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PMC News
February, 2007
February, 2007
Editor: Jack Jenkins
Associate Editor: John Horst
The Aspen Skiing Company purchases 25 megawatts of green power each year to help power its operation.
PMC-News this month takes an in-depth look at voluntary green power programs. Companies and consumers from Aspen, Colo. to the state of Pennsylvania are looking at how their electricity is generated and demanding that more renewable energy sources be included in the mix. Voluntary green power purchase programs available through local utilities are now active in 44 states. If you have no such local option, you might want to consider buying Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). This issue of PMC-News tells you how RECs were developed and how to purchase them. (read story)
We also explore the amazing variety of green power installations and applications being developed by electricity suppliers and businesses across the nation. Take a quick look at what green power leaders are accomplishing . Also see how experts feel about moving green power into the mainstream.
Learn what Voluntary Green Power options are available in your state.
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NAHB Green Building Conference March 25-27 in St. Louis
More than ever resources are now available for individual builders and home builder associations interested in green building. There’s a steadily growing market to build homes that are both good for the environment and good for business.
Those interested in learning more about building with sustainability in mind may wish to attend the National Association of Home Builder’s National Green Building Conference March 25-27 in St. Louis, Mo.
Some of the most successful builders in the industry and world-renowned architects will be on hand to discuss the latest product developments and provide technical expertise. They will also address some of the most prevalent concerns by customers including improving indoor air quality, rising energy costs and preserving natural resources.
Educational sessions will focus on construction, environment, conservation, finance and marketing and there will be a Green Building/Technology tour of green built homes and remodeled homes in the St. Louis area.
For more information visit, NAHB Web Site
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City of Dallas improves energy efficiency
The State Energy Conservation Office and the Texas Energy Partnership recently recognized Dallas for its outstanding achievement in improving energy efficiency and overall air quality in a number of facilities.
The Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dallas has been a leader in adopting Green Power.
The City of Dallas minimized energy use with lighting upgrades and solar panels, installation of new heating and cooling systems and automated building controls.
When new buildings larger than 10,000 square feet open in Dallas for the first time, they will use 15-25 percent less energy than conventional buildings.
Other methods to cut energy costs included replacing conventional traffic lights with LED-lights, installing a geothermal plant and retrofitting old roofs with supplemental insulation.
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Southeastern buildings earn Energy Star® rating
Nearly 500 top performing buildings in the southeast earned the Energy Star® from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting energy costs.
It’s estimated the buildings, which cover about 50 million square feet, will save $50 million annually in energy costs and prevent more than 1.5 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to emissions from nearly 130,000 vehicles.
The top buildings include supermarkets, office buildings and K-12 schools. Banks, courthouses, financial centers, hospitals and also hotels earned the Energy Star® rating, the most recognized national symbol for energy efficiency.
To earn an Energy Star® rating, buildings must use about 35 percent less energy than average buildings; according to EPA about 400 Energy Star® buildings use 50 percent less energy than average buildings.
In 2006, American consumers and businesses, with the help of Energy Star®, saved $12 billion and prevented greenhouse gas emissions equal to those from 23 million vehicles.
To see the complete list of buildings, by State, go to:Energy Star® Buildings
For more information on Energy Star® go to: Energy Star®
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Clean Cities is a government-industry partnership that works to reduce petroleum consumption in transportation. It advances use of alternative fuels and vehicles, idle reduction technologies, hybrid electric vehicles, fuel blends and fuel economy.
Nearly 90 Clean Cities community-based coalitions, government agencies and private companies help develop public/private partnerships to advance alternative transportation technologies.
These partnerships identify mutual interests in improving air quality, developing regional economic opportunities and reducing the use of foreign oil.
Toyota Donates hybrid car to Denver Museum
There’s a new car in town and it will capture interest everywhere as it makes its way from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) to area schools and across Colorado.
It’s a hybrid, a Highlander, donated by Toyota to the Museum to assist in transporting outreach materials and staff to 800-plus schools and community venues each year. The programs teach kids about science topics ranging from human health to cultural anthropology to paleontology.
