Renewable energy is generated by sources that can be renewed as opposed to sources that can be used only once, such as fossil fuels.
Under Massachusetts state law, a variety of resources qualify as renewable. The primary sources are:
The supply of sunlight, wind, and flowing water is not diminished when we “mine” energy from them.
Buying renewable energy refers to the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). What are RECs?
| Electricity from new renewable sources in the New England region (MA Class I RECs) |  |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required by state law | 30% | 30% | 30% | 30% |
| Added by Acton (no biomass) | 0% | 70% | 0% * | 0% |
| Total** | 30% | 100% | 30% | 30% |
* The Acton Power Choice Standard option is retired as of December 2026. This option originally included an additional 45% from MA Class I RECs. Learn more about the decision behind this change.
** In addition to purchasing the renewable energy shown in the table, the program’s electricity supplier is required by state law to purchase RECs from other sources, including sources that are not new, are renewable but not clean, such as waste to energy, or are clean but not renewable, such as nuclear. This purchase must match 39% of participants’ total electricity use.
Buying electricity from renewable sources is important. It does not create air pollution or the greenhouse gases that are generated from burning fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas, coal, or propane. Acton Power Choice has prioritized buying renewable energy from the New England region as a way to help make our local grid greener and cleaner.
Previously, the Acton Power Choice Standard option included a 45% voluntary purchase of renewable energy from our region over and above the minimum required by state law. The cost of that additional renewable energy was embedded in the price of the Acton Power Choice Standard option. Until recently, the impact of purchasing this extra renewable energy from our region was an increase in demand for more renewable energy on our local grid. Renewable energy developers saw that demand and built new renewable energy projects to meet it.
However, recent shifts in federal policy, including the sunsetting of tax credits and a slowdown in new project permitting, have made it significantly harder to build new renewable energy infrastructure. Because of these barriers, the extra cost associated with buying an additional 45% from renewable sources is, for now, not having the desired impact. Specifically, it does not drive the development of new regional renewable energy projects.
In 2026, the Town made the decision to remove the additional 45% renewable energy from the Acton Power Choice Standard option for calendar years 2025 and 2026 and retire the option for the December 2026 – December 2029 contract term. All participants in Acton Power Choice Standard will be moved to the Acton Power Choice Basic option, which includes only the minimum from renewable sources required by state law with no additional premium. The Acton Power Choice Green option remains available for those who wish to opt up and buy electricity that is 100% from renewable sources.
However, the Town of Acton remains deeply committed to accelerating renewable energy development and will continue to explore new, more effective ways to support a cleaner, greener grid through this program as market conditions evolve.
Unless you have a renewable energy system, such as solar panels, plugged directly into your home or office, you cannot purchase the specific electricity that is generated by a renewable energy project. The electricity flowing through the grid is a comingled mix of electricity generated by renewable energy projects as well as electricity generated by burning fossil fuels.
As a result, a separate accounting system has been created to keep track of renewable energy and allow it to be bought and sold. That system uses renewable energy certificates, or RECs. Every time a renewable energy project generates 1 megawatt-hour of electricity, 1 REC is minted. That REC can then be sold. Purchasing a REC gives you, and no one else, the right to say you used the electricity from that renewable energy project.
Anyone who wishes to purchase renewable electricity must then purchase 2 things:
(These two costs are often bundled together, which is why renewable energy costs a bit more.) Whoever buys RECs has the right to say they used the electricity generated by the associated renewable energy projects. Those RECs are then retired so that they cannot be purchased by anyone else, and no one else can claim to have used that electricity.
Anyone buying RECs has the option to buy as many as they wish, including buying RECs that equal more than the electricity used. Because buying RECs provides an important source of revenue for renewable energy developers, voluntarily buying additional RECs can be a strategy for supporting renewable energy.
Participants in the Acton Power Choice Green option buy more MA Class I RECs (see below) than are required by state law.
MA Class I renewable energy certificates (RECs) are from renewable energy projects located in the New England region that began commercial operation after 1997, generate electricity using any of the following technologies, and meet all other program eligibility criteria:
All of the additional electricity from renewable sources that is purchased through Acton Power Choice is from MA Class I-eligible renewable energy projects.
*** Acton’s electricity supply contract excludes biomass from the voluntary renewable energy purchased through the program.
