24/7 carbon-free energy (24/7 CFE)
Matching electricity consumption with carbon-free generation in every hour of every day — going beyond annual certificate matching.
Conventional renewable procurement matches a buyer’s annual consumption with an equal annual volume of renewable certificates. 24/7 CFE tightens the claim to hourly: for every hour of consumption, carbon-free generation must be produced in the same hour, on the same grid.
The approach — pioneered by large technology buyers and promoted through the UN-backed 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact — exposes the “gap hours” that annual matching hides, typically overnight and during low-wind periods. Granular certificate standards such as EnergyTag provide the accounting layer.
Closing the gap in practice requires a portfolio: wind and solar with complementary profiles, storage to shift surplus into gap hours, and firm carbon-free supply — which is what makes hourly matching a structuring problem, not just a procurement one.
Structuring against this in a live deal?
ETC prices and executes PPAs across GB — founder-led, from indicative quote to signed contract.