NREL highlights 2012 utility green power leaders.
Press Release Summary:
NREL released its assessment of leading utility green power programs. Under these voluntary programs, residential/commercial consumers can support additional electricity production from renewable resources, such as wind and solar. Ranked by renewable energy sales, Portland General Electric overtook Austin Energy in 2012, selling largest amount of renewable energy in nation. Green power sales of top 10 utility programs by sales exceeded 4.2 million MWh in 2012, up from 3.9 million MWh in 2010.
Original Press Release:
NREL Highlights 2012 Utility Green Power Leaders
Top 10 programs support more than 4.2 million MWh of voluntary green power
The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) today released its assessment of leading utility green power programs. Under these voluntary programs, residential and commercial consumers can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources – such as wind and solar – that diversify our nation's energy portfolio and protect our air and water.
"Participating in utility green power programs allows consumers to support renewable energy above and beyond what utilities are procuring to comply with state renewable portfolio standards," NREL Analyst Jenny Heeter said. "These utilities are offering first-rate programs that give their customers an opportunity to support renewable energy deployment."
Using information provided by utilities, NREL has developed "Top 10" rankings of utility green power programs for 2012 in the following categories: total sales of renewable energy to program participants: total number of customer participants; the percentage of customer participation; 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.
Ranked by renewable energy sales (megawatt hours /year), Portland General Electric (Oregon) overtook Austin Energy in Austin, Texas, in 2012, selling the largest amount of renewable energy in the nation through its voluntary green power program. Dominion Virginia Power and Oklahoma Gas & Electric are new to the top renewable energy sales list. Ranked by the percentage of customer participation, the top utilities are City of Palo Alto Utilities (California), followed by Portland General Electric, Madison Gas and Electric Company (Wisconsin), Sacramento Municipal Utility District, the City of Naperville (Illinois) and Pacific Power (Oregon). In addition, six utilities provided green power supply that included at least 2% solar. (See attached tables and http://greenpower.energy.gov for additional rankings).
Green power sales of the top 10 utility programs by sales exceeded 4.2 million MWh in 2012, up from 3.9 million MWh in 2010. Wind energy represents approximately 85% of electricity generated for green energy programs nationwide.
Utility green pricing programs are one segment of a larger green power marketing industry that counts more than 1.8 million customers, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and colleges and universities among its customers, and helps support more than 11,200 megawatts of renewable electricity generation capacity.
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 the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
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Please note: Tables have been updated.
Green Pricing Program Renewable Energy Sales
(as of December 2012)
Rank  | Utility  | Sales (MWh/year)  |
1 | Portland General Electric | 834,125 |
2 | Austin Energy | 744,443 |
3 | PacifiCorp | 604,007 |
4 | Sacramento Municipal Utility District | 416,477 |
5 | Xcel Energy | 390,056 |
6 | Puget Sound Energy | 365,796 |
7 | Connecticut Light and Power Co. / United Illuminating | 254,838 |
8 | Dominion Virginia Power | 250,364 |
9 | Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. | 210,187 |
10 | CPS Energy | 179,786 |
Total Number of Customer Participants
(as of December 2012)
Rank | Utility | Participants |
1 | Portland General Electric | 87,987 |
2 | PacifiCorp - Blue Sky Usage, Block, and Habitat | 87,919 |
3 | Xcel Energy | 61,315 |
4 | Sacramento Municipal Utility District | 55,207 |
5 | Puget Sound Energy | 34,962 |
6 | Connecticut Light and Power Co. / United Illuminating | 27,664 Â |
7 | Iberdrola: NYSEG and RG&E | 21,201 |
8 | We Energies | 20,066 |
9 | National Grid | 18,302 |
10 | Dominion Virginia Power | 15,179 |
Customer Participation Rate
(as of December 2012)
Rank | Utility | Customer Participation Rate |
1 | City of Palo Alto (California) | 18.2% |
2 | Portland General Electric | 12.4% |
3 | Madison Gas & Electric Co. | 9.4% |
4 | Sacramento Municipal Utility District | 9.2% |
5 | City of Naperville (Illinois) | 7.6% |
6 | Pacific Power (Oregon) | 7.6% |
7 | Silicon Valley Power | 6.9% |
8 | River Falls Municipal Utilities | 6.1% |
9 | Stoughton Utilities | 5.1% |
10 | Cuba City Light & Water | 5.0% |
Green Power Sales as a Percentage of Total Retail Electricity Sales (in MWh)
(as of December 2012)
Rank | Utility | % of Load |
1 | Waterloo Utilities | 23.9% |
2 | Edmond Electric | 10.7% |
3 | River Falls Municipal Utilities | 7.3% |
4 | Austin Energy | 6.0% |
5 | Portland General Electric | 4.4% |
6 | Madison Gas & Electric Co. | 4.1% |
7 | PacifiCorp - Blue Sky Usage and Habitat  | 4.1%  |
8 | Sacramento Municipal Utility District | 3.9% |
9 | Stoughton Utilities | 2.9% |
10 | Silicon Valley Power | 2.8% |
Net Price Premium Charged for New, Residential Customer-Driven Renewable Power
(as of December 2012)
Rank | Utility | Net Premium |
1 | City of Ponca (Oklahoma) | -0.87¢/kWh |
2 | Public Service Co. of New Mexico | 0.04¢/kWh |
3 | Edmond Electric | 0.14¢/kWh |
4 | Indianapolis Power & Light Co. | 0.15¢/kWh |
5 | Avista Corp. (Washington and Idaho) | 0.33¢/kWh |
6 | Arizona Public Service | 0.40¢/kWh |
7 | Xcel Energy (Minnesota only) | 0.66¢/kWh |
8 | Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. | 0.86¢/kWh |
9 | Connecticut Light and Power Co. / United Illuminating | 0.99¢/kWh |
10 | CPS Energy | 1.00¢/kWh |
10 | WPPI Energy | 1.00¢/kWh |
Note: The average net premium for City of Ponca over 2012 was -0.08¢/kWh.
Utilities Using at Least 2% Solar to Supply their Green Pricing Programs
(as of December 2012)
Rank | Utility | % Solar |
1 | Sacramento Municipal Utility District | 14.5% |
2 | Tennessee Valley Authority | 5.9% |
3 | Xcel Energy (Colorado only) | 3.0% |
4 | City of Palo Alto (California) | 2.5% |
5 | Alameda Municipal Power | 2.0% |
5 | PacifiCorp - Blue Sky Habitat & Usage | 2.0% |
Note: While additional individual utility products may include at least 2% solar, this list represents the overall mix provided by the utility to meet all of its green pricing needs.
Media may contact:
Heather Lammers
303-275-4084
heather.lammers@nrel.gov
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