Do the dynamics of PPAs and RECs really translate to lowering electricity production CO2 footprint? It seems that it would work only when there is significantly more demand for that kind of electricity that would otherwise we produced, but since wind and solar are competitive on their own, and in many places there's no carbon cap-and-trade system to prevent the increased power demand leaking over to fossil energy, it's not obvious.
I'm not sure the first couple links support your claim (didn't have time for the last). in any case would be better to see analysis from some independent researchers than trade pubs.