Renewable energy certificates: How the federal government got hooked. - Slate

Renewable energy certificates: How the federal government got hooked.

The Renewable Energy Shell Game

The cheap, easy, and likely counterproductive path to “going green” that the federal government is hooked on.

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Episode Notes

Buying “renewable energy certificates” is a way for companies to claim to reach their renewable energy goals—instead of, say, putting solar panels on their roof. One of the most enthusiastic consumers of RECs is the federal government. But is this ostensibly environmentally-friendly system actually standing in the way of true sustainability?

Guest: Najib Aminy, producer for Reveal.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Madeline Ducharme, Anna Phillips, Paige Osburn, and Rob Gunther.