Communities and Green Power Programs

A number of communities, utilities, and government agencies are putting "green power" programs in place to offer more choice to consumers about where their energy comes from. Green power is energy produced from renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal energy, and landfill gas. These energy sources have dramatically lower pollution emissions and cause much less environmental damage than fossil fuels.

In addition, "aggregation" groups are becoming more popular. Basically, aggregations allow consumers and businesses to form a large buying group to get lower rates for electricity. Learn more about aggregation.

DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) updated in March 2004 its popular top-ten lists of utility programs that sell green power. NREL ranks the most effective of these utility programs -- sometimes called "green pricing" programs -- based on customer participation, new renewable energy installed capacity, and cost premiums. Texas's Austin Energy sold the most renewable energy of any utility green power program in 2003, and Iowa's Lenox Municipal Utilities has the largest percentage of customers who buy green power. Austin Energy also had the lowest cost to customers. See the lists.

The Center for Resource Solutions announced in November 2003 that it will launch a new "Made With Renewable Energy" label for products in 2004. The label will feature the distinctive Green-e logo and will be available to companies that buy a "significant" amount of certified renewable energy for their buildings and factories. According to CRS, a number of companies have already applied for the label, including White Wave (a maker of soy milk products), the Interface Fabrics Group, Choice Organic Teas, and Lundberg Family Farms, a producer of rice.

The following are examples of green power programs and other efforts on the local, utility, state, and federal levels:

Local Efforts

City of Bowling Green (Ohio) Public Utilities
Department
On December 1, 2004, the City of Bowling Green (Ohio) Public Utilities
Department announced a new green pricing program for its 13,600
municipal electricity customers, replacing a similar program that it
offered for the past four years. In partnership with American
Municipal Power-Ohio (AMP-Ohio) and Green Mountain Energy, the city
is now offering the 'Nature's Energy' product, which is a blend of
wind, landfill gas, and small hydropower resources.

Community Energy, Inc. -- Chicago, Illinois
Announced in October 2003 the availability of new, locally generated wind energy for Chicago-area businesses and residents. The American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago, the City of St. Charles, five faith-based organizations, and the Delta Institute, a nonprofit organization, are among the first to purchase the clean power.

Connecticut College Green Power Purchase -- New London, Connecticut
Connecticut College announced in May 2001 that it will obtain all of the college's power from renewable energy. The college has joined the Connecticut Energy Cooperative, a non-profit provider of electricity that is entirely generated from renewable energy sources. Students at the college spearheaded the switch to green power, holding bake sales to raise $1,500 to join the cooperative, then conducting a petition drive to support a $25 increase in student fees to fund the power purchase. Connecticut College has entered into an agreement with NY-based EAD Environmental to purchase wind energy for approximately 44% of its annual electricity needs, doubling its previous green power commitment. Under the two-year agreement, the college will purchase 13.3 million kWh of "Green-e" certified wind energy certificates sourced from wind farms in the United States.

Montgomery County, Maryland
A group of six county agencies in Montgomery County, along with 11 local municipalities and nearby Prince George's County, have agreed to purchase five percent of their electricity from wind power. Montgomery County executives call it the largest U.S. purchase of wind energy by a local government, the largest retail purchase of wind power in Maryland, and the fifth largest retail purchase of wind power in the country. The group is buying more than 38 million kilowatt-hours of wind power per year for two years.

Pennsylvania Colleges and Universities Green Power Purchase -- Pennsylvania
Eight more colleges and universities in Pennsylvania will buy a portion of their electricity from wind power projects. Allegheny College, Bucknell University, Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall College, Gannon University, Gettysburg College, Juniata College and Swarthmore College join 17 other Pennsylvania institutions of higher learning that are buying wind power.

In February 2003, students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill passed a referendum that will accelerate the use of renewable energy technologies on campus. Approved by 74% of the more than 7,000 voters, the referendum's $4 per semester fee increase will raise over $300,000 annually, beginning in August 2004.

The University of Pennsylvania announced in April 2003 that it has doubled its purchase of wind-generated power. The university will now buy 40 million kilowatt-hours of wind power annually from Community Energy Inc. -- the largest retail purchase of green power in the nation. The university's new 10-year commitment will lead to the construction of a new wind power facility in Pennsylvania.

Santa Monica Green Power Agreement -- Santa Monica, California Santa Monica became the first city in California to officially embrace the purchase of renewable energy. Its City Council has directed city staff to pursue the purchase of renewable energy to power City Hall and other city facilities. The city plans initially to purchase 5 megawatts of green power for municipal needs.

Los Angeles City Green Power Program -- Los Angeles, California
The City of Los Angeles is purchasing electricity produced from renewable energy to supply 10 percent of the city government's needs. The purchase, amounting to 50 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, is one of the largest U.S. purchases of green power.

Los Angeles World Airports -- Los Angeles, California
LAWA will enter into a 10-year purchasing agreement for green power. LAWA will buy the green power from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, initially enough to provide 10 percent of the electricity consumed at the Los Angeles International and Van Nuys airports. The goal is to increase 50 percent by 2010 and to 100 percent by 2015.

University of Nevada Redfield Campus -- Reno, Nevada
The University announced in February 2003 that it will use geothermal energy to supply all the energy needs for its new Redfield Campus in Reno. Advanced Thermal Systems, Inc. (ATS) will build and operate an 11-megawatt geothermal power plant adjacent to the campus. Under a 30-year agreement with the university, the power plant will provide electricity and hot and chilled water to the university, using an absorption cooling system to produce chilled water from the geothermal heat. ATS expects to sell excess electricity to Sierra Pacific, the local electric utility. The new campus is expected to open in 2004.

