THE GREEN POWER STUDY 2010

NREL Highlights Utility Green Power Leaders; Annual assessment shows more consumers making clean power choices
May 3, 2010 (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

"The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)…released its annual assessment of leading utility green power programs. Under these voluntary programs, consumers can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as wind and solar.

"According to the NREL analysis, more than 850 utilities across the United States now offer green power programs. Utility green power sales in 2009 exceeded 6 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), and they represent more than 5 percent of total electricity sales for some of the most popular programs. Wind energy represents approximately two-thirds of electricity generated for green energy programs nationwide…"

click to enlarge

"Using information provided by utilities, [NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC)] developed “Top 10” rankings of utility programs for 2009…[for] total sales of renewable energy to program participants, total number of customer participants, the percentage of customer participation, green power sales as a percentage of total utility retail electricity sales, and the lowest price premium charged for a green power program using new renewable resources.

"Ranked by renewable energy sales (kWh/year), Austin Energy in Austin, Texas sold the largest amount of renewable energy in the nation through its voluntary green power program…[B]y the percentage of customer participation, the top [utility is] City of Palo Alto Utilities (Calif.)… More than 650,000 customers are participating in utility programs nationwide."

click to enlarge

"Utility green pricing programs are one segment of a larger green power marketing industry that counts Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and colleges and universities among its customers, and helps support more than 6,000 MW of renewable electricity generation capacity.

"NREL analysts attribute the success of many programs to continued efforts by utilities and their partners to raise awareness of the availability of green power options. In addition, the rate premium that customers pay for green power continues to drop. The average net price premium for utility green power products has decreased from 3.48¢/kWh in 2000 to 1.75¢/kWh in 2009…"