Location: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin

Description: Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)[3] are market-based instruments that represent the property rights to the environmental, social, and other non-power attributes of renewable electricity generation. RECs are issued when one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity is generated and delivered to the electricity grid from a renewable energy source. Because the physical electricity we receive through the utility grid says nothing of its origin or how it was generated, RECs play an important role in accounting, tracking, and assigning ownership to renewable electricity generation and use. On a shared grid—whether the electricity comes from on-site or off-site resources—RECs are the instrument that electricity consumers must use to substantiate renewable electricity use claims. This project would purchase RECs from existing clean energy projects in the MISO region, the region in which Ann Arbor operates.

Verification: RECs are the accepted legal instrument through which renewable energy generation, and use claims are substantiated in the U.S. renewable electricity market.

Estimated Number of Carbon Offsets: No limit

Price Per Credit: $1.70 – $2.20 / MWh [4]

Co-Benefits: Demonstrates demand for clean energy

More Details: https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/renewable-...

[3] Details taken from U.S. EPA website, accessed on October 22, 2026: https://www.epa.gov/green-power-markets/renewable-energy-certificates-recs

[4] Pricing from Carbon Solutions Group, accessed October 20, 2026