State Efforts

California Energy Commission Renewable Energy Customer Choice and Credit Program
A program that provides "Customer Credits" to consumers who purchase eligible Energy Commission-registered renewable power.

Connecticut Green Power Requirement
Connecticut Governor John Rowland celebrated Earth Day in 2004 by requiring that the state facilities draw on renewable energy for 20 percent of their electricity needs by 2010. The governor's executive order also requires state facilities to run on 50 percent green power by 2020 and 100 percent green power by 2050. The order will avoid the emissions of at least 420 million pounds of carbon dioxide by 2020.

Mendota Hills Wind Farm -- Illinois
A $2.75 million grant from the state's Renewable Energy Resources Trust Fund will go toward developing a 50-megawatt wind facility in Mendota, located about 80 miles west of Chicago. The Mendota Hills Wind Farm is expected to add $50 million to the local tax base and provide $130,000 in annual lease payments to area landowners, while generating enough power to meet the annual electricity needs of 15,000 households. The wind turbine installations should begin in 2003.

Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska
The Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) broke ground on its 10.5-megawatt wind facility in early May 2002. The Kimball wind facility will be the largest in the state. MEAN is a wholesale electricity supply organization that serves 53 member communities and one public power district in Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming.

New Jersey Green Power Purchase
Nearly 180 public agencies in New Jersey have banded together to buy 11 megawatts of wind power from Pepco Energy Services. Starting in July 2003, the agencies will begin drawing on wind energy for half of the electricity they use. Starting in December, Pepco expects to draw on a new 20-megawatt wind farm in Pennsylvania for its wind power supply, called the Bear Creek Wind Energy Project.

New York Green Power Mandate
New York Governor George E. Pataki issued an Executive Order in June 2001 mandating that all state agencies purchase no less than 10 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2005. The green power mandate will increase to 20 percent by 2010.

NC GreenPower
NC GreenPower launched a statewide initiative with the support of all the state's utility companies. The utilities are selling green power at a premium of $4 per 100 kilowatt-hours, with discounts available to buyers of 10,000 kilowatt-hours or more.

State of New Jersey
The State of New Jersey made a commitment to renewable energy when it signed an agreement to purchase enough green power to meet 12 percent of the state government's electricity needs. Over the next 15 months, the state will buy 113 million kilowatt-hours of Green Mountain Energy Company's "Enviro Blend," of which 50 percent is produced at large hydroelectric facilities and 50 percent comes from other renewable energy sources.

Reliability 2000 -- Wisconsin
A new act signed into law that makes Wisconsin the first to establish an energy efficiency fund and a renewable energy requirement without deregulating its electric utility industry. The law creates a $20-million-per-year fund for the state to award grants for energy efficiency services and renewable energy resources. It also requires electricity providers to generate some of their electricity from renewable energy, starting at 0.5 percent by the end of 2001 and increasing to 2.2 percent by the end of 2011.

Utah Energy Office -- Utah
The Utah Energy Office became the first state agency to buy wind power, committing to buy all of its electricity through PacifiCorp's Blue Sky program.

Federal Efforts

Dyess Air Force Base, located near Abilene, Texas, became the largest purchaser of green power in the country last week when it agreed to buy 100 percent of its electricity needs from wind power offered by TXU Energy. The contract totals 78 million kilowatt-hours per year and runs for two years.

EPA Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program designed to reduce the environmental impact of electricity generation by promoting renewable energy. The Partnership demonstrates the advantages of choosing renewable energy, provides objective and current information about the green power market, and reduces the transaction costs of acquiring green power. Commercial, nonprofit, and public organizations can become Partners by committing to procure an amount of renewable energy that is proportional to their annual electricity use.

DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) committed to purchasing 8.8 million kilowatt-hours of wind-generated electricity in fiscal year 2003--enough to meet 10 percent of its energy needs. PNNL's purchase of wind power from the 263-megawatt Stateline Wind Power Project will increase the laboratory's total use of renewable energy to 13.7 percent of its energy use.

Fairchild Air Force Base
The Bonneville Power Administration announced that Fairchild Air Force
Base, located outside of Spokane, WA, is buying renewable energy to meet
the entire electricity load of the military base. Under the agreement, Fairchild is purchasing 65.7 million kWh of green power from wind and small hydro projects in the region. The bulk of the purchase is in the form of renewable energy certificates, which represent the environmental attributes of the renewable energy generation, with the remainder made up of delivered energy.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that as of November 1, 2004, it began buying 100 million kilowatt-hours per year of green power for its facilities in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The three-year purchase of renewable energy credits will support the generation of renewable power from a biomass power plant in Port Wentworth, Georgia, to offset the electricity from non-renewable sources used by the EPA's facilities in the Triangle Park area. As a result of this and previous purchases, EPA's offices and laboratories are currently meeting 77.7 percent of their electricity needs from renewable energy through a combination of green power purchases and the purchase of renewable energy credits.

EPA also announced in March 2004 that it is purchasing green power for two Georgia-based facilities. Under a three-year agreement between the Defense Energy Support Center (on behalf of EPA) and 3 Phases Energy Services, EPA will purchase 11.2 million kWh of renewable energy certificates (RECs) annually to supply its Region 4 Office Building in Atlanta and its Science and Ecosystem Support Division Laboratory in Athens. The RECs will be supplied from landfill gas generating facilities located in Kentucky and North Carolina. Including this procurement, EPA now purchases a total of about 122.5 million kWh of green power annually, which is equivalent to 44 percent of the electricity consumed at all EPA facilities nationwide.

