Large-Business Buyers Drive 1000% Growth in Green Power Purchasing
Source: GreenBiz.com
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 24, 2005 - Renewable energy capacity in the United
States supported by voluntary demand rather than regulatory requirements now
tops 2,200 megawatts (MW) -- up more than 1000% in just five years,
according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy. The report
notes that purchases by large businesses, institutions and governmental
entities are driving the growth of the U.S. voluntary green power market.
Green power currently accounts for about 2% of America's electricity supply,
but voluntary purchasing of renewable energy is accelerating development of
new renewable energy sources. The report, from DOE’s National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL),
Green Power Marketing in the United States: A Status Report,
shows that renewable generating capacity in the United States installed to
meet voluntary green power purchasing soared from 167 MW in 2000 to more
than 2,200 MW by the end of 2004.
While the number of residential customers buying green power has more than
doubled over the past 5 years, green energy purchases by large businesses
and other U.S. organizations have increased dramatically. This is further
illustrated by new data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s Green Power
Partnership. The partnership, a voluntary program that encourages large
organizations to switch to green power for a specified minimum portion of
their annual electric usage, has grown from 21 founding partners in 2001 to
over 600 partners, including Fortune 500 companies, universities, trade
associations, and local, state, and federal government agencies.
These green power partners are collectively purchasing over 3.1 billion
kilowatt hours of green power annually, a figure which has doubled over the
past 15 months. This represents a growth of 1000% since the partnership
began in 2001, with founding partners purchasing 3.1 million kilowatt hours
annually. Three billion kilowatt hours is enough electricity to power about
300,000 average American homes for a year, and is roughly equivalent to the
annual output of a 1000 megawatt wind farm.
"Five years ago, the voluntary green power market was focused primarily on
residential purchasers, and there were only a handful of significant
non-residential purchasers," said Douglas L. Faulkner, acting assistant
secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department
of Energy. “The entry of commercial, industrial, and government purchasers
into the renewable energy market has resulted in tremendous growth in the
development of clean and limitless renewable energy resources.”
“Leading retailers, universities, manufacturers and federal agencies are
demonstrating outstanding environmental leadership by choosing to purchase
clean, renewable energy sources for their electricity,” said Kathleen Hogan,
director of EPA’s Climate Protection Partnerships Division.
The new report also notes that over the past five years, average renewable
energy price premiums for utility programs have declined at an annual
average rate of 8% as wind-generated power becomes increasingly competitive
against natural gas-fueled generation. In Colorado and in Texas, escalating
natural gas prices have pushed electricity rates for regular utility
customers higher than rates being paid by customers subscribing to green
power options. |