Weingarten Realty has collaborated with our energy provider, Summer Energy, to minimize our environmental impact with the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs. RECs, are non-tangible, energy commodities generated from a renewable energy resource. These tradable energy commodities are also known as Green Tags, Renewable Energy Credits, or Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs). The energy created for RECs must come from a qualifying generation technology such as solar electric, wind, geothermal, low-impact hydropower, landfill gas, and other lesser used technologies.

Summer Energy will purchase and retire RECs equivalent to our energy consumption. These purchases support the clean generation of energy and will offset an approximate total annual CO₂ emission of 17,055 tons. This collaboration with Summer Energy is represented on properties located in Houston, Dallas, and Corpus Christi.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) established the first comprehensive REC trading system in the U.S. The web-based platform provides for the issuance, registration, trade, and retirement of RECs while be administered by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). PUCT has set a target of 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2025.

RECs Cycle

1. Qualified technology generates 1 REC with the creation of 1,000 kWh or 1 MWh
2. A certifying agency awards each REC a unique identification number to ensure it is not counted twice.
3. The green energy is then fed into the electrical grid (by mandate), and the accompanying REC can then be sold on the open market.
4. A REC is retired when the owner uses their  REC. Once a REC is retired, it may not be sold, donated, or transferred to any other party. No party other than the owner may make claims associated with retired RECs.