Zettawatts and the CRS CEAP Indicators: Meeting the Market's Call for High-Impact Clean Energy Procurement

Introduction

How Our AREC Platform Delivers on the Indicators for Impactful Clean Electricity Procurement

The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) recently published groundbreaking guidance through its Clean Energy Accounting Project (CEAP) that establishes 14 indicators of impactful clean electricity procurement. This framework represents the most comprehensive effort to date to distinguish between renewable energy purchases that truly drive NEW clean energy development and those that merely shift existing resources.

At Zettawatts, we're proud that our Additionality REC (AREC) Market was designed from inception to address the exact market gaps that CRS has now codified through these indicators. Our platform doesn't just meet some of these benchmarks, it systematically delivers on the 14 indicators, providing corporate buyers with the most comprehensive pathway to high-impact clean energy procurement available today.

Direct Impact on New Clean Energy: All Four Primary Indicators

Indicator 1: Long-Term Contracts (10+ Years)

The CEAP guidance emphasizes that "long-term contracts directly with projects...often enable project financing and are one of the clearest ways to support new clean energy projects."

Zettawatts achieves this through 10-year forward REC purchase agreements, we call Additionality REC contracts, which provide developers with the revenue certainty necessary for project financing. Our contracts represent a substantial long-term commitment compared to typical spot market transactions, and our 10-year terms directly meet this requirement.

Indicator 2: Early Commitments (Pre-COD)

CRS identifies that "purchasing commitments made earlier in the project development process tend to have a larger direct impact on project development."

This is the foundational principle of the AREC Market. Every AREC contract is specifically structured around pre-Commercial Operation Date (COD) projects. We exclusively target projects still under development, ensuring that our buyers' commitments provide the financial signals developers need during the critical pre-construction and construction phases.

Indicator 3: Financial Contribution (Missing Money)

The guidance defines this as "procurement that provides sufficient revenue to cover the difference between a project's expected revenues and a project's revenue requirements."

ARECs address this "missing money" by offering premium fixed pricing that ensures additionality. Our developers provide attestation that the AREC contract was a material part of their financing decision, ensuring that our pricing covers the gap between wholesale electricity revenues and total project financing needs.

As a more specific example, Zettawatts is currently working on two 100+MW projects that have an energy offtaker (A municipality/Co-op), but there is a delta between the price they are willing to pay for the Energy and the revenue needed to build the project with a reasonable IRR (Investment Rate of Return). This is the purest form of “missing money” that would lead to a corporation having a real claim at additionality.

Indicator 4: Direct Investment Support

CRS recognizes procurement that "accompanies providing direct investment, equity, tax equity, or debt financing for a project."

Zettawatts AREC Market provides a PPA for the EACs, commonly referred to as Attribute Purchase Agreements, that give the developers a tool to bring alongside a PPA for energy to their Financial Investors, to reach a Financial Investment Decision (FID). This allows developers to monetize their environmental attributes (through ARECs), creating a complete revenue package that directly supports project viability.

Innovative Transactions: Leading Market Transformation

Indicator 7: Novel Transaction Structures

The guidance values "procurement through a novel transaction or product in the market that may be standardized or serve as a model for others."

The AREC Market represents the first standardized platform for additionality-focused REC procurement. We are a market maker that takes a principal position in transactions, allowing for more advantages to both buyers and sellers. Specifically, buyers are not subject to individual project risk, as they purchase the ARECs in advance from Zettawatts. If a developer can’t meet their original stated COD, Zettawatts has the opportunity to get a replacement project before the AREC agreement starts. Furthermore, Developers do not want to deal with individual, smaller buyers, and, in some cases, require an investment-grade buyer. Zettawatts aggregates smaller buyers and Zettawatts is the single purchaser, using innovative structures that extend the Investment Grade credit to those who need it. Lastly, by creating standardized terms and conditions that are balanced for both developers and buyers, Zettawatts has introduced a replicable transaction structure that eliminates the complexity of bilateral negotiations while maintaining a high impact.

