Clean Energy Accounting Project: Standard Delivery Renewable Energy

Accounting for Standard
Delivery Renewable Energy
March 16, 2021
© 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.

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Today’s Agenda
• Welcome
• Project and Report Overview
• Speakers:
• Todd Jones, Center for Resource Solutions
• James Critchfield, US Environmental Protection Agency
• Holly Lahd, Target Corporation
• Q&A

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Nongovernmental Organization (NGO)
creating policy and market solutions to
advance sustainable energy since 1997.
• Education, including the Renewable Energy
Markets annual conference
• Green-e® certification for suppliers and users of
renewable energy and carbon offsets in the
voluntary market
• Renewable energy policy and market development
Center for
Resource Solutions

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Develops standardized, stakeholder-reviewed clean energy
and GHG emissions accounting guidance and best practices
Addresses outstanding questions in voluntary and regulatory
markets
Focus areas include:
• Accounting for Clean Energy Use
• Hourly Renewable Energy Accounting
• Renewable Energy Impact Metrics
• Clean Energy Storage
• Regulatory Policy
Clean Energy Accounting Project (CEAP)
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To Learn More: www.resource-solutions.org/CEAP

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Accounting for
Standard Delivery
Renewable Energy.
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Voluntary
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• Active purchases of renewable energy
• Driven by consumer preference for
certain types of renewables
• Allows customers to reduce impact of
their electricity use
• Reduces available REC supply,
providing an indirect signal to the
market to develop new renewable
generation
• Provides opportunities for consumers
directly impact new renewable energy
development
• No active procurement
• Provided on behalf of all customers
• Delivery typically driven by
government mandate, utility targets,
or where renewables are a cost-
effective resource
• As renewable energy targets grow
toward 100%, ability to include
Standard Delivery Renewable Energy
avoids over procurement
• Can be difficult to identify credible
data
• Use is not directly impactful
Standard Delivery

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• Different accounting approaches creating uncertainty and
limiting voluntary commitments
• Lack of clarity around what is needed and available to
support credible claims
Problem Statement
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Objectives
• Clarify when the use of Standard Delivery Renewable
Energy may be credibly reported by customers
• Identify existing and needed resources that may help
companies account for Standard Delivery Renewable
Energy and associated GHG emissions

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Survey
Workshop 1: Identify Consensus
• Supporting Document: Recognition of
Standard Delivery Renewable Energy
in Different Programs and Standards
Workshop 2: Data Focus
• Supporting Document: Data Sources:
Accounting for Standard Delivery
Renewable Energy
Final Report
Approach
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Stakeholders
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• Maya Kelty, 3Degrees
• Chris Roe, Amazon
• Matt Panopio, Amazon
• Devon Walton, APX
• Charles Eley, Architecture 2030
• Pedro Faria, CDP
• Ed Holt, Ed Holt & Assoc.
• Adam Cooper, Edison Electric Institute
• James Critchfield, US Environmental Protection
Agency
• Travis Johnson, US Environmental Protection Agency
• Ben Gerber, M-RETS Inc.
• Jenny Heeter, National Renewable Energy Lab
• Andrew Glumac, RE100
• Priya Barua, Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance
• Holly Lahd, Target Corporation
• Chelsea Hasenauer, The Climate Registry
• Michelle Zilinskas, The Climate Registry
• Jeff Deyette, Union of Concerned Scientists
• Lori Bird, World Resources Institute
• Heidi Ratz, World Resources Institute
• Norma Hutchinson, World Resources Institute
• Dan Sobrisnki, WSP
• Katie Eisenbrown, WSP
• Dara Ward, Xcel Energy
• Lauren Quillian, Xcel Energy
• Nick Martin, Xcel Energy

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Supporters
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The findings outlined in this report are supported by:

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About the
report.
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• Accounting for Consumption of Renewable Energy
• Standard Delivery Renewable Energy Data
• Potential Data Criteria and Considerations
• Reporting Actively Procured and Standard Delivery
Renewable Energy
What’s Included?
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Standard Delivery Renewable Energy may be credibly
reported by a customer as consumed renewable
energy and by a provider as delivered renewable
energy when the attributes of the renewable energy
are retained or retired on behalf of the customer (or a
group including the customer), and other established
requirements for credible renewable electricity usage
claims are met.
Consumers and leadership recognition programs may
require that renewable energy consumption used to
meet a target meet additional criteria.
Consensus Statement:
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Todd Jones
Center for Resource Solutions
Standard Delivery Renewable
Energy Data
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The data needed to substantiate credible claims to
Standard Delivery Renewable Energy is inconsistent
and often unavailable.
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Chapter 01.
Data Categories
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1. Supplier-specific data
2. Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) compliance data
3. Residual mix data
4. Grid mix or grid average data
For resource mix (fuel type) or GHG emissions (CO
2
or CO
2
e) or
both.
Data Source Categories
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Information about GHG emissions or the resource mix
representing the portfolio of resources used (owned or
procured) for retail customers or sales.
Renewable energy included in a standard offer or default
product may be considered Standard Delivery Renewable
Energy.
• Databases
• Individual utility programs
• Power source disclosure (PSD)
• RPS compliance (separate category)
Supplier-specific Data
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Information about load-serving entity (LSE) or state-wide
compliance with state regulatory mandates that require LSEs to
supply a percentage of retail sales with renewable resources.
May represent a percentage of renewable energy delivered to,
and that may be claimed by, all utility customers.
RPS Data
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In general, “untracked or unclaimed energy and emissions,” or
“publicly shared electricity.”
In practice, residual mix may be calculated as:
• Energy production/generation data that factors out voluntary
renewable energy purchases; or
• The generation attributes remaining after all specified power
and renewable energy certificate (REC) purchases are
removed from the system (i.e. “unsettled” generation).
Residual Mix Data
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Production data for a certain area.
Can account for imports and exports.
Typically, does not represent delivered electricity.
May include Standard Delivery Renewable Energy as well as all
other renewable energy located in a certain area.
Grid Mix Data
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Chapter 02.
Variation Between and Within
Data Categories
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1. Data format and unit.
2. Included energy resources.
3. Delivered vs. produced electricity.
4. Methodologies.
5. Verification.
6. Transparency.
7. Scope.
8. Frequency.
Areas of Variability Across Data
Categories
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To support a credible renewable energy
use claim, data must represent delivered
electricity, and reflect transactions of
specified generation and attributes (e.g.,
RECs).
Consumers with operations across
service territories or regions may need to
rely on multiple data sources with
different characteristics.

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Variation within Data Categories
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Data Subcategory Areas of Inconsistency
Supplier-specific
Databases and Utility
Program Data
• Detail of the methodology
• Verification requirements
• Treatment of null power
• Vintage requirements
• Bundling requirements
• Scope
State-required
Supplier-specific Data
(e.g. PSD)
• Electricity generated vs. delivered
• Renewable energy definitions
• Treatment of different types of procurement
• Requirement for standardized methodology
• Verification requirements

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Variation within Data Categories
Data Subcategory Areas of Inconsistency
Supplier-specific RPS
Compliance Data
• Renewable energy definitions
• Whether use of multipliers, deferred obligations,
alternative compliance are included or can be broken
out separately
• Vintage and banking requirements
• Treatment of distributed generation
• Calculation of RPS obligations
Regional Residual Mix
Data
• Scope/coverage
• Remove all specified vs. voluntary renewable energy
Regional Grid Average
Data
• Not delivered electricity data

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Chapter 03.
Data Credibility Criteria
and Quality Considerations
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1. The data describes delivered electricity.
2. Generation information within the data is accurate.
3. All ownable attributes that define the generation being
claimed are aggregated.
4. Attributes are exclusively owned by or retired on behalf of
the consumer (or a group including the customer) and not
double counted.
5. Attributes are not double claimed.
6. Generation occurs in the same market and relative
timeframe as consumption.
Credibility Criteria for Data Sources
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• Oversight.
• Transparency of methodology.
• Data scope and specificity.
• Environmental quality of renewable resources included.
• Publication frequency/age.
• Consistency with other data sources.
Additional Data Quality Considerations
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Accounting for Standard
Delivery Renewable Energy
Center for Resource Solution’s Clean Energy Accounting Project Webinar
James Critchfield, US EPA
March 16, 2021

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Reducing The Impact of Purchased Electricity
• How do consumers get their electricity?
• Self-generate
• Purchase electricity
• Electricity use is a significant source of emissions and air
pollution
• Consumers can reduce the environmental and health impacts
associated with electricity consumption by proactively choosing
how their power is generated
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Choice
• Choice is a powerful driver for change
• Consumers are increasingly making a choice in how their electricity
demand is met to address a range of issues including:
• Acheive RE targets
• Climate concerns
• Sustainability interests
• Cost considerations
• A consumer’s voluntary and proactive choice for how their power
demand is generated has shown itself to be a significant influence in
evolving the grid towards cleaner sources of generation
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Voluntary Consumer Action
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0
100
200
300
400
500
600
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (e) 2019 (e)
Million MWh
Year
Voluntary Green Power Is An Important Market Driver
34%
10%
35%
20%
Compliance New
Compliance Existing
Adapted from: NREL & LBNL (e): estimated Note: Does not include large hydro

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Claims
• Both electricity providers and consumers seek to make claims regarding the electricity
products they supply or consume
• Because physical electricity tells us little about its source or origin across a shared
utility grid, a parallel market instrument-based system is used to track, allocate and
substantiate generation and use of [renewable] electricity
• The energy attribute instrument used to substantiate renewable generation and use is called a
renewable energy certificate (REC)
• RECs underpin generation, delivery and usage claims and are used to reduce a
consumer’s emissions footprint under greenhouse gas accounting practices
• The “claimable” portions of the standard delivery grid mix are those that can be
substantiated based on market instruments and are available to the consumer
• A provider’s generation portfolio is not the same a delivery for claims and GHG reporting purposes
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Standard Delivery “Mix”
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Conventional Emitting Sources
Conventional Zero-Emitting Sources
Existing Renewables
State Renewable Energy Mandates
Utility Renewable Economic Investments
Consumption of a utility’s standard default delivered electricity product may include power from a “mix” of sources

