California ISO will help track renewable energy

FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA - The California Independent System Operator Corporation (California ISO) is offering a new service to its market participants that will help them meet the state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS).

The California ISO recently became a Qualified Reporting Entity (QRE) in the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS).

WREGIS was formed as a west wide information bank to track and report renewable energy production and to issue Renewable Energy Certificates (REC). Similar to the California ISO using scheduling coordinators as intermediaries with generators, WREGIS will use QREs to facilitate the reporting function. The California ISO plans to automate as much of this function as possible and offer it as a free service to its market participants.

“This is another way the ISO can offer value to our market participants that translates into real value to California consumers as well,” said California ISO President and CEO Yakout Mansour. “We already track production from generators — so it’s very cost effective to expand this activity to cover WREGIS reporting needs. We can help market participants meet their RPS goals — and do it at no additional cost to them.”

Several California load serving entities and renewable generators have expressed interest in having the California ISO act as their QRE. The California ISO has developed a streamlined process for parties to apply to receive WREGIS QRE services.

The Western Electricity Coordinating Council, the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the Western Governors Association are the sponsoring co-founders of WREGIS, which went on line in mid 2007. Its goal is to track renewable energy production and procurement and facilitate the growth of renewable energy throughout the western U.S.

One of the CEC goals is to establish a tracking and verification system for compliance with CaliforniaÂ’s RPS. The CEC requires that RPS-certified facilities, retail sellers, procurement entities and third parties register and participate in the WREGIS as part of California RPS compliance.

The California ISO has participated in the implementation process and recently completed the certification process. As a QRE, the California ISO will report renewable generation output data into the WREGIS tracking system on behalf of generator owners.

WREGIS then issues a REC, termed a WREGIS Certificate, for each reported megawatt-hour of eligible generation.