Approach to Quantify Net Material Emissions Impact of Renewable Energy Purchases

RMI proposes the RE Emissions Score to move beyond qualitative assessments of renewable energy procurement. The score calculates the percentage of Weighted Avoided Emissions relative to Total Induced Emissions, using marginal emissions factors and a procurement factor based on the ratio of Energy Attribute Certificate (EAC) costs to the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). This approach aims to incentivize companies to locate operations in low-emissions grids and fund new renewable capacity in high-emissions grids.

• Current renewable energy procurement tracking via Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) is flawed because it treats all certificates as equal regardless of their actual material impact on emissions or their ability to fund new projects.
• The RE Emissions Score is a composite percentage that compares Weighted Avoided Emissions (renewable energy purchased multiplied by the marginal emissions factor of the location and a procurement factor) to Total Induced Emissions (total electricity purchases multiplied by the marginal emissions factor of the usage location).
• The Procurement Factor (PF) is calculated as the ratio of the price of an EAC to the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) to ensure purchases contribute to new generation rather than just shifting emissions attribution or crowding out existing supply.
• The methodology utilizes marginal emissions factors—the rate at which emissions change with a small addition to electricity load—rather than average factors to accurately reflect the induced or avoided emissions of a company's activities.
• To achieve a higher RE Emissions Score, companies are incentivized to locate their operations in areas with low marginal emissions and procure renewable energy in areas with high marginal emissions to drive broad grid decarbonization.
• While calculations should be performed on an annual basis at minimum, the document recommends monthly or hourly granularity to account for grid dynamics, such as renewable curtailment, to maximize the score.

APA

Huestis, S., Cannon, C., & Pingali, S. (2022). Approach to Quantify Net Material Emissions Impact of Renewable Energy Purchases. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2022/10/renewable_energy_emissions_score_approach.pdf

Chicago

Huestis, Samuel, Charles Cannon, and Sahithi Pingali. Approach to Quantify Net Material Emissions Impact of Renewable Energy Purchases. RMI, 2022. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2022/10/renewable_energy_emissions_score_approach.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Huestis |first1=Samuel |last2=Cannon |first2=Charles |last3=Pingali |first3=Sahithi |title=Approach to Quantify Net Material Emissions Impact of Renewable Energy Purchases |publisher=RMI |date=May 2022 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2022/10/renewable_energy_emissions_score_approach.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{huestis2022approach, author = {Huestis, Samuel and Cannon, Charles and Pingali, Sahithi}, title = {{Approach to Quantify Net Material Emissions Impact of Renewable Energy Purchases}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2022/10/renewable_energy_emissions_score_approach.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }