A Certificate-Based Approach to Marketing Green Power and Constructing New Wind Energy Facilities

The availability of wind energy certificates in Pennsylvania's retail electricity market has made a critical difference in the economic feasibility of developing 140 MW of new wind energy projects in the region. Certificates offer important benefits to both green power suppliers and buyers by reducing transaction barriers. They thus lower the cost of renewable energy. Buyers also benefit through the increased flexibility offered by certificate products. The experience described in this paper offers important insights for selling green power certificates and achieving new wind energy development in other areas of the country.