REC (Renewable Energy Certificate)

Under the Renewable Energy Act, anyone who supplied energy from renewable sources can receive a certificate proving it from a certification body. The RPS guideline defines the REC as the issuance and trading unit of that certificate. It is granted by multiplying renewable energy in MWh by a weighting factor.

The certification bodies are the Renewable Energy Center and KPX. RECs are traded on a market opened by the certification bodies, and RPS obligated suppliers can buy RECs to meet their obligations. RECs have a validity period. Electricity supplied through direct power trading, outside the power market, is not eligible for RECs.

The amended act taking effect in January 2027 sets 31 December 2026 as the deadline for new REC issuance. Operators issued RECs before then can keep receiving and trading them under the previous rules.

News-reading tip: a story about 'falling REC prices' links directly to renewable developers' income. REC income is separate from electricity sales paid at SMP. Because of weighting factors, the number of RECs may not equal generation in MWh.