Green-e Energy Verification Auditor Webinar (RY2020)

Green-e® Energy staff hosted a webinar on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 for auditors that will conduct audits for Green-e® Energy participants in RY2020, in order to go over verification and materials, and to answer questions.

Transcript

1. AUDITOR VERIFICATION TRAINING Reporting Year 2020 (RY2020) Judy Chen MANAGER, CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS
2. Verification Overview PAGE 2 © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
3. Annual Verification Process PAGE 3 Who? Green-e® Energy Participants and an independent Auditor (CPA or CIA) What? An audit of Green-e® Energy Participants’ purchases and sales to make sure their products meet the Green-e® Energy Standard for Canada and the US and program rules When? Deadline: Due June 1, 2021 Covers all certified sales made in 2020 The verification software will open on March 1st, 2021 Where? www.green-e.org/verification/auditor © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
4. Agreed-Upon Procedures Report (Protocol &Training in Verification Software) PAGE 4 © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
5. Common Terms and Units PAGE 5 MWh- Megawatt-hour (1,000 kWh) kWh- Kilowatt-hour (kWh) REC- Renewable Energy Certificate Tracking System- An electronic database for tracking the sales and the ownership of Renewable Energy generation and the Renewable Energy Certificates associated with it Double Counting- Any situation where a MWh of renewable energy is being claimed by more than one party Resource Type- Type of renewable energy resource used: Solar, Wind, Hydro, etc. Participant- Utility, ESP, REC marketer that participates in Green-e® Energy by offering a Green-e® Certified renewable energy product © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
6. Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) PAGE 6 © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. Components of the Market: Renewable Energy Certificates. Fossil fuel generation produces commodity electricity. Renewable generation also produces electricity, but for every megawatt-hour of electricity generated, a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) is also produced. This REC embodies the additional environmental benefit of renewable energy—little or no pollution.
7. Annual Verification Process - Timeline PAGE 7 2020 2019 2021 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q2 Q3 Q4 21-month vintage window for RY2020 Calendar year for which sales should be reported for the RY2020 audit Reporting Year 2020 Sales: All certified sales made during Calendar Year 2020 (1/1/2020 – 12/31/2020) should be reported during RY2020 verification. Exception for Wholesale - wholesale sales in 2021 may be eligible for RY2020 if they are 1) certified wholesale transactions and 2) the purchaser is a Green-e® participant who uses that generation for their RY2020 retail sales. Supply: All supply used to substantiate certified sales must have been generated: • In the calendar year in which it’s sold (2020); or • During the first 3 months of the following calendar year (Jan – Mar 2021); or • During the last 6 months of the prior calendar year (July – Dec 2019). © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
8. What’s new in RY2020? PAGE 8 • AICPA reference • Large Sale • VA in RGGI • No sales into New Jersey • General bug fixes RY2019 • Tracking System Reports – NAR, M-RETS, PJM- GATS • Tracking System Requirement • No sales into Maryland © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
9. Reminders for RY2020 PAGE 9 “New Date” for facilities used toward 2020 sales is 2006. Facilities in RGGI, Michigan, California or delivering electricity to the CA grid may require additional documentation. More information can be found in the Protocol. The Tracking Attestation is online. Facilities registered in a tracking system that did not submit a tracking attestation by February 1st, 2021 must upload a confirmation email to the software to show that a tracking attestation has been submitted and/or approved. If a Participant is using your audit firm for the first time this year or you are a new auditor, make sure the Participant sends us the auditor’s contact information if they have not already. Green-e® Direct Audit to be completed by Auditors for Participants with a certified Green-e® Direct Product. Green-e® Direct + Marketplace Audit Protocol to be completed by Auditors for Participants that are in both Green-e® Direct and Green-e® Marketplace Programs. © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
10. Reminders for RY2020 PAGE 10 © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. Participant can identify the Auditor in the software for RY2020 before submitting the data to them. Once the verification data has been submitted to Auditor, you can unlock individual sections for your Participants to revise, without unlocking all of your data. All contracts for supply must be signed, dated, and executed no later than June 1st, 2021. The price and volume of the supply must also be determined at or before this time. Delivery of the supply must be taken by Participant in the form of transfers through a Tracking System or receipt of completed Green-e® Energy attestation forms by this date. Historical PCL must have state information included (if applicable). All transactions listed must have attestation or Tracking System documentation meeting the requirements in Appendices D and E of the Getting Started Guide. Information entered must match the attestations / Tracking System Reports. Appendix B lists documentation you must provide to your auditor and to the Green-e® Program.
11. The Verification Software PAGE 11 © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
12. Attestations and Chain-of-Custody Verification PAGE 12 © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
