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Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)

National REC Tracking Systems

Currently, nine regional renewable energy certificate (REC) tracking systems operate in 

different regions of North America, with a set of common purposes. REC tracking systems 

provide a basis for creating, managing, and retiring RECs, ensuring that each REC is counted 

only once.1 Tracking systems are also the vehicle through which load-serving entities (LSEs) 

demonstrate compliance with state renewable energy and related environmental policies, 

including renewable portfolio standards (RPS).2

Current Regional North American REC Tracking Systems, or 

Registries

Links

Environmental Tracking Network of North 

America

Inter-registry transfer capability

Publications

Environmental Tracking Network of North 

America (ETNNA), 2010. The Intersection 

Between Carbon, RECs, and Tracking: 

Accounting and Tracking the Carbon Attributes of 

Renewable Energy. White Paper, February. (PDF 

406 KB)

Environmental Tracking Network of North 

America (ETNNA), 2009. System Changes to 

Serve a Federal RES. June. (PDF 164 KB)

Environmental Tracking Network of North 

Tracking System Primary Region(s) Launch 

Date

Texas Renewable Energy 

Credit Program, run by the 

Electric Reliability Council of 

Texas (ERCOT)

Texas January 

2002

NEPOOL-Generation 

Information System (GIS) New England July 2002

PJM-Generation Attribute 

Tracking System (PJMGATS)

Delaware, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, 

Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North 

Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, 

Virginia, West Virginia and the District of 

Columbia

Sept 2005

Western Renewable Energy 

Generation Information 

System (WREGIS)

Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, 

Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, 

Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, 

Washington, and Wyoming

June 2007

Midwest Renewable Energy 

Tracking System (M-RETS)

Illinois, Iowa, Manitoba, Minnesota, 

Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and 

Wisconsin

July 2007

North American Renewables 

Registry (NARR)

States and provinces not covered by the 

regional markets

February 

2009

Michigan Renewable Energy 

Certification System

(MIRECS)

Michigan October 

2009

Nevada Tracks Renewable 

Energy Credits (NVTREC) Nevada 2007/2008

North Carolina Renewable 

Energy Tracking System

(NC-RETS)

North Carolina 2010

For a larger version of this image.

Green Power Network: Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) Page 1 of 2

http://apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/markets/certificates.shtml?page=3 6/6/2014
America (ETNNA), 2009. Inter-registry REC Transfers. June. (PDF 146 KB)

Footnotes 1From www.apx.com.

2A renewable portfolio standard requires an electricity supplier to include a required minimum percentage 

of electricity produced by renewable sources in its mix of electricity supplied to retail customers.

Printable Version

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Content Last Updated: 10/02/2013 

Green Power Network: Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) Page 2 of 2

http://apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/markets/certificates.shtml?page=3 6/6/2014