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Green LeafTM Tradeable Renewable Electricity Certificates (TRCs) Program Standard TerraChoice Environmental Services Inc. 2781 Lancaster Road, Suite 400 Ottawa, Ontario, K1B 1A7, Canada Tel: 1-800-478-0399 Fax: 1-613-247-2228 e-mail: ecoinfo@terrachoice.ca Green LeafTM Tradeable Renewable Electricity Certificates Program Standard Introduction Background Canada’s electricity is generated from a range of sources. Roughly speaking, 60% comes from renewable sources (primarily water-power), 20% from fossil fuels (oil, coal, and more recently gas) and the remainder from nuclear plants. In many parts of Canada, the option of purchasing “Green Power” is now available. In some parts of Canada, where “deregulation” has taken place, options even exist as to the choice of electricity provider. Green Power, or more properly Renewable Low-impact Electricity, is not, in practice (or in kilowatt-hours), different from electricity from other sources of generation. However, there are substantial differences in the environmental impacts of the different generating sources because of the fuels used. Renewable low-impact electricity from recently commissioned facilities has the effect of displacing electricity from fossil fuel generation, thereby reducing the net burden on the environment through the “offsetting” of the related environmental impacts. These offsets, or “environmental benefits”, include a growing list of environmental attributes, many of which are becoming valuable. In actual use, they are the only distinction between “green power” and grid power (normal or “null” electricity). In order to ensure public confidence in the quality of renewable low-impact electricity being purchased, the federal government’s Environmental ChoiceM Pr