13. For facilities registered in an approved tracking system, the tracking attestation and tracking system report (in some cases) are required. Tracked Facilities PAGE 13 Tracking Attestation (Online) Tracking System Report (Exported) © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
14. For facilities not registered in a tracking system, there are three possible forms to fill out. Depending on the chain-of-custody, more than one form may need to be submitted for each facility. Untracked Facilities PAGE 14 Generator Attestation (PDF) Wholesale Attestation (PDF) Small Generator Attestation (PDF) © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
15. Attestation Scenarios PAGE 15 Renewable Energy Generator not registered in a Tracking System and selling a Green-e® Energy certified product Wholesale Supplier and selling a Green-e® Energy certified product Renewable Energy Generator registered in Tracking System and selling a Green-e® Energy certified product Renewable Energy Generator not registered in a Tracking System and not selling a Green-e® Energy certified product Wholesale Supplier and not selling a Green-e® Energy certified product Renewable Energy Generator registered in Tracking System and not selling a Green-e® Energy certified product © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
16. Scenario 1 – Purchasing Directly from an Untracked Facility PAGE 16 Chain-of-Custody Participant Company (You) Customer Generator Attestation Form © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
17. Scenario 2 – Purchasing Certified Directly from an Untracked Facility PAGE 17 Chain-of-Custody Participant Company (You) Customer Generator Attestation Form © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
18. Scenario 3 – Purchasing from an Untracked Facility via a Wholesale Transaction PAGE 18 Chain-of-Custody Participant Company (You) Customer Generator Attestation Form Wholesale Attestation Form © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
19. Scenario 4 – Purchasing from an Untracked Facility via a Certified Wholesale Transaction PAGE 19 Chain-of-Custody Participant Company (You) Customer Generator Attestation Form Wholesale Attestation Form X When buying certified wholesale, only the wholesale attestation is needed! © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
20. Scenario 4 – Purchasing from an Untracked Facility via Multiple Wholesale Transactions PAGE 20 Chain-of-Custody Participant Company (You) Customer Generator Attestation Form Wholesale Attestation Form When there are multiple wholesale transactions in the chain-of-custody, you must provide attestations tracing the chain-of-custody back to the generator. In other words, you must provide a Wholesale Attestation for each entity that took ownership of RECs throughout the chain-of- custody. Wholesale Attestation Form © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
21. Scenario 5 – Purchasing from an Untracked Facility via Multiple Wholesale Transactions PAGE 21 Chain-of-Custody Participant Company (You) Customer Generator Attestation Form Wholesale Attestation Form If the RECs you purchased are certified by the most recent wholesale seller, you’ll only need to provide one Wholesale Attestation from that seller. Wholesale Attestation Form X X © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
22. Scenario 6 – Purchasing Directly from a Tracked Facility PAGE 22 Chain-of-Custody Participant Company (You) Customer Tracking Attestation Form Tracking attestations can last for up to three years; if the facility you sourced from already has a tracking attestation on file with CRS, an additional form doesn’t need to be submitted. Check a facility’s tracking attestation status on the Green-e® Energy Participant Portal. Tracking System Report + © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
23. Scenario 7 – Purchasing Certified Directly from a Tracked Facility PAGE 23 Chain-of-Custody Participant Company (You) Customer Tracking Attestation Form Tracking attestations are required regardless of if the Participant purchased certified wholesale or not. Tracking System Report + © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
24. Scenario 8 – Purchasing from a Tracked Facility via Multiple Wholesale Transactions PAGE 24 Chain-of-Custody Participant Company (You) Customer Tracking Attestation Form If a facility is tracked in a tracking system, only one tracking attestation needs to be submitted to CRS regardless of how many entities take ownership of the RECs during the chain-of- custody. This same process applies if the most recent wholesale transaction was certified. Tracking System Report + © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
25. Scenario 9 – If Facility is Tracked but Generator Won’t Complete Tracking Attestation PAGE 25 Chain-of-Custody Participant Company (You) Customer Generator Attestation Form Wholesale Attestation Form Generator and/or Wholesale Attestations must be submitted through the whole chain-of-custody AND a Tracking System Report is required. Wholesale Attestation Form Tracking System Report + © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
26. Tracking System Reports - Appendix E - Separate Sub-Account - “Green-e® Energy RY2020” - RETIRED (retail) or TRANSFERED (wholesale) - Transaction confirmed, not just “pending” - Transfer reports need to be uploaded into verification software PAGE 26 © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
27. Q&A PAGE 27 © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved.
28. © 2021 Center for Resource Solutions. All rights reserved. Contact verification@green-e.org Judy Chen MANAGER, CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS judy.chen@resource-solutions.org 415.568.4281 Lucas Grimes SENIOR ANALYST, CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS lucas.grimes@resource-solutions.org 415.561.2120 www.resource-solutions.org