Kansas Green Tags

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 Green tags (also known as green energy certificates, tradable renewable certificates, and renewable energy certificates (REC), are the "green attributes" of renewable energy production.  The "green attributes" are separate from the physical electrons, which power our lights, computers and other electronic equipment, and are those features that make  renewable energy attractive compared to more traditional energy sources - reduced impact on air and water quality, non-finite resource, the replacement of energy from traditional fuels. Most REC's or Green Tags are sold for the equivalent of 1,000 kwh (or 1 MWh) of electricity.  Many green tags are "certified", meaning that an organization ensures that the REC's you buy are backed up by equivalent renewable electricity generation.  Read here for more on Green Tags.

News

Kansas

Solar project to highlight alternative power
(Lawrence Journal-World, Jan. 28, 2007)

Lawrence OKs purchase of energy 'green tags'
(Lawrence Journal-World, September 27, 2006)

Midwest Music Festival Enjoys Green Grass, Green Trees and Green Energy
(Bonneville Environmental Foundation Press Release, June 1, 2006)

Sprint soon to rely on wind farm
(Kansas City Star, April 29, 2006)
(Registration required)

Sprint Nextel buys wind-based power from KCP&L
(Kansas City Business Journal, April 28, 2006)

Power plant hopes 'green tags' will help it and the environment
(Lawrence Journal-World, April 22, 2006)

Lawrence Journal-World Set to Deliver "Green News"
(Bonneville Environmental Foundation Press Release, April 20, 2006)

Renewable energy to power Journal-World’s presses
(Lawrence Journal-World, April 19, 2006)

National

The Wind Power Card, Whole Foods Market, and the end of dinosaur thinking
(Grist Magazine, November 9, 2006)

Wind Power Cards, Whole Foods, and you
(Grist Magazine, November 4, 2006)

Harness the wind using a power card
Whole Foods selling credits for electricity
(Rocky Mountain News, Nov. 1, 2006)

Virgin: The 'green' energy credits that aren't
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 5, 2006)

Capital Pollution Solution?
(New York Times Magazine, July 30, 2006)
(Registration Required)

Whole Foods makes wind-power history
(Rocky Mountain News, Jan. 11, 2006)

Ask Umbra: Green Tag, You're It
(Grist Magazine, March 7, 2005)

Resources

Buying Green Power - EERE

Green power markets overview - EERE

Renewable Energy Certificates - EERE

Reports

Guide to Purchasing Green Power: Renewable Electricity, Renewable Energy Certificates and On-Site Renewable Generation, Golove, W., R. Brown, and E. Holt, September 2004, Lawrence-Berkeley Lab, LBNL-59965. (PDF - 989 kb)

Emerging Markets for REC's: Opportunities and Challenges, Holt, Edward and Lori Bird, NREL/TP-620-37388. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, January 2005. (PDF 1.9 MB)

Emerging Markets for REC's: Opportunities and Challenges, Holt, Edward and Lori Bird, North American Windpower, July 2005. (PDF 124 KB)

Who owns renewable energy certificates? An exploration of policy options and practice, Holt, Edward A., R. Wiser & M. Bollinger, April 2006,  Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, April. LBNL-59965. (PDF 376 KB)

Certification

Green-e - renewable electricity certification program, administered by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions

REC Marketers

Zephyr Energy Green Tags - Lawrence, KS-based. Affiliated with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation

Renewable Energy Certificate Marketers - a list provided by the DOE's EERE office

Kansas Green Tag Purchasers

Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 Office - Kansas City, KS.
Purchases 4.45 million kilowatt hours (kWh) worth of renewable energy certificates (RECs) from the Gray Country Wind Farm near Montezuma, Kansas offsetting 100% of the Regional Office's electricity needs.

Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 Science and Technology Lab - Kansas City, KS.
Purchases 3.85 million kilowatt hours (kWh) worth of renewable energy certificates (RECs) from the Gray Country Wind Farm near Montezuma, Kansas offsetting 100% of the electricity needs at EPA’s Science and Technology Center.

Lawrence Journal-World - newspaper, Lawrence, KS. Purchases enough green tags  from Zephyr Energy to off-set the energy used to print the daily paper.

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Last modified: 10/10/2012
The current URL is www.kansasenergy.org/greentags.htm