Frequently asked questions

A REC, or Renewable Energy Certificate, is a certificate that represents the renewable attribute of 1 MWh of electricity generated from renewable sources and injected into the grid. In India it is issued under the CERC REC Regulations, 2022, and is mainly used for renewable purchase obligations and green power claims.

No, a REC represents 1 MWh of renewable electricity, while a carbon credit represents 1 tonne of CO2 equivalent avoided or removed. RECs are used for electricity claims and Scope 2 market-based reporting, not as carbon offsets.

RECs in India are issued by the Central Agency under the CERC REC Regulations, which is the National Load Despatch Centre run by Grid-India. It also registers eligible entities and keeps the REC registry.

Under the CERC REC Regulations, 2022, a certificate remains valid until it is redeemed. Once it is used for compliance it is extinguished from the registry.

A multiplier means some technologies get more than one certificate per MWh, to support costlier or less mature sources. Under the 2026 amendment, for plants commissioned between 5 December 2022 and the amendment, wind and solar get 1, hydro 1.5, municipal solid waste and cogeneration 2, and biomass and biofuel 2.5, for 15 years from commissioning.

A REC is India's national certificate under CERC regulations, while an I-REC is an international certificate under the I-TRACK Standard used in more than 70 countries. Both represent renewable electricity attributes, but the same MWh must not be claimed under both.

Green energy open access lets consumers with a load of 100 kW or more buy renewable power directly from a generator of their choice, under rules notified on 6 June 2022. Applications are made on a national portal and must be decided within 15 days.

Yes, RECs can lower Scope 2 emissions reported under the market-based method of the GHG Protocol, if they meet the Scope 2 Quality Criteria and are redeemed for your consumption. You must still report location-based Scope 2, which RECs do not change.