Renewable Energy Certificates: Opportunities for the Pulp and Paper Industry, 2010 TAPPI PEERS Conference

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Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) can offer a promising revenue stream opportunity to pulp and paper facilities operating renewable electricity generation projects fueled by biomass and other eligible resources. The paper provides a description of what RECs are, how entities in the pulp and paper industry can become involved, and the size of the opportunity for pulp and paper mills. Two case studies of mill use of RECs are provided, describing the considerations that company management and technical staff should perform in evaluating whether a REC-eligible project is an attractive match for them. An overview is also provided of the regions in the United States where similar REC opportunities exist. In addition, the paper provides a brief overview of potential funding sources that may be used to provide capital to develop a REC-eligible project, as well as an explanation of steps required to provide mill projects with a revenue stream from RECs. Finally suggestions are provided on what the pulp and paper industry can do to advocate for increased opportunities from RECs at mills.