The car officially hit the road on Feb. 6 when its unique look was unveiled in front of fourth graders at Cheltenham Elementary in Denver.
Compelling, dynamic graphics wrap the car, including two enormous stegosaurs on the back, an astronaut and bright-blue butterfly on the driver’s side, totem poles and crystals on the passenger side and infrared hands on the hood.
Cheltenham Elementary School students check out new Toyota hybrid vehicle the company donated to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
“I want this car – this car is mine,” exclaimed one of the students who rushed the car to see it up close. “Look at the hands – cool. Oh, and the dinosaur. Whoa. It pollutes less.”
U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Clean Cities Manager Ernie Oakes facilitated the donation. When he first heard of the Museum’s interest in obtaining a hybrid, he thought to ask Toyota because it has been very receptive to DOE as a partner in Clean Cities, donating fuel-efficient vehicles for educational purposes (this is No. 15).
“Toyota jumped at the chance,” Oakes said. “They immediately wanted to become involved in helping the Museum reach kids with educational programs.”
The Museum's three full-time and eight part-time teachers reach nearly 120,000 youth and adults per year; they log nearly 50,000 miles to provide classes, assemblies, health fair displays and after-school programs. On average, educators are on the road 250 days per year visiting schools as well as libraries, community fairs, day care facilities, summer camp programs, corporations, etc.
“A lot of students don’t get to visit the Museum, and for many, we are the Museum to them,” said Karen Hays, outreach manager. “Kids love it when we come to their school. We also get excited because we get to share in the experience and encourage them to become interested in science.
“This donation is greatly appreciated and will help us conserve gas and reduce our emissions. We expect it will also help reduce our mileage reimbursement because our teachers will choose to drive the Highlander instead of their own personal vehicle and will get better gas mileage driving the hybrid."
More importantly, the donation is appreciated by the Museum because it emphasizes preserving the environment.
“This car fits the Museum’s mission of environmental stewardship,” Hays said. “We certainly are huge promoters of renewable energy and this just seemed like the right thing to do.”
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Voluntary Green Power Programs
2007 Green Power Leadership Award Nominations
Nominations will open in June for the 2007 Green Power Leadership Awards. Past award winners have included Fortune 500 companies, states, federal agencies, universities, small businesses, utilities and other leading organizations around the country.
"This program represents an exciting opportunity to help strengthen the U.S. voluntary green power market," said Pam Bloch Mendelson, Awards coordinator. "The success stories you read in PMC-News represent the green power accomplishments now being made around the country. Make sure your company or organization joins the leaders and gets recognized for it."
For nomination information on the Green Power Leadership Awards or EPA's Green Power Partnership, contact Pam Bloch Mendelson.
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History of Voluntary Green Power
The green power movement started in the 1990s. In states where electricity restructuring and deregulation allowed, customers began shopping around to buy energy produced from renewable sources rather than the usual fossil fuels, large-scale hydropower or nuclear options.
In other states where deregulation had not yet occurred, consumers remained inexorably tied to their local utility, but they too were starting to ask that renewable energy sources be added to the power generating mix.
Progressive power generators and utilities took up the challenge and a few started offering customers green power pricing options at a pay a per kilowatt hour premium to help finance the incremental cost of installing new renewable energy generation.
In 2005, Harvard University received a Green Power Award for purchasing nearly 22,000 megawatt hours of electricity, or seven percent of its total usage.
To the surprise of many, these programs proved popular. Given the choice, many consumers chose green power. They liked the idea of using electricity generated by wind, solar, biomass, or small-hydro power. More to the point, they were willing to help pay for the switch. Many utilities got the message and responded. Austin Energy was one of the early adaptors, starting its GreenChoice Program in 2002. Within a year, 117 small businesses, 25 large companies and more than 6,000 residential customers had signed up, with subscriptions totaling 182 million kilowatt-hours annually.
Several utilities took similar steps at about the same time. Today, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), more than 600 utilities in 44 states now offer some sort of green power option to their customers. Customers usually pay a premium price of about two cents per kilowatt-hour.
The United States Air Force purchases more green power than any other branch of the entire federal government.
