In terms of MWh by customer type, sales to residential customers dropped by about 16% from 2020, likely due to pandemic impacts and high REC prices on residential customers. At the same time, sales to non-residential customers grew by about 26%, accounting for the vast majority of certified MWh purchased at more than 104.7 million MWh. This represents almost 80% of the overall market, a higher share than usual. Output from facilities dedicated to specific corporate entities through either PPA or VPPA contracts is likely responsible for this growth. MWh sold as certified wholesale transactions were at 22 million MWh in 2021. Although there are significantly more residential customers that purchase Green-e® Energy certified renewable energy, they tend to purchase smaller amounts than non-residential customers.

Note: The “RECS, PPAs, and VPPAs” category includes all certified REC transactions, including RECs that are part of PPA and VPPA deals.

2021 saw a decrease in the overall amount of customers purchasing certified retail options for the second straight year as consumers dealt with the uncertainty of the pandemic. The number of customers enrolled in a certified green pricing option actually increased in 2021 by 10% to 846,000 customers. The number of customers enrolled in a certified CCA offering fell to just under 50,000 while competitive electricity buyers dropped to almost 21,000 customers. The increase in utility customers versus other customers may demonstrate that utilities are more liquid when navigating the pitfalls of supply constraints than other electricity load serving entities. We did see surprisingly large growth in the number of consumers buying unbundled RECs, which rose by 86% to almost 410,000 customers. it’s likely that many of those new unbundled REC buyers were previously competitive electricity and CCA buyers where the certified product shifted from a certified electricity option to becoming a REC-only product to deal with supply constraints.

A note on CCA customers—We only count CCA customers that actively opt-in to certified programs, not all CCA customers.

Note: The “RECS, PPAs, and VPPAs” category includes all certified REC transactions, including RECs that are part of PPA and VPPA deals, and we only count CCA customers that actively opt into certified programs in these totals, not all CCA customers.

States with Green‑e^® Energy Certified Renewable Electricity Options

Many customers throughout the U.S. have the option to purchase Green-e® Energy certified renewable energy through their local utility or electric service provider. In 2021, bundled certified renewable electricity options were available in 33 states and Washington, D.C. RECs unbundled from electricity are available to buyers regardless of location. Businesses purchasing large MWh volumes tend to purchase unbundled RECs, often from multiple locations, while residential customers and businesses purchasing smaller volumes tend to purchase a bundled electricity product available through their utility or electric service provider.

Green-e® Energy also certifies sales in Chile, Taiwan, and Singapore.

In 2021, Green-e® Energy sales sourced from a range of renewable generation across the United States and Canada. The resource mix of the voluntary market is still very wind heavy, with wind facilities accounting for 86% of the total supply—a bit lower than the previous year mainly due to the continued growth of solar. Just five years ago, solar contributed only 250,000 MWh to certified sales, while in 2021 solar provided 11.4 million MWh, an increase of 73% over the previous year. We did see slight growth in non-gaseous biomass and hydro, mainly at the expense of gaseous biomass. Much of the gaseous biomass that was formerly used to generate electricity is now being used in various renewable fuels programs.

1,200 unique generation facilities with a total capacity of over 78,000 MW supplied Green-e® Energy certified products in 2021. The number of solar facilities used to supply Green-e® Energy certified products continues to grow. Counting rooftop solar buyback programs offered by electricity providers as one facility for each provider, the number of unique solar facilities utilized in 2021 reached more than 600 unique facilities, or half of all facilities used to supply certified sales. 2021 alsdo saw tremendous growth in an already impressive cohort of wind resources supplying certified sales. Wind by far compromises the majority of overall capacity of facilities supply certified sales, with nearly three times more capacity than all other resources combined.

Only new renewables are eligible to meet the criteria in the Green-e Renewable Energy Standard for Canada and the United States. In North America, that means eligible renewable facilities must have started operation or have been declared repowered in the last 15 years, or otherwise been approved for extended use in order to provide generation to a Green-e® Energy certified product. In 2021, more than half of the MWh used to supply certified sales came from facilities that were less than 5 years old at the time. In recent years, that number has usually been at around a third of total facilities. This shows a continued trend of more newly built generators being dedicated to supply the voluntary market rather than being used for other purposes.

In 2021 more than half of the MWh used to supply certified sales came from facilities that were less than five years old, demonstrating consistent turnover of older facilities and how generation from many newly built facilities is being used for voluntary purposes. This is a slightly greater number than in previous years.

Newer facilities accounted for a large portion of certified sales in 2021. Facilities five years or younger comprised over 40% of all facilities that provided any amount of MWh to Green-e® Energy certified sales, which is consistent with previous years. This again illustrates how the voluntary market can drive new build. It may also show the preference of corporate buyers for their investment to be a factor in getting new generation built.

The total volume of all Green‑e® Energy certified transactions in 2021 reached 132 million MWh. This total represents all transactions—including both certified retail sales to electricity end users looking to make a green power use claim, and wholesale sales to resellers of renewable MWh that did not claim the renewable electricity or RECs themselves. Green-e® Energy certified retail transactions reached 110 million MWh, while certified wholesale transactions reached 22 million MWh in 2021. Of these certified wholesale transactions, around 11 million MWh were resold in certified retail transactions. The remaining 19 million MWh were sold in non–certified transactions to utilities, electric service providers, power marketers, and other buyers in the voluntary market. Removing the instances of renewable MWh certified by Green-e® Energy at both the wholesale and retail levels, certified sales of over 121.9 million unique MWh were made in 2021, an increase of about 25% from 2020 and the highest total of certified unique MWh to date.

Note: The “RECS, PPAs, and VPPAs” category includes all certified REC transactions, including RECs that are part of PPA and VPPA deals.