*Since the date of this news item’s publication, the organization ‘The International REC Standard Foundation’ has changed to ‘The International Tracking Standard Foundation: Founder of I-REC (I-TRACK Foundation).’

The I-REC Standard Foundation (I-REC Standard) is pleased to announce that Pakistan Environment Trust (PET), the I-REC(E) Issuer in Pakistan, has registered the first devices in Pakistan. Multiple solar installations, both roof and ground-mounted, have been registered in the last few months.  

Pakistan was approved as an issuance country in the first half of 2022. Since then, PET has put in significant effort to educate local stakeholders about the possibilities that I-REC(E) can offer. The demand for I-REC(E) in Pakistan is enormous due to the presence of international corporations and their supply chain. Yet, as often observed in other countries, it takes time and effort for local producers to become aware of the mechanism and be willing to register their first device. Energy Attribute Certificates (EAC) are often a new type of instrument for the use of offsets, that has a completely different purpose and registration process, and are in many cases, more conventional.  

Due to growing EAC markets worldwide, and fewer carbon registries allowing for the registration of Renewable Energy projects in their registries, the I-REC Standard expects Pakistan to follow the path of other I-REC(E) markets such as Turkey where the growth of I-REC(E) has been tremendous in the last few years. PET is very active in providing information on the differences between carbon markets and EAC markets, and we recommend stakeholders sign up for their webinars if they want to learn more about the I-REC(E) market and other developments in Pakistan.  

The I-REC Standard and PET are always available to support and inform stakeholders about registration processes, the general functioning of I-REC(E), or the market circumstances in Pakistan.