RECS Germany e.V. rejects accusations of labelling fraud

Hamburg, 9 January 2008. The "Renewable Energy Certificate System" (RECS), which has been implemented in numerous European countries, enables pan-Europe international trade in renewable energy. It does so by means of an internationally recognised and harmonised European trading system, offering market participants a high level of standardisation and regulation.

"The RECS system has been proven to be a reliable procedure for confirming the source of renewable energy", says Stefan Zisler, chairman of the executive committee of RECS Germany e.V. Anyone who buys and redeems a RECS certificate can assign to himself the respective energy production from renewable energies. The combination of energy and a RECS certificate
results in green energy. The origin of this energy can be proven unambiguously.

The accusation that energy has been re-labelled using RECS certificates is rejected by RECS Germany e.V.. In accordance with the German electricity disclosure scheme. Energy supplied by German energy suppliers as green electricity with RECS certificates and being certified is undoubtedly electricity produced from renewable energy. Consumers can therefore rely on green energy labels to discover the source of energy provided by their supplier. With green energy products, the energy is described as "100 per cent electricity from renewable energy".

"RECS certificates can be used in the framework of well-known green electricity labels used, for example, the TUV and OK Power label. Only by using RECS certificates of origin the origin of energy fed into the grid can be proven" says Zisler. " It is thus not considered to be a quality seal per se, but does prove where the energy originates." Independent organisations confirm this across Europe, guaranteeing not only the proper operation of production plant, but also trade with and cancellation of RECS certificates. " RECS certificates provide reliable proof of the source of renewable electricity, and contribute substantially to the prevention of double selling of green energy" say Christof Timpe of Oeko-Institut, e.V. who supervises the administration of the German RECS system.

"As a consequence of the rising customer demand for green energy, the RECS system can also help make investment in renewable energy more attractive", says Stefan Zisler. Prices for green energy and RECS certificates are rising as a consequence of this market trend, which also encourages investment in renewable power production, further demonstrating the success of this commercial system for promoting renewable energy. Guaranteed supply of green energy is physically not possible. A simple analogy to the energy market is a large lake with different inlets ("producers") and outlets ("consumers"). So producers supply consumers via the lake. In the context of energy distribution, this means that energy will take the shortest route from producer to consumer, and that it is physically impossible for consumers to guarantee the source of their energy. Consumers living next to coal-fired power stations cannot get physical energy from pollution-free generators, even if they are willing to pay for it. The RECS certificate system makes it possible for an environmentally-conscious consumer to buy the benefits of a distant hydro-electric plant, even if they live next to a coal-fired power station. An independent organisation usually provides evidence of compliance of further quality criteria for green products . RECS recommends to the consumer of green electricity to be aware of the quality criteria which are provided with the green product. Such quality criteria include type of plant (wind, water, biomass...), age of plant (e.g. the inclusion of a set proportion of new installations) and investment in new build. RECS certificates do not take over the tasks of the label auditor. RECS ensures that energy production and plant data are transparent, uniform and examinable. RECS certificates, combined with independent appraisal, provide consumers with an increased level of confidence in the prove of origin of the electricity they buy.

Information about the RECS system and RECS Germany e.V.

A goal of the Renewable Energy Certificate System (RECS) is the pan-European promotion of renewable energy. As the  largest European association in the energy sector, the RECS system enables by means of harmonised and internationally compatible criteria the production and international trade or green energy certificates. RECS certificates thereby serve as proof of environmentally friendly electricity production. At present RECS international currently has around 200 members in over 24 European countries.

Further information about RECS Germany and explanations of the RECS system can be found at: www.recs-deutschland.de; while further information concerning RECS International can be found at www.recs.org.