the latest HP featured article has some easier to understand info about it.
the way i understand it if you are a grid-tied supplier of "green" energy you can sell your green tags ONCE, value depending on the amount you produce for the grid.
im signed up with the green up program at
www.massenergy.com
they determine the energy im buying is green based on sold amounts of green tags.
heres some pasted info i posted elsewhere recently:
mass energy (our local "green" option) uses a green tag system where suppliers of re sell their green tags, thats how the green energy im buying is kept track of . ive had the legitimacy of this system verified by reliable trustworthy, completely independent non profit sources (NESEA). however i did find out that there is more massenergy clients than the producers can keep up with CURRENTLY, but we believe supporting massenergy will help foster new people getting involved. also who knows how many guerrilla suppliers are out there..
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo ... s/la7.html
quoted from the above link:
Renewable Energy Certificates (Green Tags)
A recent innovation is the concept of so-called "green tags," "renewable
energy credits" or "renewable energy certificates." Such renewable energy
credits (REC) reflect the value of the environmentally beneficial attributes
of green power and can be bought and sold. The REC is a separately
marketable commodity from the electricity itself. The price of the REC may
be the cost premium for generating power from a renewable resource or it may
be the value of the air pollution reduction credits that a renewable energy
project may obtain. For example, if it costs a wind farm to produce
electricity at 6 cents per kWh, and the average cost for power generation in
a region is 4 cents, the REC price may be 2 cents per kWh. Another example
is, if a wind power project obtains sulfur dioxide and/or nitrogen oxide
pollution reduction credits, the REC price could reflect the value of these
credits. However the REC price is determined, the basic idea is to allow
consumers to purchase REC without necessarily purchasing the green power
itself, which would not be sold at a premium. While still in its infancy,
the concept has the potential as a mechanism for generating revenues for
renewable energy project development. Several organizations and companies
are now selling and purchasing REC associated with renewable energy projects
and systems. The Center for Resource Solutions (see below) has established a
certification program for REC products.
In addition, the state governments in Arizona, California, Connecticut,
Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas, and
Wisconsin have established "renewable portfolio standards" (RPS), which
require some or all utilities to include a percentage of renewably generated
electricity in the electricity they produce or sell. Several other states
are considering an RPS. A few states require specific utilities to meet a
specified generation capacity from renewables. (See state-by-state summaries
by selecting "Rules, Regulations & Policies" on the Database of State
Incentives for Renewable Energy web site at:
www.dsireusa.org/summarytables/index.cfm.
Center for Resource Solutions (CRS)
http://www.resource-solutions.org/
P.O. Box 29512
San Francisco, CA 94129
Phone: (415) 561-2100
Fax: (415) 561-2105
Email:
mlehman@resource-solutions.org
Green-e Web site
http://www.green-e.org/
CRS certifies green power products and tradable renewable certificates.