NREL Ranks Leading Utility Green Power Programs
Ranked by renewable energy sales, the green power program of Austin (Texas) Energy is first in the nation, according to an annual ranking of leading green power utility programs recently released by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Ranked by renewable energy sales, the green power program of Austin (Texas) Energy is first in the nation, according to an annual ranking of leading green power utility programs recently released by the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Austin Energy is followed by Portland General Electric, PacifiCorp, Florida Power & Light and Xcel Energy, according to NREL.
Ranked by customer participation rates, the top utilities are City of Palo Alto (Calif.) Utilities, Lenox (Iowa) Municipal Utilities, Silicon Valley Power (Calif.), Portland General Electric and Sacramento Municipal Utility District.
Under these voluntary programs, consumers can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as solar and wind. More than 800 utilities across the U.S. offer these programs.
Using information provided by utilities, NREL develops a Top 10 ranking of utility programs in the following categories: total sales of renewable energy to program participants, total number of customer participants, customer participation rate, 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.
Customer choice programs are proving to be a powerful stimulus for growth in renewable energy supply. In 2007, total utility green power sales exceeded 4.5 billion kWh, about a 20 percent increase over 2006, according to NREL. Approximately 600,000 customers are participating in utility programs nationwide.
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