Renewable Energy

Lincoln Green Energy Choice has been designed to increase the amount of renewable energy in the Town’s electricity supply.

By replacing the purchase of electricity generated from burning fossil fuels with electricity generated from renewable resources such as solar and wind energy, Lincoln is working to:

  • Reduce greenhouse gases. Energy generated from renewable resources, such as the sun and wind, does not create the greenhouse gases that cause climate change and does not pollute the air.
  • Support New England-based renewable energy projects. The Town has prioritized buying renewable energy from new renewable energy projects in the New England region. By creating additional demand for the electricity generated by those projects, Lincoln Green Energy Choice helps to support existing projects and stimulate the development of more renewable energy projects on the New England power grid.
  • Support local businesses and local jobs. Purchasing renewable energy from New England-based projects means supporting New England-based businesses and the jobs they provide to local communities.

What it means to buy renewable energy

Unless you have a renewable energy system, such as solar panels, plugged directly into your home or office, you cannot purchase the specific electricity that is generated by a renewable energy project. The electricity flowing through the grid is a mix, and it includes electricity generated by renewable energy projects as well as electricity generated by fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas, and other resources such as nuclear. The individual sources cannot be separated out at the level of the grid.

As a result, a separate system has been created to keep track of renewable energy and to allow it to be bought and sold. That system tracks electricity put into the grid using renewable energy certificates, or RECs. Every time a renewable energy project puts 1 megawatt-hour of electricity into the grid, 1 REC is minted. That REC can then be sold. Purchasing a REC gives you, and no one else, the right to say you used the electricity from that renewable energy project.

Anyone who wishes to purchase renewable electricity must then purchase 2 things: they must purchase the electricity itself from the grid, and then they must also purchase RECs that equal the amount of electricity they use. (These two costs are often bundled together, and this is why renewable energy costs a bit more.) Whoever buys RECs has the right to say they used the electricity generated by the associated renewable energy projects. Those RECs are then retired so that they cannot be purchased by anyone else, and no one else can claim to have used that renewable electricity.

Lincoln Green Energy Choice purchases RECs in order to integrate an increased amount of renewable energy into the Town’s electricity supply. No one else will be able to claim the energy associated with the RECs that Lincoln buys.

The minimum amount of renewable electricity required by state law

Massachusetts state law requires that all electricity sold in the state must include a minimum amount of electricity generated by renewable sources and also by alternative, highly efficient sources that are not considered renewable. These requirements are known as the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and the Alternative Portfolio Standard (APS).

For details, download the RPS and APS Minimum Standards through 2030 spreadsheet from the state’s Annual Compliance Information for Retail Electric Suppliers web page.

Lincoln Green Energy Choice integrates additional renewable energy from new renewable energy projects in the New England region (MA Class I RECs) above the minimum amount required by state law.