As well, EPA is seeking to buy renewable energy credits for a number of its facilities in the District of Columbia, Michigan, Minnesota, and Nevada. Over the next three years, the EPA plans to buy renewable energy credits equal to nearly 78 million kilowatt-hours of power generation, including more than 54 million kWh for its Washington, D.C., facilities; nearly 14 million kWh for its Las Vegas, Nevada, facilities; more than 7 million kWh for its facilities in Duluth, Minnesota; and more than 2 million kWh for its facilities in Grosse Isle, Michigan.

EPA is also engaged in a three-year contract to purchase 100 percent renewable electricity for historic buildings in Independence National Historical Park and other federal government-operated facilities in the Philadelphia region. Renewable electricity is generated from less-polluting sources such as wind, solar, water and biomass. The federal government will purchase a total of 11 million kilowatt- hours of renewable electricity from Green Mountain Energy Company over the full term of the contract. That's equivalent to the average usage of over 200 homes. Read more.

EPA's Region 2 office in New York City is switching to 100 percent wind power. For the next year, the EPA office is buying 6.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity from the Fenner Wind Power Project in New York's Madison County. That's the largest federal purchase of wind power in New York State. Nationally, 10 percent of the electricity used by EPA comes from renewable sources. Read more.

In 2002, DOE announced that it would buy enough green power to provide 17 percent of the electricity needs at its headquarters facilities in Washington, D.C., and in Germantown, Maryland. The purchase was actually part of a larger purchase arranged by the Government Services Agency (GSA). According to GSA, it will purchase a total of 24 million kilowatt-hours of green power over 17 months, of which half will go to DOE and half will go to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. GSA says the power will cost less than a penny more per kilowatt-hour than conventional power sources, amounting to an added cost of about $230,000 over the 17-month period. Read the press release.

Green Energy Parks Program
This joint program of the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Energy promotes the use of energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies and practices in our national parks. DOE and NPS will initiate the planning, design, and implementation of sustainable energy projects in more than 20 parks.

Wind Powering America
This new federal initiative aims to increase the use of wind energy in the United States. Its initial goal is to provide 5 percent of the nation's electricity from wind power by 2020, with the federal government leading the way by buying 5 percent of its electricity from wind power by 2010. The initiative also aims to expand the number of states in which wind power is being generated.

Utility Efforts

Arizona Public Service Solar Energy Project -- Arizona
The Arizona Public Service will install a number of solar electric systems that will have a combined capacity of 500 kilowatts. The systems will be supplied by Amonix and will use the company's patented high-concentration photovoltaic system. The first 100 kilowatts of solar energy went online on April 5, 2001; when complete, the combined systems will generate enough electricity to power more than 165 homes. In May 2002, APS dedicated a new 300-kilowatt solar electric system in Scottsdale. The new facility is supported in part by APS customers through the APS Solar Partners program.

Big Texas Sun Club -- Dallas, Texas
Texas will be graced with two new 50-kilowatt solar electric systems by year end. Green Mountain Energy Company (GMEC) announced in October 2001 that it will install one 50-kilowatt system on the roof of the Winston School in Dallas, and a second at an undisclosed location in Houston. The systems will be supported by customers through membership in the company's Big Texas Sun Club.

Blue Sky Wind Power Project -- Utah Power
The Blue Sky program provides customers the opportunity to buy renewable energy in 100-kilowatt block increments for an additional $2.95 per block per month on their electricity bills. In 2001 the Blue Sky program stepped up from tenth to seventh on the U.S. Department of Energy's top ten list of utility green pricing programs.

Bonneville Power Administration
BPA, which supplies power to utilities throughout the Northwest, in early 2004 launched a new service to make wind power more attractive to those utilities. Because the wind produces a variable supply of energy, BPA is using its hydropower facilities as a back-up energy source to cover the times when the wind turbines don't turn. BPA announced the new service last week in conjunction with its sale of two megawatts of wind power to Cowlitz County Public Utility District in Longview, Washington. The wind power will be generated at the Nine Canyon wind energy project near Kennewick, Washington, a facility operated by Energy Northwest

Buck-A-Block for Renewable Energy -- Avista Utilities, Washington, Idaho
This green power program allows customers to purchase wind power in 55 kilowatt-hour (kWh) blocks, with each block costing a dollar. With the Buck-A-Block offering, the cost per kWh is in addition to the normal rate paid, and supports wind-generated electricity. Avista Utilities purchases this wind energy from the State Line Wind Project, which went online in 2001.

Capturing the Wind -- Moorhead Public Service, North Dakota
Due to the popularity and success of its initial wind power program, MPS will build a second 750kW wind turbine, slated to go on-line in October 2001. For just a half-penny more per kilowatt hour, MPS customers can choose to purchase either all or part of their electricity from the turbines.

Concord Municipal Light -- Concord, Massachusetts
CMLP unveiled a green power option for its customers. Under the program, residential and business customers can purchase 100-kWh blocks of hydropower for an extra $3 each month, or a premium of 3¢/kWh. Customers can buy an unlimited number of blocks. The average homeowner electricity usage is about 750 kWh per month. Electricity for the program will be supplied from a repowered 160-kW run of the river hydro facility that will generate approximately 500,000 kWh per year.

Consumers Energy Green Power Pilot Program -- Michigan
Beginning in October 2001, customers of Consumers Energy will be able to buy 10, 50, or 100 percent of their power from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power through a new green power pilot program. The renewable portion of the customer's bills will cost an extra 3.2 cents per kilowatt-hour. Consumers Energy will have sufficient renewable energy capacity to meet the needs of about 18,000 homes.

