Renewable energy certificate glossary: I-REC, GO, REC and trade agreement terms

By SolarQuant Editorial. Published 2026-10-10. Last updated 2026-10-10.

Renewable energy certificates have their own vocabulary, and one idea often has different names in I-REC, Guarantee of Origin and US REC markets. This glossary defines 80 entries a solar modeller meets in a certificate sale, each with the series article that covers it. Definitions agree with the public sources listed at the end, and all example figures are invented.

What example does this article use?

We use one invented 40 MWp ground-mounted solar plant across the series. It sells power only under a 20-year USD PPA at USD 80 per MWh and keeps its certificates to sell separately (unbundled). Several definitions below point to these figures.

The example uses annual debt periods for simplicity, while real deals usually use six-month periods.

How are the renewable energy certificate terms grouped?

This glossary sorts renewable energy certificate terms into eight families that follow a certificate from registration to the buyer's claim. Each table below covers one family.

Instruments and parties apply throughout, while the four steps in blue carry the certificate itself. Failure terms branch off delivery, and modelling terms turn every family into volume, cash and debt.

What are the renewable energy certificate instruments and systems?

A renewable energy certificate is a tradable record of 1 MWh of renewable generation, but each system names and runs it differently. These terms separate the generic idea from the I-REC, Guarantee of Origin and US REC versions.

Who are the parties and bodies in a renewable energy certificate sale?

Besides seller and buyer, a renewable energy certificate sale relies on an issuer, a registry and the body that sets the rules. Their names differ between I-REC, Guarantees of Origin and US RECs.

What do the registration and issuance terms for renewable energy certificates mean?

Registration and issuance terms describe how a plant's metered output becomes renewable energy certificates in an account. They set the volume a seller can deliver and the date it first holds them.

What do the trade agreement terms for renewable energy certificates mean?

Trade agreement terms fix what is sold, how many renewable energy certificates, at what price and on which dates. Some templates cover one trade; others set terms once for many trades.

What do the delivery and title terms for renewable energy certificates mean?

Delivery terms say how renewable energy certificates reach the buyer and when ownership and risk move. The answer depends on the transfer method the agreement selects.

What do the failure and termination terms in a renewable energy certificate sale mean?

Failure and termination terms set what one party owes when renewable energy certificates are not delivered or not accepted. They also say which events excuse a party, from registry failures to rule changes.

What do the claims and reporting terms for renewable energy certificates mean?

Claims terms describe what a buyer needs before a renewable energy certificate supports a reporting claim. Frameworks differ in detail, so the definitions below name the variants rather than one rule.

Which modelling terms apply to renewable energy certificate revenue?

Modelling terms link renewable energy certificate revenue to the lender's case. They decide which volume is counted and how much debt that revenue can support.

How do you use this renewable energy certificate glossary in a model?

Use the glossary to turn each clause of a renewable energy certificate agreement into a model input. Each becomes a volume, a price, a date or a downside case. Work through the term families in the order the certificate moves.

1. Name the system first. Read issuer, registry and delivery terms in the sense of that system, whether I-REC, Guarantees of Origin or US RECs.
2. Turn registration and issuance terms into a volume and a date. In the example, 70,000 certificates at P90 in year 1, issued 64 days after each half-year ends.
3. Turn trade terms into a revenue line: contract quantity at the contract price, with any surplus sold spot. The example contracts 52,000 a year at USD 2.0, or USD 104,000.
4. Turn delivery and payment terms into cash timing. Delivery 11 days after issuance and payment 27 days after invoice leave an average year 1 receivable of about USD 74,000.
5. Deduct issuer and registry fees, and keep VAT out of revenue. In our reading VAT is collected from the buyer and paid on, so it moves cash but not profit.
6. Keep failure and termination amounts in a downside case. The example's shortfall costs USD 1,715 and a buyer default after year 1 yields USD 57,550.
7. Apply the lender's credit last. Net revenue of USD 134,100 in year 1 at full credit adds USD 0.81m of debt.

Frequently asked questions

Is a US REC the same as an I-REC or a Guarantee of Origin?

