855773644-LEED-v5-BD-C-Reference-Guide-Launch-Edition - Page 355

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Environmental Attributes

When procuring off-site electricity, environmental attributes must meet specific requirements for ownership, source, vintage, and location.

An energy attribute certificate (EAC) is a transferrable certificate, record or guarantee used to track the environmental attributes for a unit of energy and the rights to those attributes. Examples of EACs include Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and Guarantees of Origin (GOs), where one REC or one GO corresponds to one Megawatt-Hour (MWH) of renewable electricity.

OWNERSHIP Ownership of the renewable energy environmental attributes must reside with the LEED BD+C project, demonstrated through retirement of the energy attribute certificates (EACs) on behalf of the LEED project.

If the renewable attributes are not retained by the project owner, the renewable project is disqualified from credit compliance. For example, if the project cedes ownership of the RECs from on-site photovoltaics in exchange for a utility incentive, the system is ineligible for credit.

The renewable energy contract shall not permit replacement of EACs from one project with that of a different renewable energy project (referred to as REC Arbitrage) unless the contract specifies that the replacement EACs meet all relevant LEED criteria. For example, the contract shall not allow replacement of Tier 2 EACs with those of an asset older than five years at the time of contract execution.

PROJECT ENERGY SOURCE Renewable electric generation from Tier 1, Tier 2, and/or Tier 3 can only be applied to electricity or district thermal energy up to 100% of total combined electricity and district thermal energy.

Tier 3 renewable fuels can only be applied to project fuel use or district heat up to 100% of the total combined fuel and district heat.

Therefore, if the project uses any fuel on-site:

o The qualifying combined Tier 1 and Tier 2 energy use as a percentage of annual site

energy will be less than 100%.

o The project must procure both Tier 3 electricity and Tier 3 renewable fuel to achieve

100% Tier 3 renewable energy required for two points.

U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Building Design and Construction, April 2025 Launch Edition 345