As proof of concept, we have identified multiple companies outside the US developing similar startups, though retail focused, including one Singapore-based startup that raised a Series A round (Oct. 2023) with funding from Aramco Ventures. More importantly, our client LOIs and market demand from demo calls demonstrates an immediate need to solve for pain points from corporations, power producers, and brokers.
Regardless of the politics and which party is in power, corporate REC purchases have continued to grow and surge over the years.
No. In fact, we have signed LOIs with brokers to use our software. Upon request, we can facilitate a conversation with them.
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are official documents representing one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated from a renewable source sold to the wholesale market. They represent the legal property rights to renewable energy generation, recognized by numerous state laws and federal agencies. Without a REC, electricity cannot be considered renewable. They serve as a way to track and claim renewable energy and its associated environmental benefits in a unique, traceable, and tradable commodity that sanctions ownership claims. Once added to the grid, renewable energy is indistinguishable from conventional sources. RECs provide a way for buyers to purchase and take ownership of renewable energy that gets added to the grid, regardless of geographic and physical limitations, enabling greater purchasing flexibility and market participation.
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are official documents representing one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated from a renewable source sold to the wholesale market. They represent the legal property rights to renewable energy generation, recognized by numerous state laws and federal agencies. Without a REC, electricity cannot be considered renewable. They serve as a way to track and claim renewable energy and its associated environmental benefits in a unique, traceable, and tradable commodity that sanctions ownership claims. Once added to the grid, renewable energy is indistinguishable from conventional sources. RECs provide a way for buyers to purchase and take ownership of renewable energy that gets added to the grid, regardless of geographic and physical limitations, enabling greater purchasing flexibility and market participation.
RECs and carbon offsets both support environmental sustainability, but they differ in purpose and application. Unlike carbon offsets, which can come from a variety of emission reduction projects, RECs directly support the renewable energy market. By providing financial incentives for renewable energy projects, RECs expand the reach of renewable electricity as well as support its development. Innovo works to further address these concerns by certifying and verifying RECs, ensuring that green power is generated by quality renewable resources. This verification process helps to prevent greenwashing by ensuring that companies are directly supporting renewable energy generation and development. RECs are about supporting and claiming renewable energy production, while carbon offsets are about compensating for emissions by funding projects that reduce greenhouse gasses.
Currently, all steps from the origination of the certificate, to the transaction, and then the retiring of the contract must be done manually. Companies must work with a broker to find and negotiate REC purchases, including the number of RECs, price, and contract length. Once agreed upon, the company purchases the RECs, and the transaction is recorded in a registry to ensure transparency and prevent double-counting. The process can vary in length, typically taking a few weeks to several months, with 30-60 day settlements. REC prices can vary anywhere from 10-40% from origination to retirement. In summary, it's a very costly and time consuming process.
Innovo is working to change this by building an end-to-end platform to accelerate this process. Settlement times are reduced from months to instantaneous and fees are reduced up to 95%. By leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT) integrated into a B2B software platform, Innovo ensures that REC transactions are transparent and verifiable. Additionally, Innovo certifies and verifies RECs, ensuring that green power is generated by quality renewable resources. Integrating into regional energy registries in North America, the need for middle-and back-office functions is eliminated by providing a fully automated workflow. This provides companies with streamlined REC reporting for audits, attestations, and disclosures. Only KYC’ed entities are allowed to interact with Innovo Gateway and Market with permissioned wallets. Digital RECs cannot be transferred out of Innovo’s platform, making them only tradable on the Innovo Marketplace.
How do RECs ensure additionality?
Concerns about additionality are addressed through RECs’ support of qualified green power producers. By facilitating a closing gap between renewable energy generation and consumption, RECs increase the sales of renewable energy producers from what could be achieved organically. This increased revenue can then be used to expand facilities and production potential to match increased consumer demand, promoting renewable energy generation. Innovo further supports additionality potential by directly linking renewable energy suppliers with a network of customers, increasing their reach and revenue potential. By reducing settlement times, transaction costs, and opening the REC market to small and medium-sized companies, Innovo ensures that RECs fulfill their intended purpose of promoting renewable energy generation.
80% of the renewable energy market is underserved and 100% of it is inefficient.
Innovo Markets is dedicated to standardizing and enhancing the efficiency of the REC trading market, addressing critical issues related to transparency and rigor. By leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT) integrated into a B2B software platform, Innovo ensures that REC transactions are transparent and verifiable. Additionally, Innovo certifies and verifies RECs, ensuring that green power is generated by quality renewable resources. Integrating into regional energy registries in North America, the need for middle-and back-office functions is eliminated. This provides companies with streamlined REC reporting for audits, attestations, and disclosures.
We believe our impact is directly tied to the energy transition and how quickly companies and organizations can transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. As it stands today, the majority of energy consumption comes from fossil fuels and the demand for electricity is growing exponentially due to the growth of data centers, AI compute, and the electrification of everything. However, the digital infrastructure to buy, sell, and trade environmental commodities (e.g., RECs) is built on outdated technology that cannot handle the growing demand for renewable energy. In fact, the current renewable energy markets today are set up to focus on the largest organizations, buyers and sellers. Innovo will not only accelerate the transition and financing of renewable energy sources, we will democratize access for small- and mid-size companies to renewable energy markets. Innovo Markets is the upgraded digital infrastructure and workflow process that will power and accelerate the energy transition. So in short, it’s not only about the impact, but how fast we can make the impact happen.
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