Eugene Water & Electric Board -- Oregon
EWEB announced plans to purchase 25 megawatts of wind power from the Stateline Wind Energy Center. EWEB signed a 25-year contract with PacifiCorp Power Marketing, Inc., owner of the entire output of the wind plant, which is located on the Washington-Oregon border. EWEB's purchase will equal the annual power needs of about 4,800 homes, or about 2.5 percent of the utility's retail electricity needs. The utility will sell the power to its customers through its green power program.

FPL Energy Wind Farm -- Kansas
Kansas became a major wind power producer in November 2001 with the completion of a 110-megawatt wind power facility near Montezuma. The wind plant -- the first major wind facility in Kansas -- will produce enough electricity each year to power 33,000 homes. UtiliCorp United will buy the entire output from the wind plant and provide it to UtiliCorp's customers in Kansas and Missouri.

Green Power for a Green LA Program -- Los Angeles, California
A program of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power that encourages all customers to purchase green power. Website offers a host of useful information on green power, solar energy, electric vehicles, energy efficiency, recycling, and more.

Green Power Switch -- Tennessee Valley Authority
Allows customers to purchase energy produced from solar, wind, and landfill gas.

Green Tags Program -- Bonneville Power Administration
Through an agreement announced in April 2001, BPA and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) will work together to sell the power from renewable energy through a new "Green Tags" program. Through the agreement, BPA will sell the power from its renewable energy facilities at market rates, and BEF will sell the "environmental attributes" of the power at the additional cost required for the facility.

Greenergy -- Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)
The Greenergy "All Renewables Option" is an energy product offered by SMUD and certified by the independent Green-e Renewable Energy Program. The energy for sale in this program is completely derived from renewable energy sources.

GreenChoice Program -- Austin Energy, Texas
A program that will provide customers with electricity generated from wind, solar, and biomass energy sources. Austin Energy aims to provide 5 percent of its power from renewables by 2005.

Green City Energy -- Lenox Municipal Utilities, Iowa
Just one month after Lenox Municipal Utilities (Iowa) launched a new green
power program, it boasts the highest participation rate for any U.S. utility green pricing program. Under the program, customers can purchase 100-kWh blocks of wind energy each month for an extra $2.00, or a rate premium of 2.0¢/kWh. Power for the program is supplied from a 750-kW wind turbine located south of town, which will generate approximately 1.8 million kWh of electricity annually or enough to meet about 10 percent of the town's total electricity needs. Customers must commit to the program for a minimum of one year.

Green Power Electric Membership Corporation -- Georgia
Green Power EMC began providing green power to 16 electric cooperatives throughout the state in fall 2003. Green Power EMC is drawing on nine megawatts of green power generated by three landfill gas projects

GreenPower Program -- Nevada Power Company
A program that allows customers to purchase electricity generated from the sun. DAYSTAR 1 is the first solar facility constructed for use in the program In November 2002, Nevada Power signed six contracts that will add up to 227 megawatts of renewable generating capacity to the utility's power supply. More than half of the new generating capacity will come from wind power, but the remainder will come from geothermal power.

GreenWatts Program -- Tucson Electric Power Company
A program in which members can choose to subscribe to blocks of renewable energy produced by TEP’s landfill gas-to-energy project. This project generates enough electricity to provide the full electric energy needs of over 4500 homes, the largest renewable electric energy resource in Arizona. TEP's Springerville Generating Station Solar System, the most powerful grid-connected solar array operating in the Western Hemisphere, was recently expanded.

GRUgreen Energy program -- Gainesville Regional Utilities, Florida
A green power option is now available to approximately 82,000 residential and business customers in Florida. Under the GRUgreen Energy program, customers can purchase renewable energy for any portion of their electricity usage for an additional 2¢/kWh. Most of the power for the program (95%) will be supplied from a new 2.3-MW landfill gas facility in Alachua County. The project is unique in that it recycles landfill leachate back through the
waste to accelerate the creation of methane gas. The remainder of the
power will be supplied from wind energy certificates and local solar
systems.

Kimball Wind Power Project -- Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska
Constructed in 2002, this new 10.5-megawatt wind farm supplies green power to nearly 4,000 homes and businesses in the region encompassing Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming.

Maine Renewable Energy -- Maine
Maine Renewable Energy, an affiliate of Competitive Energy Services, LLC, launched a new green power service for the state in January 2003. Sold at a premium of about 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, the power comes mainly from small hydroelectric plants (less than 30 megawatts in capacity) as well as wood-fired biomass power plants. The company uses 10 percent of its profits to fund new zero-emission energy projects in the state.

MidAmerican Energy -- Iowa
Announced the availability of a green power option for its nearly 600,000 customers. Under the program, customers can make one-time, periodic, or monthly contributions to support the development of new renewable energy
resources. The funds collected will be used to construct a new, 1.5-MW wind turbine in Iowa that will be in addition to a 310-MW wind project already planned by the utility. One-fifth of the $1.6 million turbine cost will be covered by the voluntary customer contributions with MidAmerican shareholders funding the remaining amount. Future customer contributions could be used to develop additional renewable energy resources, such as solar, biomass, and animal waste methane facilities.

Infinity Wind Energy Program innkota Power Cooperative -- Minnkota Power Cooperative, North Dakota
A 900-kilowatt wind turbine was y installed near Valley City, North Dakota, by Minnkota Power Cooperative. Power from the turbine will be sold through the utility's green power program. Commissioned in late January 2002, the turbine holds the honor of being the first utility-scale wind turbine in North Dakota.

