RECS TEST PHASE The RECS initiative proved the concept of international trade of renewable energy certificates across Europe by means of a "Test Phase", sponsored by the European Commission and lasting two years. The aims of this Test Phase were to demonstrate conclusively and publically that: The RECS system was reliable and credible; It could operate effectively; The costs of administering the system were acceptable; and The system was robust.
The RECS Test Phase had as its target an overall trade volume of 1,000 GWh, which was clearly achieved: more than seventeen times this number of certificates were actually issued, corresponding with the annual electricity consumption of 3 million households and exceeds the entire domestic consumption of cities larger than Hamburg, Marid, Paris and Rome. Test Phase progress was monitored constantly, the results being reported both to RECS members and the European Commission. During the test phase, close to 200 participants from across Europe participated in RECS certificate trading, 17 million certificates were issued, and one third of these were redeemed with voluntary schemes and certificate authorities as proof that the associated renewable source energy had been consumed. The Test Phase used "real RECS certificates - and real money", and operated over the period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2002. The original hope was that market demand during the Test Phase would be provided by voluntary green energy schemes. However, in the event a major demand driver was the acceptance of RECS certificates by the Dutch government. The system has matured into the European Energy Certificate System. EECS is now being actively proposed to governments by AIB and RECS International as the system of choice for guarantees of origin as proposed by the RES Directive (2001/77/EC), due to its standardised approach. It is also being promoted to environmental non-governmental organisations as a means of synchronising the wide range of labels in Europe by basing them on certificates. Fourteen Issuing Bodies from twelve countries participated in the Test Phase. | 
