Northwest Utility Customers Purchasing Power From Green Energy Sources Jumps in 2004

Northwest Utility Customers Purchasing Power From Green Energy Sources Jumps in 2004

Aug 02 - Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR)

The number of Northwest utility customers purchasing power from renewable or environmentally friendly power sources increased by 40 percent from 2003 to 2004, according to a report released Monday by a regional advocacy group.

Northwest customers in 2004 purchased more than 550 million kilowatt hours of green power, enough energy to power about 45,000 homes for a year, according to the report issued by the Renewable Northwest Project. That number is more than 22 times the retail green power sold through voluntary programs in 2000, the first year the Renewable Northwest Project tracked green power consumption.

Thirty-six utilities in the Pacific Northwest offer voluntary green power purchasing programs, according to the Renewable Northwest Project. The advocacy group said that, since its last report a year ago, 24,384 customers have purchased green power, bringing the Northwest's total to 85,000 residential and commercial customers.

The data released Monday are part of a report called Powerful Choices, the full text of which is available online at www.rnp.org .

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