Indicator 8: Increased Market Access

CRS seeks procurement that "creates purchasing opportunities or options for new and diverse buyers to participate."

This addresses a critical market gap. As Ever.green research shows, less than 1% of companies using RECs procure them via long-term contracts on new projects. The AREC Market democratizes access to high-impact procurement by eliminating the barriers that have historically limited additionality to only the largest corporations with sophisticated energy teams. Our tools work best for companies between 0-30,000 annual MWhs, and we have different buying journeys for 0-1,000, 1,000-10,000, and 10,000-30,000.

Indicator 9: New Market Infrastructure

The framework recognizes "procurement that involves the creation of new tracking, certification, or other market infrastructure."

Zettawatts has built comprehensive market infrastructure including:

• Transparent price discovery mechanisms through our marketplace platform

• Complete REC registry integration across all North American tracking systems

• Developer attestation and verification systems ensuring additionality claims

• Risk mitigation through project diversification, protecting buyers from single-project failure
  

Supporting Grid Reliability and Emerging Technologies

Indicator 10: Dispatchable Renewables and Paired Storage

Our platform actively supports "procurement from new dispatchable clean and renewable resources or resources paired with storage" through partnerships with developers building next-generation projects.

By providing pre-COD financing support, we enable developers to pursue more complex, grid-supportive technologies that might otherwise struggle to secure conventional financing.

Indicator 12: Support for Emerging Technologies

The CEAP guidance values "procurement from a project featuring technology that is identified as both clean and emerging."

Our developer network includes projects featuring cutting-edge technologies, including Geothermal, Waste-to-heat, and Municipality/Cooperative projects that typically are not listed in the interconnection queues. By providing standardized offtake agreements, we reduce the procurement complexity that often deters buyers from supporting emerging technology projects.

Addressing the "Missing Middle" in Clean Energy Procurement

The CEAP indicators validate what we've observed in the market: there's a massive gap between low-impact spot market RECs and high-complexity PPAs/VPPAs. Research shows that 99% of companies using RECs buy them in spot markets from existing projects, missing the opportunity to drive new clean energy development. Check out GridImpactScore.com as a methodology of scoring Renewable Energy purchases from Corporations.

Zettawatts bridges this gap by providing:

• 100% additionality through pre-COD contracting

• Mitigated risk through diversification across multiple projects

• Fixed pricing that eliminates wholesale Energy market exposure

• Simplified contracting without operational complexity

• Institutional-grade verification through developer attestation

Looking Forward: Setting the Standard for Impactful Procurement

The CRS CEAP indicators represent more than academic guidance; they provide a roadmap for transforming corporate clean energy procurement from a compliance exercise into a powerful driver of grid decarbonization. The current makeup of the Energy Grid generation is responsible for 25% of the greenhouse gas emissions. To hit the necessary reductions needed to address climate change, high-impact renewable energy procurement is essential for meeting economy-wide climate goals.

Zettawatts built the AREC Market specifically to meet the challenge that CRS has now articulated: creating accessible, high-impact procurement options that enable any organization to contribute meaningfully to new clean energy development. By systematically addressing many of the CEAP indicators, we've created a platform that not only meets today's sustainability requirements but also drives the renewable energy deployment necessary for a carbon-free grid.

As corporate sustainability leaders face increasing pressure from investors, regulators, and corporations with whom they do business (see Microsoft’s Supplier Code of Conduct) to demonstrate real climate impact, the CEAP indicators provide a framework for evaluating procurement decisions. The AREC Market provides the implementation pathway.

The future of clean energy procurement isn't about choosing between impact and accessibility, it's about platforms that deliver both. With ARECs, every company can contribute to the deployment of utility-scale renewable energy that will power our carbon-free future.

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Ready to align your renewable energy procurement with the CEAP indicators for maximum climate impact? Learn more about the AREC Market at zettawatts.com or contact our team to discuss how ARECs can support your organization's sustainability goals.