Montana Wind Power Project -- Montana
Montana Power Company announced in late 2001 that it will buy a total of 150 megawatts of wind power from Montana Wind Harness, a wind plant developer. The wind power capacity will be spread among at least three sites in the state, with construction beginning next year and finishing by 2003. Montana Power will buy the wind power for the next 20 years at a cost of less than 3.2 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Nature Wise -- Wisconsin Public Service
Announced in April 2002, NatureWise will allow Wisconsin Public Service customers to choose a portion of their electricity from renewable energy resources. The program draws electricity from sources powered by wind and, soon, from biomass (farm waste and landfills).

Nature's Power -- Connectiv Energy, Mid-Atlantic Region
Nature's Power is made up of power produced from landfill methane gas and from a number of small hydroelectric facilities, all located in Virginia. The program offers customers a choice of purchasing energy that is generated entirely from renewable sources or from a blend of renewable and conventional sources.

New Mexico Wind Energy Center
Dedicated on October 1, 2003, this is the world's third-largest wind power facility. The Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) is buying all the power from the project for sale to its customers through the "PNM Sky Blue" green power program.

New York Green Power Program -- New York
Niagara Mohawk customers can now choose to purchase renewable energy from three independent green power marketers. For a typical residential customer, the additional cost for cleaner energy would be $3.75 for half their monthly usage or $6.50 to $7.50 for their entire usage, depending on the provider they select.

Ohio Green Power Program -- Ohio
Through a new agreement, Green Mountain Energy will make it possible for 400,000 residences in Ohio to buy green power. Niney-eight percent of the power will come from natural gas and 2 percent will come from renewable energy sources. As part of the agreement, Green Mountain Energy Company will establish a wind power facility and a commercial solar facility to service the customers.

Oklahoma Wind Energy Center -- Oklahoma
The first major wind power plant in Oklahoma went online in October 2003, bringing 102 megawatts of wind power to the state. The Oklahoma Wind Energy Center, located near Woodward in northwest Oklahoma, was developed by FPL Energy and is providing half its power to the Oklahoma Gas and Electric and the other half to the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority. It features 68 1.5-megawatt turbines.

Pasadena Water and Power -- Pasadena, California
PWP is offering a "green power" option to its approximately 60,000 residential customers. Under the new program, customers can purchase newly developed wind energy at a premium of 2.5¢/kWh.

Public Service Company of New Mexico--New Mexico
Preparing to sell green power and has lowered its proposed premium to only 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour above the usual cost of electricity. The proposal still needs regulatory approval. PNM plans to meet initial customer demand for renewable energy with electricity from the New Mexico Wind Energy Center, the world's third-largest wind generation facility, now under construction in eastern New Mexico.

Puget Sound Energy--Washington
Puget Sound Energy, a utility serving 1.4 million customers in the state, issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) in September 2003 for 150 megawatts of wind power. The draft RFP is the utility's first step toward achieving its goal of drawing on renewable energy for 10 percent of its power supply by 2013.

PowerChoice Green Electricity -- Pepco Energy Services, Maryland
This new program will use renewable energy sources to produce at least half its power.

Prairie Power -- Nebraska Public Power District, Columbus, Nebraska
Allows customers the choice of purchasing electricity generated from renewable sources, such as wind and solar.

Renewable Power Choices -- Portland General Electric, Oregon
PGE has two green power programs. The Clean Wind Power program buys wind power from the Vansycle Ridge Wind Farm in northeastern Oregon while setting aside half the funds to build new wind power facilities. The Salmon-Friendly Power program buys power from an assortment of renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, and geothermal energy, and will add low-impact hydropower sources when they become available. Half the funds are set aside for salmon habitat restoration projects.

Solar Muscatine-- Muscatine Power and Water, Iowa
A new program for residential customers, beginning January 1, 2004. Under the Solar Muscatine program, customers can make monthly contributions of $3, $5, or $7 to support the acquisition and installation of photovoltaic arrays in the community. Initially, the utility plans to install 3 PV arrays with a
combined capacity of 3.3 kW in front of its main office.

Solano Wind Project -- California
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) approved a three-year contract with ABB, Inc. to install and operate 10 megawatts of wind turbines in the Montezuma Hills outside of Rio Vista, southwest of Sacramento. The installation is the first phase of the Solano Wind Project, which SMUD intends to expand to 85 megawatts by 2006.

Sunshine Energy Program -- Florida Power & Light
Florida's largest utility began offering green power to its 8 million customers in early 2004. Florida Power & Light (FPL)—a subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc.—will generate power from wind, solar, and bioenergy through its new Sunshine Energy program. Customers will pay a premium of $9.75 per month for 1,000 kilowatt-hours of green power. FPL has also committed to add 150 kilowatts of solar energy capacity for every 10,000 customers who sign up for the program.

Stateline Wind Project -- FPL Energy, LLC
This project will result in a new 300-megawatt wind facility along the Washington-Oregon border. FPL Energy, LLC, will build, own, and operate the wind facility. The facility will draw on 450 wind turbines to produce enough power for 70,000 homes. PacifiCorp Power Marketing, Inc., a subsidiary of Pacificorp, will sell the power throughout the West.

Sunshine Energy -- Florida Power & Light
Florida's largest began offering green power to its 8 million customers in February 2004. Florida Power & Light (FPL) will generate power from wind, solar, and bioenergy through its new Sunshine Energy program. Customers will pay a premium of $9.75 per month for 1,000 kilowatt-hours of green power. FPL has also committed to add 150 kilowatts of solar energy capacity for every 10,000 customers who sign up for the program.

We Energies -- Wisconsin, Michigan
We Energies announced in July 2002 that it will supply at least five percent of its retail electric energy sales from renewable energy sources by 2011. Pending regulatory approval, the company will spend $6 million per year over the next 10 years to reach its renewable energy target, and has formed a Renewable Energy Collaborative of local and national organizations that will guide it in achieving its commitment.

