How are VERs and RECs different?
A Verified Emission Reduction (VER) is a reduction of one ton of greenhouse gas carbon equivalent resulting from a variety of project activities: methane capture, sustainable forestry, fuel switching etc. Companies use VERs to “balance” emissions of GHGs produced in one place by procuring GHG reductions from somewhere else. This procurement is usually done after making attempts to reduce emissions and if there are no available clean substitutes. A Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) represents one megawatt hour (MWh) of renewable electricity generated and delivered somewhere on the power grid. Each MWh of clean renewable electricity results in one less MWh of dirty power. Therefore a Renewable Energy Certificate also represents the environmental benefits of replacing dirty power with clean power. Since all homes and businesses use electricity that causes significant GHG emissions, 3Degrees recommends purchase of RECs to balance up to 100% of your electricity consumption. RECs are a way
