Global Renewables & Carbon Marketplace Current Events

Revised RE100 guidance seeks to limit greenwashing & distinguish European market boundaries

Guidance on achieving 100% renewable electricity is becoming more stringent for RE100 members. The organization made changes to their guidelines in October, which will go into effect on January 1, 2024.

The first change is targeted at avoiding global greenwashing, requiring corporations to procure renewable electricity from projects that have been commissioned or repowered within the last 15 years. This limit does not apply to self-generation or if a corporation is the original offtaker and extends the contract. There is also a 15% global threshold under which corporations can source renewable electricity without adhering to these rules. The new rule is expected to put some price pressure on PPAs and EACs, as it decreases the supply of projects that can be drawn on for RE100 compliance. It also may drive increased transparency in the lineage of EACs sold by retailers, as the online date of the renewable energy project the EACs are generated from will be a critical factor in whether a corporation wishes to purchase the product.

The second change impacts Europe: it considers a country to be part of the European market if the country is in the EU single market, is an Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB) member, and has a grid connection to another country that meets the first two rules. This will have no impact on corporations who were already aligning to the CDP disclosure system’s guidance, as this rule aligns to their established guidance. However, for corporations relying solely on RE100 guidance, they will now need to consider the UK, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Bulgaria as distinct markets starting in 2024. This could drive higher local EAC values, as corporations look to draw solely from in-country resources. As more countries gain AIB membership and more physical links are created, the pool of asset buying could expand for corporates.