This growing acceptance of green power represents a real shift in consumer and utility thinking, but the movement is still in its initial stage. Retail sales of renewable energy through voluntary purchases now total about 8.5 billion kilowatt-hours. This represents only about 0.2 percent of total U.S. electricity sales.
So what can we do as individuals, companies or organizations to help this shift toward renewable electricity generation? What choice exists if our local utility doesn’t offer green power or our state hasn’t yet deregulated electricity generation and purchasing?
One possibility is purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). A REC represents the environmental, social and other positive attributes of power generated by renewable sources. The purchase price of a REC contributes to the funding of such projects.
“When I buy a REC,” said Jerry Kotas, DOE project manager in Golden, Colo., “I’m helping develop a wind farm rather than a coal plant; a row of solar panels rather than a row of natural gas turbines.”
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How to buy a REC
Green power is not about buying the electrons that flow into homes and businesses; it’s about choosing clean-generating technology. When you buy a REC, you support development of energy sources such as wind, solar, small-scale hydro and biomass.
Because RECs are sold separately from electricity, they can be sold and purchased anywhere. This enables individuals, groups and businesses to support renewable power even when their local utility offers no such options.
Whole Foods Markets are among the many retail outlets offering Point-of-purchase RECs.
RECs offer an opportunity for a growing number of consumers to step up and make a choice for green power.
A recent Point-of-Sale REC purchaser at Whole Foods Market, a national healthy foods marketer, said, “I know that I don’t want the pollutants from a coal plant going into the atmosphere, so I’m willing to pay a premium to prevent that from happening. For me, it’s an easy choice.”
To buy a REC, one must carefully consider and understand the actual environmental attributes being represented. Common questions include where and how to buy an REC, how are the environmental attributes verified, and what does my money actually buy. One of the best places to explore options is The Green Power Network.
For a list of available retail products, go to Green Power Products.
For a list of green power providers, go to Green Power Providers.
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Green Power Snapshots
“We looked at various energy alternatives, but kept coming back to geothermal. Because Chena's hot water temperatures are so marginal, we had no choice other than to push the technological envelope to make our project happen. We hope our success encourages development at other sites that were not previously considered economical.”
-- Gwen Holdmann, Project Manager
The geothermal plant at Chena Hot Springs in Alaska is the first of its kind to use water as cool as 165F degrees, making it possible to power the entire facility with “green” electricity.
Tapping the earth's natural resources has put Chena Hot Springs Resort, located 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, ahead of the game in geothermal development. Currently, the entire resort is powered by its geothermal plant, consisting of a 400-kilowatt system that supplies all facilities. The resort also uses geothermal water to keep its year-round Aurora Ice Hotel frozen, using absorption chilling in the summer months. The hot water is also used for an extensive district heating system, which includes a new 5,000 square foot greenhouse that provides the resort's restaurant with fresh produce for guests and employees.
The geothermal power plant at Chena Hot Springs is the first in Alaska and the only one in the world to use water as cool as 165F degrees. Prior to the installation of the Chena plant, conventional wisdom was that 230F degrees was the lower limit to commercially generate power. The resort's breakthrough is in using inexpensive refrigeration components from Carrier Refrigeration for power generation in a system designed and built by United Technologies Corporation.
As a result of this innovative project, Chena Hot Springs is leading the way in U.S. geothermal generation. At a cost of $2.2 million, the geothermal plant is expected to pay for itself within five years. More importantly, it is free of emissions and driving an alternative standard that can meet electricity demands in rural areas of the state where most power is derived from burning diesel fuels. Residents in many rural areas frequently pay as much as 86 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity. Chena's geothermal plant has reduced local costs from 30 cents per kilowatt hour to six cents per kilowatt hour.
Chena Hot Springs Resort plans to become a sustainable community and is committed to renewable energy, energy independence, self-sufficiency and environmental stewardship. The resort demonstrates its commitment by showcasing work in renewable energy projects, including solar, wind, hydro and alternative fuels. Last year it hosted more than 50 school groups and nearly 70,000 visitors from around the globe.
