Whats the difference between a REC and a Carbon Offset?
All RECs from qualifying new generators represent the environmental attributes of renewable power, principally the fact that producing that power causes less, or no, pollution. When you buy an amount of wind-generated RECs equal to your electricity consumption, you are legally entitled to claim that you are wind powered, and that your electricity use does not contribute to global warming. In other words, all wind RECs can convert your electricity to wind power. However, for a REC to be used to offset emissions from driving, flying or heating your home, it must be from a project that would not have been implemented without the opportunity to realize revenues for the carbon reductions (in other words, it must be “additional” to business-as-usual – see “what’s the importance of additionality, below”), and not all renewable energy projects can say that. The other difference is that carbon offsets can be from non-electric sources, such as using heat given off by electric generators to reduc
