choice, Sterling Planet, 3Degrees, or Carbon Solutions Group- it will probably save you money and bring up fewer questions.
For LEED purposes you just need "national Green-e" from "any technology."
Jamison Hill
Energy Engineer/LEED ConsultantCommunity Environmental Center
3 thumbs up
June 27, 2014 - 10:44 am
I agree to some extent, but it may be hard to tell my owner, to purchase a large quantity of something upfront that does nothing to their actual overall energy consumption, and doesn't replace utility purchase power, even if in the long-run it is cheaper, although I do see the validity in your arguments, and it is an easy ID LEED point and does look good for PR.
Kathryn West
LEED AP BD+C, O+M, Green Globes ProfessionalJLL
154 thumbs up
June 27, 2014 - 10:50 am
yeah, a lot of owners don't like to purchase RECs because the benefit is less tangible than other investments.Sometimes I'm able to show owners the actual projects their REC money supports. Lately I have been promoting EAc6 as one of my favorite LEED credits though because it is just so straightforward compared to some of the other credits I've had the pleasure of working through :)
If you pursue the credit it's good to get the lowest possible price on the electron and the lowest possible price on the REC rather than buying them "bundled." That is, if you want to save money more than you want the convenience of having 1 supplier.