Wellspring Renewable Energy -- Great River Energy, Minnesota
Minnesota's second largest utility requested bids for 200 megawatts of power from renewable energy resources in early March 2004. The utility intends to draw on solar, wind, or biomass projects up to 100 megawatts in capacity, and hydropower projects of less than 60 megawatts in capacity.

Westar Energy -- Kansas
Westar Energy is requesting proposals from one or more entities to supply renewable resources. The RFP is open to parties who currently own, propose to develop or have rights to a generating facility(s) that produces electrical energy and qualifies as a renewable resource.

Other Efforts

BioConverter LLC -- California
Announced plans in late 2003 to construct a new facility by 2008 that will use anaerobic digestion to convert grass clippings and other yard waste into power. The Los Angeles Department of Power and Water (LADWP) announced that it plans to buy 40 megawatts of power from the plant, pending approval from the L.A. City Council. must also approve the agreement. According to BioConverter, the new facility will be more efficient than previous anaerobic digesters, producing 30 to 50 percent more energy from the same amount of biomass. The facility is expected to convert 3,000 tons of plant material into biogas each day, which will be used to produce about 333 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

Cielo Wind Power -- New Mexico
Cielo Wind Power announced in August 2003 that one of its affiliates, Caprock Wind LP, plans to build an 80-megawatt wind energy facility in eastern New Mexico. The new wind plant, called the Caprock Wind Ranch, will be located about 20 miles southeast of Tucumcari. Xcel Energy will buy all the power from the plant and sell it to its customers in parts of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The plant should start operating in August 2004, producing enough power to meet the annual needs of 26,600 homes in the four-state area.

Durst Organization -- Manhattan, New York
The Durst Organization—owner of seven high-rise office buildings in Manhattan—became New York State's largest commercial buyer of wind power in early 2004, when the company agreed to buy 10.5 million kilowatt-hours of wind power per year. Community Energy, Inc. (CEI) will generate the wind power at its 30-megawatt Fenner Wind Power Project, located east of Syracuse.

EAD Environmental
EAD, a greenhouse gas and renewable energy certificate marketer, is donating renewable energy certificates to 10 colleges and universities participating in the Society for College and University Planning's Campus Sustainability Telecast. The schools each received one megawatt-hour of EAD Environmental's 100 percent New Wind RECertificates.

Fala Direct DM Group -- Long Island, New York
A Long Island company announced in April 2001 that it will install a total of 1.5 megawatts of solar power this summer at its facilities in Farmingdale and Melville. The state's governor claims that the project will be the largest application worldwide of solar power technology by a single commercial enterprise. The systems will cut the direct marketing company's energy bill by about 19 percent, at a total cost of $9.3 million. To help underwrite the cost of the systems, the Long Island Power Authority will provide a research grant of $4.5 million to the company.

Green Mountain Energy -- Pennsylvania and California
A leading brand of electricity for residential customers featuring renewable resources like wind, water, and geothermal. The company began supplying cleaner electricity to California in April 1998 and to Pennsylvania in January 1999, and plans to expand nationwide as deregulation spreads.

Green Mountain Energy has bought all the environmental attributes associated with wind power production from the Madison Windpower facility near Hamilton, New York. The wind power credits will be used to meet the demand for people buying green power through the Niagara Mohawk Renewable Energy Program.

Green Mountain Wind Farm--Brazos, Texas
Shell WindEnergy Inc. and Padoma Wind Power are building a 160-megawatt wind power plant in Texas, near the town of Brazos in Scurry and Borden counties. Cielo Wind Power, LLC and Orion Energy LLC will develop the wind plant, and Green Mountain Energy Company and TXU Energy have agreed to buy all the power generated by the facility. the plant will consist of 160 Mitsubishi wind turbines and is expected to be operating by the end of 2003.

Keep Winter Cool Campaign
In the second year of this program, 10 ski resorts are purchasing large quantities of green power, which is electricity produced from renewable energy sources. In addition, California's Mammoth Mountain continues to use solar energy to provide heat and power to its lift shacks, Utah's The Canyons is using solar power for lighting, and the River Run Information Center at Colorado's Keystone Resort is powered by a solar energy system and relies heavily on natural lighting during the day. On February 21, 2004, participating resorts also hosted outreach campaigns aimed at skiers.

Kinko's
Kinko's, Inc. announced plans in February 2003 to increase its use of green power to about 11.2 million kilowatt hours, or about 37 percent. The green power purchase is part of an overall effort to incorporate sustainable business practices into operations. A new purchasing agreement will add 66 stores to the list of those using green power.

Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort
This Mt. Hood, Oregon, ski resort has announced it will purchase enough wind energy run a major chairlift at Meadows and the only chairlift at Cooper Spur Mountain Resort.

Nike Inc.
Nike Inc. has committed to work with the World Wildlife Fund and the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions to reduce its worldwide emissions of greenhouse gas emissions. Nike plans to use energy efficiency and green power purchases to reduce greenhouse emissions from Nike-owned facilities and services. The company aims to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions caused by its owned facilities and services and from its business travel to 13 percent below 1998 levels by 2005.

Office Depot
Twelve Office Depot stores in California are buying 12 million kilowatt- hours per year of green power. Strategic Energy will produce the electricity from landfill gas. The agreement marks the first green power purchases for Office Depot.

Office Max Wind-Made Paper
OfficeMax Inc. is offering its North American business customers a 100-percent post-consumer recycled paper manufactured with wind power and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The paper is also made without the use of chlorine and chlorine compounds. Mohawk Color Copy
Recycled Paper is manufactured by Mohawk Paper Mills, the only U.S. mill using wind energy in its paper-making process. In August 2003, Mohawk Paper Mills entered into a contract with Community Energy, Inc. to purchase four million kWh of wind power annually for its manufacturing facilities. The paper product will be available through contract orders.