All three are renewable energy certificates for 1 MWh of renewable generation, but each sits in its own system. A GO rests on EU legislation and a national issuing body. An I-REC(E) rests on the I-REC Standard, and a US REC on a regional tracking system. The sale agreement names the system, so its delivery terms follow that system's registry.

What is the difference between redeeming, cancelling and retiring a renewable energy certificate?

They name the same final step in different systems: the certificate backs a claim and leaves circulation. I-REC calls it redemption, GO systems call it cancellation, and US sources speak of retiring certificates. After that step the certificate can no longer be transferred.

Why do renewable energy certificate agreements use different names for the same clause?

Each template was written for its own market. The I-REC(E) agreement calls its post-default payment a Termination Amount, while one US master agreement nets Settlement Amounts into a Termination Payment. Read the formula, not the label: one uses market replacement or resale prices, the other the present value of losses or gains.

Which renewable energy certificate terms change the numbers in a lender's model?

Volume, price and payment timing terms change the base case. Failure, termination, force majeure and rule-change terms shape the downside case. The lender's credit then sets how much net revenue supports debt; in the example, full credit adds USD 0.81m.

Sources

Pages opened and checked on 10 October 2026. The example project is invented and has no source.

• I-REC(E) Standard Single Trade Agreement, RECS Energy Certificate Association and DLA Piper, hosted by the International REC Standard Foundation. Single trade agreement, Annex, quantity and prices, transfer methods, title and risk, VAT and Other Taxes, failure to deliver and accept, termination, force majeure, change in applicable rules, Upstream Party, Competent Authority, Default Interest Rate, representations and warranties, liability cap.
• Guidance Notes to the I-REC(E) Standard Single Trade Agreement, International REC Standard Foundation and DLA Piper. I-REC(E) issued by the country issuer, use of redemption statements by buyers without accounts, mark-to-market valuation, liability cap tied to the contract value.
• Evident. I-REC Code for Electricity, Evident (version 1.11). I-REC bodies and roles, International REC Standard Foundation, production facility, Effective Registration Date, registration expiry, production period, Issue Request, Residual Mix Deadline, residual mix exclusion, redemption, assignment, book and claim, labels, fee schedule.
• Glossary: Fingrid, Fingrid. Guarantee of Origin, register, issuing, transfer, cancellation, 12-month validity, EECS, AIB, EECS Hub, aggregator.
• AIB and EECS, Association of Issuing Bodies. GO legal basis in Directive 2018/2001 Article 19, account holder and device registration, issuing on verified meter readings, one issuing body per domain, book and claim, residual mix.
• EFET standard agreement between market parties, Association of Issuing Bodies. EFET EECS Master Agreement and the comparison with the EFET CMA of September 2020.
• Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), US Environmental Protection Agency. US REC definition, issuance per MWh delivered to the grid, difference between RECs and offsets.
• Memorandum of Understanding, Exhibit A: Master REC Purchase and Sale Agreement, Illinois Power Agency. US master agreement terms: Environmental Attribute, REC, GIS, RPS, Product Order, Purchase Price, Trade Date, Vintage, Delivery, Transfer Certificate, Certification Authority, product types, Unit Contingent, Settlement Amount, Termination Payment, Government Action, retirement.
• RE100 Technical Criteria, RE100, hosted by Climate Group (dated 24 March 2025). Energy attribute certificates, energy attributes, bundled and unbundled procurement, Scope 2 Quality Criteria comparison, market boundaries, vintage limitations, double counting and double claiming, EAC cancellation and retirement, including retirement of RECs under US RPS.
• How to calculate P90 and other Pxx energy yield estimates, Solargis. P50 and P90 definitions.
• Debt Sizing with Target DSCR: Project Finance, Renewables Valuation Institute. CFADS, target DSCR and sculpted repayment.
• Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR), Renewables Valuation Institute. DSCR definition and targets on a P50 or P90 basis.
• 8.1 Measuring Commercial Feasibility, APMG Public-Private Partnerships Certification Program. Lock-up and default DSCR levels.