Clean Energy Match, available as part of Nest Renew Premium,1 helps you support the growth of clean energy. It can match the fossil fuel electricity used in your home with enough clean energy to cover the average U.S. household. This is done with purchases of renewable energy credits (RECs) from U.S. wind and solar.2
As explained below, Clean Energy Match is a REC product and does not contain or provide you with electricity.
How renewable energy credits work
With Clean Energy Match, Google purchases renewable energy credits (RECs) to match the fossil fuel electricity used in your home with enough clean energy to cover the average U.S. household.2
When a renewable energy facility operates, it produces 2 things: electricity and a REC. The REC is a certificate representing the environmental benefits of renewable electricity generation. For every megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity that a renewable energy facility generates, one REC is produced.
The electricity and RECs are sometimes sold separately by the owner of a renewable energy facility. This is because some people only need electricity and not environmental benefits, whereas other people only want environmental benefits and do not need additional electricity.
While electricity and RECs are created simultaneously from the generation of renewable energy, RECs are not electricity and do not contain electricity. Google only purchases RECs for you. We do not provide you with electricity.
Where Clean Energy Match RECs come from
The RECs for Clean Energy Match will come from the following:
|
Project Name |
Location |
|
Bethel Wind |
Castro County, TX |
This table reflects the RECs that we have contracted to provide for Nest Renew Premium. Actual deliveries may vary in the event of this resource becoming unavailable. Annually Nest Renew will report the mix of RECs actually delivered for Clean Energy Match. During early preview we are procuring 100% of the RECs necessary to match each user with enough clean energy to cover the average U.S. household from the Bethel Wind project, and for all early preview users we will procure an additional 20% of RECs from U.S. solar project(s) over the minimum Clean Energy Match amount.
We’ve also entered an agreement to purchase RECs from Roseland Solar, a project under development in Falls County, TX, which is expected to begin providing RECs for Clean Energy Match in 2023 for a three-year term. You can learn more about our plans for REC purchasing in our Nest Renew policy and industry resources article.
How Google calculates the amount of RECs it purchases for you
The amount of RECs we purchase to match with your home is based on the estimated fossil-fuel generated electricity consumed by the average US household.2 Because we match your home based on this US household average, Clean Energy Match will amplify your support for clean energy by purchasing RECs even if your home has solar panels or if you are already on a local clean energy option, such as a green tariff.
We work hard to accurately estimate the amount of fossil fuel-generated electricity consumed by the average US household home, but our estimates are only estimates. These estimates may vary from the actual amount of fossil fuel-generated electricity consumed by the average US household, and will differ from the actual fossil-fuel generated electricity consumed at your home.
What "Match" in Clean Energy Match means
When we say that Nest Renew Premium "matches" your fossil fuel electricity consumption with RECs, we mean that Google purchases RECs in the amount determined by our most recent estimation of the fossil-fuel generated electricity consumption of the average US household as described above.
Our purchase of RECs for you does not provide you with electricity. Only your electricity provider (like a local electric utility) can provide you with the electricity that powers your home. That’s why you should also consider clean energy options from your electricity provider if they’re available to you.
Nest Renew Premium provides a way to support the growth of clean energy in the US and does not conflict with local clean energy options that might be available to you. Signing up for both can amplify your support for clean energy.
Homes with solar panels or enrolled in local green energy options
Some electric utilities and other local providers offer renewable energy products to customers (for example, green tariffs and community solar), and some electricity providers even supply 100% renewable energy to customers as their default service (for example, certain community choice aggregators in California). Nest Renew encourages you to consider signing up for these options as a way to amplify your support for clean energy.
Nest Renew Premium does not replace or affect the service you receive from your electricity provider. Even if you receive a renewable energy service from your electricity provider or have solar panels on your home, Google will still purchase RECs for you through Nest Renew Premium.
With Clean Energy Match, we purchase RECs based on the estimate of the fossil fuel-generated electricity used by the average household. This is not determined by the energy mix of your specific electric utility provider or your particular service.
Check your Clean Energy Match impact
You can find the total amount of electricity you’ve matched with RECs through Clean Energy Match in recurring Nest Renew emails and on the Nest Renew Portal.
- Sign into your account on the Nest Renew portal.
- Select the Impact tab.
- "Your impact" shows your total Clean Energy Match.
Learn more about the energy impact program in our Help Center.
1 Nest Renew in select locations and requires 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat, Nest Thermostat E, or the newest Nest Thermostat, connected to a Google account (sold separately).. Nest Renew Premium $10/month subscription required.
2 Nest Renew will be purchasing RECs from wind and solar plants in the United States. The majority of these RECs will come from our flagship project Bethel Wind in Castro County, TX, with the remainder coming from US solar.