Our Wind Co-op -- Pacific Northwest
A collaborative of non-profit groups in the Pacific Northwest announced plans to start up a new wind power cooperative. Called "Our Wind Co-op," the cooperative will install small wind turbines on farms, ranches, and rural facilities throughout the region and sell their environmental attributes through a "green tag" system. Most of the host sites will receive a 10-kilowatt turbine manufactured by Bergey Windpower and capable of generating up to 1600 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month. The co-op organizers are currently negotiating with DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory for funding to support the project.

The Tower Companies -- Washington, DC
The Tower Companies, a commercial and residential building developer, announced in March 2003 that it will buy 24 million kilowatt-hours of green power over 18 months, meeting between 25 and 50 percent of the electricity needs for its buildings in the Washington, D.C. area.

Uinta Brewing Company -- Salt Lake City, Utah
This new brewery opened in early January 2002 with the announcement that it will buy 100 percent renewable energy to power the facility. The brewery expects to purchase more than a quarter million kilowatt-hours of wind power per year.

White Wave, Inc. became the largest purchaser to date of Green Tags, according to the Bonneville Power Administration. White Wave, the country's largest soy products manufacturer, will purchase a minimum of 55,000 megawatt-hours worth of credits over three years, the commitment replaces the electrical power used in all of the company's operations with clean, sustainable wind energy.

Whole Foods Market is expanding its green power purchases, as all 28 of its stores and facilities in the North Atlantic region are buying enough wind power to meet 10 percent of their electricity needs. Community Energy, Inc. (CEI) will supply an estimated 5.2 million kilowatt-hours of wind power each year to the Whole Foods facilities in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. The agreement follows a November 2003 announcement that 24 Whole Foods Market locations in the mid-Atlantic region would buy green power. According to CEI, the combined purchases rank among the top 10 non-governmental purchases of green power in the United States.

World Bank also joined the ranks of green power purchasers in February 2003, when it announced an agreement to buy 10 percent of the electricity used in its Washington, D.C. offices from renewable energy sources. Pepco Energy Services (PES) will draw on wind energy for 60 percent of the green power and landfill gas and other biomass energy sources for the remaining 40 percent.

World Resources Institute Green Power Market Development Group
The World Resources Institute (WRI) announced in December 2004 that the members of its Green Power Market Development Group have bought 62 megawatts (MW) of electricity from renewable energy sources over the past year. The Green Power Group is a WRI project that established a unique partnership dedicated to building corporate markets for green power. Its members are Alcoa Inc., Cargill Dow LLC, Delphi Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, FedEx Kinko's, General Motors Corporation, IBM, Interface Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Pitney Bowes, and Staples.
The 62 MW of green power—enough to power 46,000 homes—represents purchases made for more than 80 facilities in 18 states.

WRI subsequently announced in September 2003 that the 12 corporate members of its Green Power Market Development Group have purchased a total of 97 megawatts of green power over the past year. The group includes Alcoa Inc., Cargill Dow LLC, Delphi Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, General Motors, IBM, Interface, Johnson and Johnson, Kinko's, Pitney Bowes, and Staples. Some of those companies had already announced their green power purchases separately. Read more.

The group purchased 36 megawatts of renewable energy certificates from
wind, biomass, and landfill gas resources, 15 megawatts of wind power,
5 megawatts of landfill gas energy, and 6 megawatts of other
renewables. In addition, IBM is buying 35 megawatts of fuel cells from
General Motors.

WWF PowerSwitch! Challenge
A project of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that calls for power companies to support binding limits on national carbon dioxide emissions and requires them to undertake one or more of the following action targets: using renewable energy as the source for 20 percent of their electricity sold by 2020, increasing their energy efficiency by 15 percent by 2020, or retiring the least efficient half of coal generation by 2020. Five U.S. power companies have committed to use clean energy sources and to cap their carbon dioxide emissions: Austin Energy of Texas; Burlington Electric Department of Vermont; the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) of California; Waverly Light and Power of Iowa; and FPL Group, Inc., which operates Florida Power and Light.

Xenergy
Xenergy, Inc. announced in September 2002 that it has committed to supporting renewable energy for its 25 national offices through the purchase of "green tags" for 50 percent of the company's energy use. The company said its green tags are generated by new wind and solar plants.

Other Links

Green Power Market Development Group
The World Resources Institute announced in September 2003 that the 12 corporate members of its Green Power Market Development Group have purchased a total of 97 megawatts of green power over the past year. The group includes Alcoa Inc., Cargill Dow LLC, Delphi Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, General Motors, IBM, Interface, Johnson and Johnson, Kinko's, Pitney Bowes, and Staples. Some of those companies had already announced their green power purchases separately.

Green Power Network
A DOE network that rovides a host of information on green power topics including markets and policies, as well as current news, on-line documents, a discussion forum, and more.

Green Pricing Accreditation Initiative
A new program launched by The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) to accredit green power programs offered by regulated utilities. The program will verify the environmental performance of these programs and will recognize and accredit those programs that meet stringent standards for consumer and environmental protection.

Additionally, the CRS announced in late March 2002 that it is now offering Green-e certification of tradable renewable energy credits (TRCs), also known as "green tags." TRCs allow a company to build a renewable energy facility anywhere and sell the power into the local power system at the going rate. The company then sells the environmental attributes of the power through TRCs. Since renewable energy sources are often more expensive than traditional power sources, TRC sales may be an essential extra source of income for the facility owner. People or companies that buy TRCs can correctly claim that they are supporting renewable energy projects and can claim that they are offsetting air emissions that they produce through their purchase of TRCs. Learn more.

