Geothermal Renewable Energy Credits (GRECs)

Support corporate sustainability and ESG goals with verified geothermal renewable energy credits sourced, tracked, and retired on your behalf.

What Are Geothermal Renewable Energy Credits?

A Geothermal Renewable Energy Credit (GREC) represents the environmental attributes of one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated from geothermal energy — heat extracted from beneath the Earth's surface to produce clean, baseload power. When a geothermal facility generates electricity, it creates two products: the physical electricity delivered to the grid, and the environmental "greenness" of that generation. GRECs capture and commoditize that second product.

By purchasing and retiring GRECs, organizations can credibly claim that their electricity consumption is matched by geothermal renewable generation — even if the physical electrons powering their facilities come from the broader grid mix. Geothermal energy provides consistent, 24/7 baseload renewable power, making GRECs particularly valuable for organizations seeking around-the-clock clean energy matching.

Voluntary vs. Compliance Markets

RECs operate in two distinct markets:

• Compliance markets are driven by state Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) that require utilities and energy suppliers to source a percentage of their electricity from renewable sources. Compliance RECs are legally mandated and priced according to regulatory supply-demand dynamics.
• Voluntary markets serve organizations that want to go beyond regulatory minimums — purchasing RECs to meet internal sustainability commitments, corporate renewable energy goals, or third-party certifications like RE100 or Green-e.

GRECs can serve both markets. For businesses pursuing ESG excellence, voluntary GRECs provide a cost-effective way to demonstrate renewable energy commitment without the capital expenditure of on-site generation.

How GRECs Support ESG Goals

For organizations reporting under CDP, GRESB, GHG Protocol, or SEC climate disclosure frameworks, retired GRECs provide auditable documentation of Scope 2 market-based emissions reductions. Key applications include:

• Reducing reported Scope 2 emissions using market-based accounting
• Supporting RE100 commitments and corporate renewable energy targets
• Providing verifiable data for annual sustainability reports
• Meeting tenant and investor expectations for green building certifications
• 24/7 carbon-free energy matching — geothermal provides consistent baseload generation unlike intermittent renewables

How Emergent Energy Manages Your GRECs

Emergent Energy provides end-to-end GREC procurement and management:

• Sourcing: We identify and procure GRECs from verified geothermal energy projects that match your sustainability criteria — by geography, vintage year, or project type.
• Verification: Every credit is tracked through PJM-GATS or equivalent regional tracking systems and verified against Green-e or comparable standards.
• Retirement: We retire credits on your behalf, ensuring they cannot be resold or double-counted, and provide retirement certificates for your records.
• Reporting: We deliver documentation aligned to GHG Protocol, CDP, and other ESG frameworks to support your sustainability disclosures.

Ready to Add Geothermal RECs to Your Energy Portfolio?

Whether you need compliance RECs or voluntary GRECs for ESG reporting, we can help you source, verify, and retire the right geothermal credits for your organization.

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