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December 2008 - Tampa Electric Company (TECO) announced that it will provide green power for 100% of the electricity needs of Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009. Under the agreement, TECO will supply Florida-based renewable energy for the game at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, as well as the five-day NFL Experience festival, for a total of 187,000 kWh. The renewable energy will be sourced in part from biomass and solar power. The purchase was made possible by state regulators’ recent approval of a new offering that allows TECO to sell blocks of renewable energy to customers for one-time events.
To help offset the game’s carbon impact, the National Football League (NFL) will also plant 2,700 trees at a dozen sites in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Division of Wildlife, and the Florida Division of Forestry. The NFL’s environmental program began in 1992 with recycling and has expanded to include green power and urban forestry.
News Release - Thousands of Trees Helping to "Green" Super Bowl
News Article - How this year’s Super bowl is going green
News Article - TECO To Provide Green Energy For The Super Bowl
September 2008 - The Florida Public Service Commission approved Tampa Electric Company (TECO)’s request to sell blocks of renewable energy to customers looking for a one-time offset for an event, a new offering for TECO’s existing Renewable Energy program, launched in 2001.
In 2007, participation in the program rose 66 percent; it’s up another 27 percent in the first six months of 2008. As of this summer, about 3,100 customers have enrolled, still less than 1% of TECO’s customers. Across the country, more attention has been paid in recent months to using renewable energy to offset electricity consumption at events, such as sporting events or music concerts.
News Article - Want your event to use green energy? Ask Tampa Electric
December 2006 - Tampa Electric Company (TECO) is increasing the size of the renewable energy blocks sold in its green power program from 100 kWh to 200 kWh while maintaining the $5 price, thus lowering its green pricing premium from 5¢/kWh to 2.5¢/kWh. The utility also received regulatory approval to convert its pilot green energy program to a permanent program. TECO utilizes solar energy, landfill gas, and other biomass resources located within its service territory and throughout the state. The lower premium stems from the utility's ability to increase the use of low-cost biomass in the renewable energy mix.
News Release - Renewable Energy Pilot Program Receives Permanent Status
March 2005 - Tampa Electric Company has doubled the size of the renewable energy blocks offered through its green pricing program, thus lowering the rate premium from 10¢/kWh to 5¢/kWh. Under the utility's Renewable Energy program, residential and business customers can now purchase 100-kWh blocks of renewable energy for $5 per month with no limit on the number of blocks that can be purchased. Power for the program is sourced from local solar and landfill gas projects, and through co-firing biomass waste materials in existing coal-fired generating units.
In 2004, the Florida Public Service Commission approved Tampa Electric's request to extend its green pricing pilot program through December 31, 2006, and to allocate $150,000 from the utility's Conservation R&D Program to help cover program expenses.
News Release - Tampa Electric's Renewable Energy gets the green light from the Florida Public Service Commission
News Article - TECO To Promote Renewable Power
Tampa Electric Contact: Alan Denham (813) 228-1391
November 2000 - Tampa Electric Company (TECO) has issued an "interconnection tariff" for small photovoltaic (PV) systems of 10 kW or less in size that will pay customer generators a rate tied to the company's green pricing premium. Under the agreement, TECO will pay "a rate equal to 90% of the per kWh premium" charged for the company's Smart Source product, which was unveiled on November 1.
At the current premium of 10¢/kWh, customers with a PV system will be paid 9¢/kWh for the net energy produced from their systems compared to the utility avoided cost rate that is much lower. The payment rate is also slightly higher than the retail rate of about 8¢/kWh that customers will displace under net metering. The utility payment pertains only to the PV output in excess of the customer's own needs.
News Release - Tampa Electric's natural power program signing up customers
Tampa Electric Co. Contact: Alan Denham (813) 228-1391
July 2000 - Tampa Electric Company (TECO), an investor-owned utility serving more than 500,000 customers on Florida's west coast, plans to offer a green pricing pilot program to a limited number of residential customers this fall. Pending regulatory approval, TECO customers will be able to purchase up to 250 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power per month, about 25% of their average electricity consumption, that will be generated from a combination of photovoltaic systems and biomass co-fired in an existing coal plant. Program participants will be charged an additional 10¢/kWh for the green power.
News Article - TECO sees green electricity (Tampa Tribune)
News Release - Tampa Electric Unveils New "Green" Power Program at MOSI
Tampa Electric Co. Contact: Alan Denham (813) 228-1391
August 1999 - As one outcome of regulatory proceedings, Tampa Electric signed a formal agreement with the Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation (LEAF) to explore the development of a green pricing program which emphasizes solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. The utility agreed to design and implement a voluntary program if feasibility studies show sufficient consumer interest. Tampa Electric established a goal of installing 50 kW of PV by 2004.
News Article - Power in Light (August 16, 1999) - No longer online at sptimes.com
LEAF Contact: Deb Swim (850) 681-2591
Tampa Electric Co. Contact: Alan Denham (813) 228-1391
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