Defining a day-ahead spot market for unbundled time-specific renewable energy certificates

One option to counteract anthropogenic climate change is to increase the share of renewable electricity supply. Current market structures provide only a limited framework for the creation of “green” electricity tariffs, which are often criticised as “greenwashing”, lacking transparency, and ineffective investment signalling. This paper defines and discusses a day-ahead spot market for tradable (short-term) time-specific renewable energy certificates (REC). Implementing an unbundled spot market for REC promises a more credible provision of renewable electricity, along with a mechanism rewarding flexibility in renewable production and storage as well as tangible investment signals.