Green-e Renewable Electricity Program
A program that strives to inform consumers, so that they may easily identify certified "green" electricity products and make responsible choices about the power they purchase.

Montana Green Power
A website focusing on renewable energy issues in Montana. The site provides the latest news on renewable energy; information on planning and designing your own solar, wind and micro-hydro systems; hands-on activities for the classroom; news about utility restructuring, and more.

ArkansasRenewableEnergy.org
A website focusing on renewable energy issues in Arkansas. Provides news, links, success stories, and more.

Tradable Renewable Energy Certificate Expert Network (TRECNET)
Aaims to advance the development and sharing of information, knowledge, and experience of tradable renewable energy certificates, a mechanism for tracking and verifying electricity generated by renewable energy. TRECNET supports this mission by disseminating information through its Web site, supporting seminars and conferences, and involving partners throughout the world.

Articles

Austin School District to make largest purchase of renewable energy; subscription also largest in nation by a school district
Profiles the success of the Austin Independent School district in its green power purchases.

BPU Proposes Changes to Net Metering and Interconnection Standards for Class I Renewable Energy Systems
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved amendments in September 2004 to its rules for connecting renewable energy systems to the electrical grid and selling the power back to the electric utility. The proposed rules expand the types of eligible systems to include renewable-fuel-powered fuel cells, landfill-gas systems, power from sustainable biomass sources, and geothermal, wave, and tidal energy systems, in addition to wind and solar systems, which were previously included. The rules also boost the maximum system size to 2 megawatts, up from 100 kilowatts.

Renewable Portion of SCE Power Mix Hits Record 23%
Explains how Southern California Edison (SCE) drew on renewable energy resources for 23 percent of its power in June 2003 and 22 percent of its power in May 2003, achieving the state's 20-percent renewable energy requirement 14 years early. Approximately 150 independent power producers now supply the utility with more than 13 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.

Top Ten Utility Green Pricing Programs
A National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) ranking of the most successful green power programs in the country. Programs are evaluated in four categories: total number of customer participants; customer participation rates; renewable energy development; and premium charged for renewable energy development.

Upstate New York to Get Green Power Under Merger
Under a proposed settlement filed in October 2001, the merger of Niagara Mohawk and National Grid will bring with it new opportunities for customers of Niagara Mohawk to buy green power through their electricity bills.

Publications

Buy Green Power
This guide from the Union of Concerned Scientists explains what green power is, why consumers should buy it, and options available.

Guide to Purchasing Green Power
A new 2004 document that answers questions about renewable energy and green power, focusing on electricity from renewable sources. It describes environmental benefits and provides organizations with guidelines on how to procure green power and understand green power product certification and verification. Finally, sections of the guide describe how organizations can approach the development of on-site renewable power generation.

Powerful Choices IV
A new report by the Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) that summarizes the retail green power programs that are available in the Northwest, provides charts of participation rates and kWh sales, and includes recommendations on customer participation in green power programs.

Pricing Programs Spur Growth of Renewable Energy Technologies
This September 2001 study by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) identifies key factors for ensuring the success of "green pricing" programs and ranks programs nationwide for their relative effectiveness.

Renewable Resources Development Report (PDF 4.4 MB)
A report adopted by the California Energy Commission in November 2003. The report says that although the state currently draws on renewable energy for 11 percent of its electricity, the state could produce about 10 times more electricity from renewable energy than it does today. The document will be submitted to the California legislature on December 1 in support of the state's new Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires that 20 percent of the state's retail electricity sales come from renewable energy sources.

Sustainable Slopes
A set of voluntary environmental principles for ski resorts and skiers to follow, along with many dozen best practices for resorts in 21 areas, including water conservation, habitat protection and forest/watershed
management, energy conservation, waste reduction, visual quality, transportation, air quality, and education and outreach. Almost 200 ski areas have endorsed the Sustainable Slopes program.

Utility Green Pricing Programs: What Defines Success?
Prepared by NREL, this report examines important elements of green pricing programs, the premiums charged, customer response, and additional factors that experience indicates are key to developing successful programs. The report concludes with a list of "best practices" for utilities to follow when developing and implementing their programs.

Case Studies

Binghamton Federal Building, New York
The first federal facility to buy 100 percent wind power. The Federal contract for wind energy covers the facility's electricity usage for 34 months, beginning in July 2002. The 30-megawatt wind farm in Fenner, New York, will produce the power, which should total about 500,000 kilowatt-hours per year. The government is purchasing the wind power from Community Energy, Inc. through an agreement with Select Energy, Inc.

Minnesota Poultry Litter Biomass Plant
The first U.S. power plant to be fueled primarily with poultry litter is now under construction in Benson, Minnesota. Fibrowatt LLC completed financing of the 55-megawatt plant in mid-December 2004 and immediately began construction. The plant will consume about 700,000 tons per year of biomass, of which about 90 percent will be poultry litter and 10 percent will be other agricultural biomass. SNC-Lavalin Power Inc. is building the Minnesota plant under a $142-million contract, and expects the plant to start operating in early 2007.

Profiles in Renewable Energy: Case Studies of Successful Utility-Sector Projects
Describes successful renewable energy projects utilizing six renewable resources—biomass, geothermal, hydropower, photovoltaics, solar thermal, and wind—undertaken by U.S. utility companies. Discusses key factors to the success of each project, development issues, project cost, performance, and environmental impacts and benefits.

Last updated: March 3, 2005

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