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“There is tremendous opportunity for communities to make a strong commitment to become green power communities by working through their utilities or working with a green tag provider like Bonneville Environmental Foundation to rally support in the community around taking responsibility for the carbon associated with our nation’s energy footprint.”
-- Rob Harmon, BEF VP Renewable Energy Programs
 Besides advancing renewable energy projects, the Bonneville Environmental Foundation also supports several watershed projects such as the Elk River on the SW Oregon Coast.
The Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), established in 1998, was a pioneer in developing the voluntary market for renewable energy certificates, which it calls Green Tags.
BEF reinvests all the net revenues from Green Tags sales to support solar power systems for schools and businesses, wind power systems for farms and ranches, and investments in small-and-large-scale renewable projects that advance new technologies. BEF also provides an innovative 10-year funding program for watershed restoration efforts for salmon bearing streams.
Since the program began, BEF has more than doubled its sale of Green Tags each year. Almost 348,000 Green Tags were sold in 2006, compared to 150,000 Green Tags sold in 2005, with revenue approaching $1 million.
All BEF Green Tags are independently certified as 100 percent renewable by the Green-e program which conducts strict, ongoing environmental review of renewable energy projects across North America.
BEF clients range from small-and-large-scale utilities and businesses to families and individuals. Notable Green Tag participants include Puget Sound Energy, WhiteWave, the makers of Silk and Horizon Organic, Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), Aspen Snowmass, Grand Targee Resort and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Oscars).
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“To date, no other school district in the nation has been able to accomplish environmental and sustainability leadership practices to this level. In my mind, this only occurred because of strong school board support of renewable energy technologies over many years.”
-- J. William Naish, SDUSD's energy coordinator
San Diego Unified School District has incorporated the use of solar-integrated photovoltaic panels on the tops of 24 educational and support facilities. Each year, they plan to replace more roofs with solar panels.
Necessary roof repairs in 2004 made purchasing green power an attractive option for the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). Through an innovative public-private partnership, SDUSD, the second largest school district in California, replaced roofs in need of repair with solar-integrated photovoltaic panels on 24 educational and support facilities.
The district hired an expert to install up to 3,600 kilowatts of solar capacity on facilities and in doing so opened the door to receive electricity produced at a fixed price. The move also provided a way for the system financier to profit on payback stemming from power sales, as well as collect associated tax and depreciation advantages.
Each year, the district plans to replace additional roofs, striving to meet a total of 6,500 kilowatts of solar capacity. The highly specialized roofing company, which installed the photovoltaics, received a 20-year contract to maintain both the roofs and solar energy systems. The deal will potentially save the district $37 million over 20 years, including associated costs for roof replacement and maintenance, with $3 million saved in electricity.
Project details are updated regularly on the SDUSD Web site.
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“Renewable energy programs, along with energy efficiency measures, water-saving projects, and waste reduction plans offer companies a chance to showcase their resource stewardship activities. With an increasing number of consumers and corporate investors making purchasing decisions based on a company’s environmental policies, offering those companies public recognition for their policies makes excellent sense for all parties.”
-- Carol Harwell, GreenChoice® Manager
Austin Energy’s GreenChoice program, where wind is the primary source of power, has been the highest selling green power program in the nation with annual sales exceeding 585,000 megawatt hours.
Austin Energy’s leadership in green power development stems from listening to its customers. As a municipal utility, Austin Energy essentially belongs to its customers and citizens of Austin demand and actively protect a high quality of life.
Since starting its GreenChoice® Program in 2002, the utility annual subscription rate exceeds 585,000 megawatt hours — the highest selling green power program in the U.S. Austin Energy has done so by replacing the volatile regular fuel charge portion of a subscriber’s kilowatt-hour (kWh) charge with a fixed rate for 10 years. The secrets to the program’s success lie in understanding that renewable energy makes good economic sense to all customers, especially as the cost of fossil fuels continues to rise and increase in volatility.
With growing awareness of the environmental impact that commerce has, more companies are developing environmental impact plans. Austin Energy purchases energy from only 100 percent renewable energy sources for its GreenChoice Program. The utility added rebates for solar photovoltaics and solar water heaters in 2004. Austin Energy recently increased its strategic goal to include 30 percent renewable energy by 2020. Interest in the GreenChoice Program continues to grow to such an extent that the utility is having a hard time keeping up with the demand.