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Standard Delivery RE Considerations
• Are electricity providers conveying the energy attributes to consumers from their above
compliance utility economic investments?
• Does the standard delivery mix of renewable resources meet nationally accepted
environmental standards in terms of resource quality?
• Is the electricity provider meeting the state renewable energy portfolio standards through
“banked” renewable energy certificates?
• Is the electricity provider meeting the state renewable portfolio standard by way of
alternative compliance payments, rather than delivery of generated renewable electricity?
• Can consumers credibly claim energy attributes from existing renewables components of
the standard delivery mix, such as utility-scale hydropower, which are not often issued
energy attribute instruments (e.g., RECs)?
• How should a consumer align their procurement strategy when the standard delivery mix
includes non-renewable zero-emitting generation, such as nuclear power, when the
consumer has both a renewable energy and GHG reduction target?
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Consumer Leadership
• Voluntary consumers seek to make a difference through their
proactive actions and preferences for specific sources of electricity
• To credibly make a difference, voluntary consumers should:
• Make a proactive choice for using green power
• Substantiate use of electricity from renewable resources with RECs
• Avoid double claims and double counting
• Ensure consumption of renewable generation is incremental and
surplus to what would have otherwise been available to the consumer
(e.g., regulatory surplus)
• Ensure the quality and content of a consumed resources meets national
standards for resource quality and content
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Green Power Leadership Awards
EPA Areas of Leadership and Impact
• Intention and Ambition – Organization’s intention and ambition to establish and achieve a renewable energy or
emissions reduction target using green power.
➢ Green Power Use – Organization’s voluntary and proactive green power use demonstrates leadership, drives demand,
and increases market impact.
• Communication – Organization’s communications related to green power use help raise awareness, provide social
proof, inspire others, and support market principles and best practices.
• Influence – Organization’s concrete actions to influence green power access and use within various communities.
These communities could include competitors, suppliers, employees, customers, and load-serving entities; communities
disproportionately burdened by environmental harms and risks, such as minority, low-income, and tribal communities;
and others.
• Transparency – Organization’s willingness to collaborate, share information, report data, and advance best practices
and market principles.
• Innovation, Sustainability, and Grid Improvements – Organization’s innovative actions help create a more
sustainable and improved grid to help accelerate the transition to a clean energy future. This includes actions around
the deployment of storage, electrification of operations, support of resilient grid infrastructure, and supporting market
principles and best practices
37
https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-leadership-awards

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Questions
James Critchfield
[email protected]
202-343-9442
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EPA’s Green Power Partnership
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+700 Partners
+70 billion kWh
used annually
The equivalent electricity use of
6.6 million average American homes
Partnership accounts for
43% of Voluntary Market
2%
of total US annual retail sales
+100 Green Power Communities
https://www.epa.gov/greenpower

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CASE STUDY: RENEWABLES FROM UTILITIES IN TARGET’S 100%
RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY GOAL
CRS Clean Energy Accounting Project Webinar
March 16, 2021

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Target’s Clean Energy Strategy and Journey
Energy
efficiency,
Demand
response
Rooftop
solar
Large-scale
renewable
energy
purchases
Renewable
partnerships
with utilities
Electric
vehicle
charging
Renewable
energy in
supply chain
2003 -> 2016 -> 2017 ->

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Renewable Electricity Projects Contribute to Corporate Goals
Behind-the-Meter
Onsite Solar
Utility Green Tariff
Agreements
Utility Generation
Supply
Virtual Power
Purchase Agreements
100% Renewable
Electricity Goal
Scope 2 GHG
Emissions Reduction
Goal
Company Goals
Renewable Energy Sources (w/ RECs)
Scope 3 GHG
Emissions Reduction
Goal

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Target is served by hundreds of U.S. utilities

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Values of RE Accounting Guidance
Clean
Energy
Standards
Utility RE
procurement
Voluntary RE
procurement
Aligns
Accounting and
Public Policy
Value of RE
Procurement
Complementary
not
Competitive
• Begins to connect load, supply, and RE project location in accounting guidance
• for reporters with multiple facilities across regions
• Provides consistency among reporting companies
• Reduces uncertainty => more goal adoption?

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Q & A
Holly Lahd
Target Corporation

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Thank You.
Peggy Kellen
POLICY DIRECTOR
[email protected]
415-568-4289
Todd Jones
POLICY DIRECTOR
[email protected]
415-561-2118
www.resource-solutions.org

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Clean Energy Accounting Project: Standard Delivery Renewable Energy

Clean Energy Accounting Project: Standard Delivery Renewable Energy

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Clean Energy Accounting Project: Standard Delivery Renewable Energy

Clean Energy Accounting Project: Standard Delivery Renewable Energy

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