More Customers Participating in Utility Green Power Programs
The number of U.S. utility customers participating in voluntary green power programs continues to grow steadily, reaching more than 650,000 in 2009, according to DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). That's a gain of about 50,000 customers since 2008, or about 8%, despite tough economic conditions.
Also, green power sales exceeded 6 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2009, a gain of about 1 billion kWh over 2008. The sales are supporting roughly 6,000 MW of renewable power capacity. Overall, more than 850 utilities nationwide provide voluntary green power programs, in which people can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as wind and solar power.
NREL's annual assessment of leading utility green power programs, released on May 3, finds that Austin Energy continues to lead the nation in total green power sales. During 2009, the Texas utility sold nearly 765 million kWh of renewable power generated from wind and landfill gas, up from almost 724 million KWh in 2008.
In terms of the total number of participants, modestly-sized Portland General Electric (PGE) in Oregon moved up from second-place in 2008 to overtake Xcel Energy, which serves customers in eight states. PGE registered 72,812 green power customers in 2009. PacifiCorp moved up from third to second place, pushing Xcel Energy into third. PGE also moved into second place in the percentage of customers participating, at 10.2%, but California's City of Palo Alto Utilities maintained its lead with a nearly 21% participation rate.
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 cents per kWh in 2000 to 1.75 cents per kWh in 2009. See the NREL press release and the current and past top-ten lists of utility green power programs on the Green Power Network, a part of DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site.
One-Third of Countries Have Made Progress on Climate in 2010
An analysis of 95 countries responsible for 97% of global economic activity finds that 32 made significant improvements in the first quarter of 2010. In addition, 46% of the countries demonstrated improvement in climate accountability.
The findings are the result of the Climate Competitiveness Index (CCI) 2010, produced by the non-profit institute AccountAbility in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The index rates countries on their climate accountability, based on a climate strategy that is clear, ambitious, and supported by stakeholders, as well as climate performance, which tallies each country's capabilities and track record on delivering its strategy.
The CCI finds Germany, China, and the Republic of Korea to be outstanding examples of countries that have made significant improvements, while Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Japan, and France show the most consistent progress toward climate goals. The US and UK earn kudos for climate accountability, while Switzerland and Austria are strong on performance. UNEP and AccountAbility intend to update the new index annually. See the UNEP press release, the CCI Web site, an executive summary of the accompanying report (PDF 1.6 MB), and the full report (PDF 3.3 MB).
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EREE Network News is a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
