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Your 'green power' is RECs from 2017 hydro

Datacenter Talk by PacketpunkUma 3 replies 295 views
PacketpunkUma

Member OP

#1

So I was digging through the green power disclosures for my colo at Contabo and guess what! Their "100% renewable" is RECs from a 2017 hydro project in Quebec! Those credits are almost a decade old! The dam has been paid off since before my server was born!

I opened a ticket and they said "retired is retired" and the carbon is the same! But come on! This is like saying my lunch is fresh because I bought a receipt from 2017! The market price for vintage hydro RECs is like $0.50/MWh! I pay more for the stickers on my rack units!

I wanted to complain politely but now im just angry! Who else is running on ancient hydro magic?!

olespete

Member

Trust No One

#2

This is why you read the fine print. Contabo's disclosure says "retired RECs" but not *when* they were generated.

What could go wrong:

  • Vintage RECs mean zero new renewable build
  • Double counting across jurisdictions (2017 Quebec, 2024 your rack)
  • Reputation risk if someone audits your ESG claims
  • Provider quietly switches to even older credits next year

I run fail2ban on my reputation too. Block the greenwashing at the firewall!

airgapped, encrypted, faraday'd, still worried
haroldgsm

Member

Grumpy Old Sysadmin

#3

Zero new build is the real problem. "Retired is retired" misses the point entirely.

IPv4, IRC, and irssi — fight me
GeorgeNmp

Member

AS64512

#4

ESG audit would torch this. Fine print always wins.

iBGP, eBGP, don't care, just peer

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