Work with vendors or the utility to determine the cost of purchasing RECs and carbon offsets for at least a two-year period. Check the cost for achieving each point threshold, and use it to conduct a cost-benefit analysis.
Calculate the total annual energy use for the building, and separate electricity use from purchased steam, natural gas, propane, or fuel oil consumed onsite.
Numerous companies offer RECs and carbon offsets—check the Green-e website for listings. The products are commodities that do not need to have any electrical or geographical connection to the project building.
RECs must be used to meet electricity use in the building, while carbon offsets must be used to meet energy use from purchased steam, natural gas, propane and fuel oil.
Determine if Green-e certified RECs and carbon offsets can be purchased through the building’s utility or power provider, or choose a third party to purchase from.
Third-party financing for renewable energy systems is offered in some places as part of a power purchase agreement (PPA). These systems may be installed on a building site with no upfront cost to the building owner.
Some buildings producing onsite renewable energysell RECs to help finance the systems. Selling the RECs means that someone else can claim the environmental benefits of that power (potentially helping them with this LEED credit). That precludes you from counting that power toward this credit however.
Net metering allows the building to sell back any excess electricity produced by renewable energy systems, and is usually an important financial piece. Varying price structures are offered, though, and net metering is not offered in all states. Check with your utility.
