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Green Power Blossoms in the Northwest
In April 1998, four Oregon
utilities, the first in the region, began offering green power to their customers. Today the Northwest hosts 23 such programs in four states, with over 33,000 customers purchasing 148 million kilowatt hours (kWhs) of renewable energy each year — enough to power about 12,000 homes. By making the region’s energy mix more sustainable, green power customers are creating an environmental benefit equivalent to planting over 41,000 acres of trees. Tree planting often is used to offset greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation.
Green power programs allow utility customers to choose whether some or all of their electricity comes from environmentally preferred sources. The NW Energy Coalition
, the
Renewable Northwest Project
and
Natural Resources Defense Council
recently endorsed four projects which will supply green power to the region's utility customers: the Stateline and Condon wind projects; Hanford Solar and Northwest Citizens' Renewable Energy Cooperative. Most programs are geared to boost development of new renewable resources in the Northwest. The range of resources offered includes solar, wind, geothermal, landfill gas and low-impact hydro. Several utilities which invest in clean, renewable resources on behalf of all their customers (and rate-base those costs) also offer an option to pay extra each month to promote further development of renewables. Utilities combining rate-based investments with individual green power options have seen the greatest success.
The demand for renewable energy is growing as customers better understand the environmental and economic benefits of clean power. A report by the Renewable Northwest Project, “Powerful Choices II,” indicates both the number of participants and the amount of kWh sales from green power programs doubled from 2000 to 2001, even though only two new programs were introduced in the region. If green power sales continue to grow at current rates, the region will triple its 2001 green power commitment by the end of 2002.
Renewable energy advocates strongly support green power choices, but note they are not a substitute for rate-based investments. These larger utility purchases expand the region’s base of new renewable resources and help to bring the price of renewables down, in turn making green power products more affordable.
Three years ago, in their infancy, green power programs were not prompting significant investments in new resources. Today, an estimated 20 MWs of renewable generation capacity have been installed due to retail green power sales. Rate-based purchases by utilities, however, have pushed the development of about 475 MWs of new wind power capacity in the Northwest. While rate based investments have delivered more than 20 times more renewable generation, green power options play a key role in bringing people closer to the critical resource decisions their utilities make.
A variety of green power programs are offered throughout the four Northwest states (see story on page 4
). Most add about $1 to $4 to a monthly residential electricity bill in the form of “block” products. Customers receive a fixed number of kWhs for a fixed monthly charge. For example, Avista Utilities’ Buck a Block
program allows residential and commercial customers to purchase new wind power in 55 kWh blocks. Each block adds about $1 to a customer’s monthly bill. Other block programs range from 100 to 200 kWhs, with the majority offering 100 kWh blocks. An average Northwest residence with electric heat consumes about 1,000 kWhs per month.
Other green power programs are based on the percentage of customers’ energy consumption, or load. The Eugene Water & Electric Board
offers its customers EWEB Windpower
. EWEB customers can choose 10, 25, 50 or 100 percent of their electricity from wind power. The utility also passes on the benefits of wind’s stable price to its Windpower customers by shielding that portion of their bill from rate increases.
A third type of utility program is contribution-based. Customers can choose to contribute various amounts every month or determine their own level of commitment. The contributions are collected and used to make green power purchases or even to develop local renewable energy projects. Idaho Power’s Green Power
program allows customers to choose the amount they would like to direct towards the utility’s initial purchase of renewable resources. After contributions exceed the utility’s initial investment they will go to additional green power purchases.
The final type of green power choice is a “blended” product. The blended energy product includes renewable resources and replaces the utility’s standard mix for customers who sign up for it. In Oregon, Green Mountain Energy Company
is supplying residential and small business customers within Portland General Electric
and PacifiCorp’s
service territories with a 100 percent green power product composed of 85 percent geothermal and 15 percent new wind.
—
Diane Zipper, Renewable Northwest Project