In June 2002, the Western Governors' Association adopted an amendment to its resolution, Western States’ Energy Policy Roadmap, supporting the creation of an independent regional tracking system to provide data necessary to substantiate and support verification and tracking of renewable energy generation. The resolution included a management directive charging WGA to bring Western stakeholders together to help define the institutional structure, to design operating guidelines and to identify information needed to support tracking and registration of renewable energy generation and accounting of certificates in the Western Interconnection.
The California Legislature has charged the California Energy Commission with developing a tracking system for implementing California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). On October 8, 2003 , the California Energy Commission adopted the Renewable Portfolio Standard: Decision on Phase 2 Implementation Issues, which recommends that the Energy Commission staff work with the WGA to develop a regional certificates-based renewable energy tracking system.
The Western Governors' Association and the California Energy Commission are working collaboratively to develop a Western-wide renewable tracking system. WREGIS will be an accounting system that tracks renewable energy generation, creates renewable energy certificates (RECs), and accounts for transactions involving RECs in the geographic region covered by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). WREGIS is being sponsored by the Western Governors’ Association (WGA), the California Energy Commission (Energy Commission) and the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP).
Over 340 stakeholders, including participants from 11 western states and 2 Canadian provinces, have participated in the development process. Stakeholder involvement has included the 2003 Needs Assessment survey and report, seven stakeholder meetings, and ongoing participation in three working committees developing recommendations for system functionality, institutional home and governance structure.
WREGIS will be a voluntary system designed to track all renewable energy generation in the geographic region covered by the WECC. WREGIS will be policy neutral, ensuring that regulators have the information they need to determine compliance with their policies and programs and other market participants may confidently transact business involving RECs.
WREGIS functions and rationale
- Verify renewable energy generators that are eligible for WREGIS.
- Verify renewable energy generation within the WECC.
- Create RECs with unique serial numbers.
- Allow renewable energy generators, utilities, and other market participants to establish
active REC and retirement accounts.
- Track wholesale renewable energy transactions involving RECs.
- Verify ownership, trading, and retirement of RECs.
- Create independent reports on REC transactions for market participants and state and
provincial regulators.
WREGIS will allow regulators to track the creation, transfer and retirement of RECs in the WECC, enabling them to:
- Efficiently and cost-effectively verify utility compliance with state and provincial renewable energy policies.
- Establish ownership/assignment of RECs and revenues associated with them to more
accurately allocate costs in rate proceedings.
- Protect consumers and utilities participating in “green” power market programs from
“double counting” and erroneous “green” product claims.
- Identify the location of renewable energy facilities and track electricity generation. This
information is necessary to estimate emissions reductions for state implementation plans (SIPs) for regional haze.
Electronic tracking systems such as WREGIS are essential to support the trading of RECs, an
important element in the development of robust renewable energy markets. A viable Western
market for RECs, supported by WREGIS, will: 1) Increase consumer confidence in renewable energy markets; 2) Maximize the value developers receive for renewable energy generation;
3) Increase liquidity and the efficiency of renewable energy markets in the West; 4) Expand the marketplace for Western generated renewable energy.
Milestones
Late 2003 -- Needs Assessment
2004 -- Stakeholder Outreach
Late 2004/Early 2005: Final Operational Rules and Governance Structure adopted
2006 -- Selection of a WREGIS system developer.
Late 2006 -- Mid 2007: System and Program Development
Mid 2007 -- WREGIS operational
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