# Our rooftop solar belongs to a developer who sells us the power: how does the Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM) count it?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/higg-fem-developer-owned-rooftop-solar

If a developer owns the panels and you buy the power, the Higg FEM guide says to report it as purchased renewables, not as your own onsite solar. Your grid bill goes under purchased electricity. The two are added up to what the building actually used.

## What the guide says

- If the facility does not own the solar system inside its boundary, and buys the power directly from the owner or operator, the guide says it must be classed as Purchased Renewables.
- A power purchase agreement (PPA) is a long supply contract, a bit like a standing monthly order for tiffins, but for electricity. The guide asks you to upload a copy of it.
- A purchased renewables entry also asks whether you hold all the renewable energy credits or carbon offsets that come with that power, and whether you know the energy mix.
- Solar you own is a different line, onsite solar photovoltaic, and it asks for the system size in kilowatts peak (kWp).
- If the certificates from the developer's power are also retired in your name, answer Yes to the ownership question and do not report them again under the certificate question (guide scenario 3).

## How the two lines add up

The guide's first scenario: a facility uses 100 megawatt hours (MWh), 60 from a PPA and 40 straight from the power company. It reports purchased electricity 40,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) and purchased renewables 60,000 kWh, each line as billed.

In Cascale's FEM 2024 calculations paper, purchased renewables carry 0.0000 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per megajoule by default, while purchased electricity uses the country's grid figure. The table lists 0.0000 as the default; the paper says the figure can differ, and the 2026 guide says supplier-specific factors are not used for now.

## What the guide does not cover

None of its scenarios mention Indian net metering, where exported units are set against the bill. The guide's exported-power scenario is only for power whose certificates are registered and retired under the facility's name. If your bill shows net units, ask Worldly support how to enter them before you finalise. Our other Higg FEM energy page advises reporting generation and grid import separately; that is Senseible's reading, not the guide's.

## A 100 MWh year, the guide's own scenario

- Total used in the building: 100 MWh = 100,000 kWh
- From the developer under the PPA: 60,000 kWh, entered as purchased renewables
- From the state power company bill: 40,000 kWh, entered as purchased electricity
- Check: 60,000 + 40,000 = 100,000 kWh

Split taken from the guide's Facility A example.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records, so the grid units billed each month are on file. The PPA and the developer's meter records come from the developer, and the self-serve product does not enter anything into the Higg FEM.

- [Rooftop solar with net metering](https://senseible.earth/answers/rooftop-solar-net-metering-scope-2)
- [Higg FEM energy and GHG data](https://senseible.earth/answers/higg-fem-energy-and-emissions-data)
- [Can an open access consumer get renewable energy certificates](https://senseible.earth/answers/can-open-access-consumer-get-recs)

Sources: [Cascale, Higg FEM How to Higg Guide 2026 (English)](https://howtohigg.cascale.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Higg-FEM-How-to-Higg-Guide-2026-October-1st-2026-English-Final.pdf), [Cascale, FEM 2024 Energy and Global Warming Calculations](https://howtohigg.cascale.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FEM-2024-Energy-and-Global-Warming-Calculations.pdf)

Last reviewed 2026-11-07. From the 2026 guide (energy question 1 note and scenario 1). Net metering is not addressed in the guide, so that point is flagged as a question for Worldly support.