Imports from NC-RETS require an attestation because the North Carolina RPS statute states that certain attributes are not included in a REC for compliance purposes:
"A renewable energy Certificate does not include the related emission reductions, including, but not limited to, reductions of sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, mercury, or carbon dioxide."
In contrast, M-RETS expects that its Certificates be "whole Certificates," meaning Certificates "where none of the renewable attributes have been separately sold, given, or otherwise transferred to another party by a deliberate act of the Certificate owner. Renewable attributes shall include the environmental attributes that are defined as any and all Certificates, benefits, emissions reductions, offsets, and allowances, howsoever entitled, directly attributable to the generation from the Generating Unit(s)."
Therefore, in order to prevent double claims on the emissions of the facility that generated the Certificate, imports from NC-RETS require assurance that the emission reductions (if any) have not been sold off to a third party.
To ensure any RECs imported into M-RETS from NC-RETS meet M-RETs definition of a REC an attestation form must be completed. The entity importing the RECs must attest that no attributes have been transferred separately from the RECs being imported, and specifically that the emissions attributes have not been transferred to any other party. The attestation form must be reviewed and approved by M-RETS for any imports from NC-RETS to be allowed.