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“We’ve created a policy environment and a series of strategic investments to create a renewable energy infrastructure and manufacturing base.
We hope this serves as a model for other states to follow in reaching energy independence for the nation.”
-- Charles Young, spokesperson
for the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is the largest state purchaser of green electricity and is leading the nation in creating an energy infrastructure that encourages the development of clean energy sources.
Forward-thinking has launched renewable energy into the center of Pennsylvania’s economic strategy. Several initiatives are underway that lead the nation in developing a renewable energy infrastructure that creates jobs and protects the environment.
Pennsylvania started with an initial commitment in 2000 to purchase five percent of its energy load from green sources, making it the first state to voluntarily purchase green power. Governor Edward Rendell has twice doubled Pennsylvania’s green power purchases, most recently to 20 percent, or 200 megawatt hours.
Pennsylvania is the largest state purchaser of green power, earning a 2006 Green Power Leadership award from EPA, as well as national awards from the American Wind Energy Association and the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.
The significant purchase is just one part of the state’s overall plan to advance clean energy. Pennsylvania’s “Alternative Energy Portfolio”, ensures that 18 percent of all retail energy generated by 2020 be from clean, efficient and advanced resources.
Enacting new policies and building a diverse energy industry has led Pennsylvania to successfully recruit Gamesa Corp., the world’s second largest wind energy company, along with Germany-based Conergy AG – the world’s largest solar power integration company.
With its U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia and three manufacturing facilities throughout the state, Gamesa represents an $84 million investment that will create as many as 1,000 jobs over five years; Conergy AG is expected to bring $100 million in investments and up to 50 engineering, financing and management jobs over the next three years.
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“It’s been our experience at Johnson & Johnson that using renewable energy is not only good for the environment, but it’s good for the bottom line.”
-- Dennis Canavan, J&J
Director of Global Energy
Johnson & Johnson operates in 57 countries and draws almost 30 percent of its electric power from green sources.
Johnson & Johnson has taken sustained action to address the challenge of global climate change and for that commitment is highly regarded as one of the largest corporate voluntary users of renewable energy in the U.S.
In 2003, the company established the Climate Friendly Energy Policy, pointed directly at reducing carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) from all facilities worldwide in absolute terms: four percent reduction by 2005 and seven percent by 2010 compared to 1990 levels.
In 2005, nearly 30 percent of the company’s worldwide electricity (Johnson & Johnson operates in 57 countries) – came from a broad range of environmentally friendly resources, including solar, wind, biomass and geothermal. Its commitment to clean energy solutions has raised the bar for other companies around the world. Johnson & Johnson sets rigorous company-wide standards for its operating businesses that not only meet regulations but reduce its overall environmental footprint.
Currently, Johnson & Johnson is the second largest corporate user of on-site photovoltaic solar energy in the U.S, using more than two megawatts of power to operate facilities in California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Small-scale solar water heaters are also used to reduce heating requirements for facilities in Brazil, China, India, Portugal and Puerto Rico. In Switzerland, biomass resources, wood chips, are used to power its Logistics Center and in De Puy France, the facility is powered from a geothermal system brought online after 2005.
Johnson & Johnson uses renewable energy wherever it can and when it makes good business sense. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson pioneered the use of on-site roof top wind turbines at its campus in Livingston, Scotland. From 1990 to 2005, while worldwide sales have increased 350 percent, Johnson & Johnson still has managed to cut its CO2 emissions by 11.5 percent below 1990 levels.
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Mainstreaming Green Power
Visitors to Portland General Electric's booth learn about how they can participate in purchasing green power.
Looking toward the future to accelerate green power development, DOE’s Jerry Kotas held a roundtable discussion with leaders in the industry, including Craig Hanson of World Resources Institute Green Power Market Development Group; Thor Hinckley with Portland General Electric and Rob Harmon, Vice President of Renewable Energy Programs at the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. Acting as a moderator, Kotas asked the experts their take on where green power stands today and what needs to happen to move suppliers further into the voluntary markets.
