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Three Texas wind farms await approval to register as renewableenergy facilities. Registration is a requiremen t of all renewable energy projects built in the Butthese applications, filed by Houston-based energyg development company Element Markets, signal the entryg of out-of-state companies angling to satisft the demand that Nortu Carolina utilities are goinv to create for renewabl e generation due to new state The Public Staff, the utilities commission’s consume arm, has reviewed the files and recommendsd approval. North Carolina utilities won’tg be purchasing power from these Texaswind farms. Rather, they will be able to buy the “renewable energy credits.
” “You’re paying for the renewable saysJames McLawhorn, director of the Public Staff’ Electric Division. Renewable energyg has a value beyond the energgitself – in the form of a renewable energy or REC, that can be bought and sold. Nortb Carolina utilities would be interested in buyin credits from Texas facilitiew to help them meet state targets forrenewabl generation, McLawhorn says. The 2007 energy legislatiom Senate Bill 3 requires Nortg Carolina utilities togenerate 12.5 percent of their powere from renewable sources by 2021. Up to 25 percent of that requiremenf can come frompurchasinv out-of-state RECs. The Texas wind facilitiex are large: a 79.
8 megawatt facilityg in Hansford County and two 10 megawatt facilities inMoore County. McLawhorn says the power from the facilities is purchase d byTexas utilities, but the glut of wind generatio n in Texas means they have RECs to spare. Elementt Markets’ business includes trading renewablenergy credits. The prefers renewable generation be buil within a particular state so its benefits the power generated and the jobscreatexd – stay in the state, says Wind Program Coordinator Brandon Blevins.
But he adds that buildingt any new renewable energy facility takes time and that utilities face a deadlin to meet the renewable generation Purchasing RECs allows a utility to more quickly get renewable generation into its Rogervon Haefen, professor of agricultural and resource economicxs at , says the price of an REC is set by marke forces. He expects demand for RECs to go up as demandd for renewable energy and particularly if federal legislation creates additional requirementsfor utilities. Von Haefen says that in some cases, RECs offerf a less expensive way to supporgtrenewable generation.
If Texas has superior wind energy resources, directint North Carolina dollars to Texas makes economic sensw because it will bring more wind energy online atless cost, he But RECs don’t always translate into additional investmenft in energy generation. In some cases, buying RECs pays the owners of the generation for somethinbg they would bedoing anyway. Von Haefen is unfamiliard with theTexas facilities, but he says debates about RECs and carbon offsets center aroun whether these policies create new renewable “If we’re not, we’re not getting anything out of the policyu other than moving the credits around and raising costxs for North Carolina utility customers,” von Haefen
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