Victoria
New South Wales
South Australia
QueenslandWhen a company is looking to transition to 100% Renewable Energy or offset its Scope 2 emissions, there are several options available to achieve each outcome. To determine which option is the best fit for your organisation, you may consider internal environmental policies, external program requirements, and the financial outcome of each. Outlined below is a description of two of the primary contemplated options, Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Surrender and GreenPower®.
What is 100% Renewable Energy?
Renewable Energy is classed as a unit of energy that has had an equivalent volume of RECs surrendered against it, routinely a Large-Scale Generation Certificate (LGC) in Australia.
What are LGCs?
Large-Scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) are a type of renewable energy certificate, commonly referred to as RECs, and are a market-based instrument. LGCs are created for every megawatt-hour (MWh) of actual generated electricity that is produced by the renewable energy system. Companies may choose to surrender LGCs to the equivalent of their annual grid energy consumption to offset their Scope 2 emissions, and therefore deem the consumed electricity 100% renewable.
Considering the Renewable Power Percentage.
The Renewable Power Percentage (RPP) is a value set annually by the Clean Energy Regulator. This governs the volume of LGCs liable entities are required to surrender to meet their Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) obligations for 2023.
When determining the volume of LGCs required to be surrendered for your company, the RPP is subtracted from the total consumption profile. The power is then rounded up to the nearest whole megawatt hour to gain the equivalent volume of LGCs required.
What is GreenPower?
GreenPower® is a contracted type of electricity sold by an accredited GreenPower® provider. A GreenPower provider that sells you a GreenPower product commits to ensuring that an equivalent amount of LGCs are purchased from an accredited GreenPower generator, and surrendered for the volume of energy that you have consumed.
Is GreenPower or LGC Surrender More Favourable?
While the answer is subject to the requirements of each organisation, there are common factors that may be considered.
GreenPower is often favoured as a ‘set and forget’ renewable energy option due to its approach of ‘bundled’ electricity and LGCs. GreenPower is a government-administered program that adheres to strict compliance requirements.
Independent LGC surrender allows an organisation to select certificates that align with its internal ESG policies, as well as gain control over the financial value certificates are purchased for.
Why Choose Ecovantage?
Our team assists you from procurement of the appropriate certificate type, through to surrender and procure LGCs to meet your renewable energy goals. Ecovantage will offer the specificity you require, including specific technologies, project-specific sources, precise generation and vintage requirements, and tracking for every certificate batch.
Attaining 100% renewable energy is easy with Ecovantage. We assist you to evaluate the differences between GreenPower and LGC procurement, to ensure you have a complete view of each to determine the right fit for your organisation.
Get in touch today to discuss attaining renewable energy for your company.
Katie Tebbatt | Business Development Manager, Energy & Carbon Services
Katie specialises in Commercial Lighting (NSW, VIC & SA), Measurement & Verification, and energy certificates including LGCs & ACCUs.
