Using information provided by utilities, NREL develops "Top 10" rankings of utility programs in categories including total sales of renewable energy to participants and total number of customer participants. GreenUp ranked as sixth in both categories out of nearly 130 programs in 34 states, according to the NREL.
Almost 15,000 customers from National Grid utilities Niagara Mohawk, Massachusetts Electric and Narragansett Electric purchased more that 88 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy through GreenUp in 2004, the company said.
Customer choice programs continue to be a powerful stimulus for growth in renewable energy supply, said Lori Bird, a senior energy analyst at NREL.
GreenUp requires participating renewable energy providers to secure renewable energy resources — such as wind, bioenergy (landfill gases, for example) or hydropower — and offer it to National Grid customers. After a customer selects a renewable energy provider, that provider notifies the utility of the customer's decision. National Grid's supply portfolios receive the energy on behalf of the customer and the local utility remains responsible for all service to the customer.
Costs and other program details for GreenUp vary by state and provider. Niagara Mohawk customers can find more information at www.niagaramohawk.com/greenenergy. Massachusetts Electric customers can find more information at www.masselectric.com/greenenergy. Narragansett Electric customers can find more information at http://www.narragansett.com/greenenergy. More information of the NREL rankings is available at www.nrel.gov.
National Grid, through the transmission and distribution of electricity and natural gas, serves 3.3 million customers across 29,000 square miles of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. Its retail companies include: Massachusetts Electric Company, Nantucket Electric Company, Granite State Electric Company, Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., and Narragansett Electric Company. National Grid is a subsidiary of National Grid Transco, an international energy delivery business with principal activities in the regulated electricity and natural gas industries.
NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle.
