Will New York’s Indexed Payments for Tier 1 Renewable Energy Credits (“IRECs”) Hurt It’s Voluntary Corporate and Industrial (“C&I”) Renewable Energy Market?

Kingsley Osei, Lead Project Counsel, State University of New York

Spurred by an imperative for durable energy offtake, long-term price certainty, improving project economics, and corporate social responsibility to combat climate change, corporate and non-utility industrial (“C&I”) buyers of renewable energy form a significant segment of the United States renewable energy market. In both states with Renewable Portfolio Standards ("RPS") mandates and voluntary RECs procured 10.6 GW of capacity in 2020, with Amazon, Google, and Verizon leading the way. “In 2020, renewable sources generated about three-tenths of New York's utility-scale net generation, and the state ranked fifth in the nation in the amount of electricity generated from renewable resources.”