Participants:
Jerry Kotas – J.K:
Craig Hanson – C.H.
Thor Hinckley – T.H.
Rob Harmon – R.H.
J.K.: According to NREL, approximately 20 percent of investor-owned utilities offer some sort of green power option to customers. What would you like to see DOE do to get more utilities engaged and move that 20 percent higher?
C.H.: “DOE can do a couple of things to increase utility supply of green power in the U.S. First would be to increase the sharing of best practices among investor-owned utilities. There are a lot of good examples of companies supplying green power and one of the obstacles is that suppliers aren’t aware of best practices and how to design a green power product. Secondly, DOE can put incentives in place to encourage more utilities to offer renewable energy –whether that’s a Top 10 retail interest suppliers competition or something along those lines to stimulate competition. Nothing like competition to get companies excited.”
R.H.: “DOE could gather data that shows electricity customers have more positive feelings about utilities that offer voluntary green power products even if those customers don’t participate in the program. It’s in the utility’s best interest to offer these types of programs regardless of how many people participate."
J.K.: Currently, approximately 50 percent of the American people live in an area in which they can purchase green power from their utility. What else can be done to increase access to green power utility programs?
C.H.: “Companies will offer green power if they believe corporate and residential customers want green power. But there are some perception issues to overcome. A lot of people don’t realize green power options are here today, cost-effective, support American energy independence and have environmental benefits. Doing more programs that raise awareness among customers about the viability of green power might stimulate more demand.”
T.H.: “Imagine that DOE as well as EPA had some program in place along the scale of Energy Star® where they could get the message out to customers that green energy is here, available today and it can make a difference. A sustainable message campaign that clearly explains green power benefits and how to support it would help.”
J.K: NREL estimates that customer participation in utility green pricing programs average 1.5 percent nationally. What could DOE do to help industry increase participation?
T.H.: “Aside from messaging on a scale of what you have done with Energy Star® you want to help utilities understand that marketing of green power programs is best done through third-party suppliers. Utilities and marketing of new products do not go together. The skills for this kind of innovation and messaging required – to convince customers about the reality of something as intangible as renewable energy – is best done by a third party.”
R.H.: “DOE could help drive down the cost of renewable energy by supporting policies at federal and state levels that encourage use of renewables.”
J.K.:National advertising campaigns can do a lot to raise awareness and simplify messaging. Do you see how DOE could add to national efforts to increase consumer awareness of green power options?
C.H.: “The cost of renewables has come down in the last 20 years. Therefore it is a viable option for households or companies to pursue. More could be done with public service announcements on television, radio, or on the internet about green power."
T.H.: “You can promote the overall validity and awareness of green power as an option on a national level, but the real work needs to be done on a regional level because there are significant differences in marketing renewables from one part of the country to the other.”
J.K: What could DOE do with suppliers to sharpen their focus on green power and the voluntary markets, to work with them to set goals and to support their achievements with marketing information and recognition?
C.H.: “DOE could consider forming a green power suppliers' partnership or network to serve as an avenue for sharing best practices and green power design among suppliers. Companies like to learn from one another to build more attraction of a product by leveraging the success of other firms. The other benefit of a group would be to foster competition. Nothing is going to get the market growing faster than getting companies to compete against each other for trying to get more customers to turn toward green power. It would be helpful to have a Top 10 or Top 20 green power suppliers list that is publicly available, communicated on the internet as well as in mainstream media”
Atlantic Golf, near Annapolis, Md. offsets its electricity use through annual purchase of more than 600 megawatt hours of RECs.
T.H.: “DOE could convene regional conferences with utilities and marketing people to create conversations about marketing renewable energy.”
R.H.: “I think the best thing DOE can do with suppliers is to make sure they have environmental benefits to sell with their product. That’s going to mean as we move forward -- both at state and national levels -- having good policies in place, particularly around cap and trade, that will ensure that renewable energy is able to make environmental claims by being assigned allowances.
If DOE doesn’t support this approach, the voluntary market will collapse because there won’t be any environmental attributes to sell.”
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