Public Power Dominates NREL's Rankings for "Top Ten" Green Power Programs

Leading the Nation in Utility Green Power Programs

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has just released its assessment of the top utility green power programs in the U.S. for 2009. Public power utilities earned the top spot in 4 of 5 categories, emerging as clear leaders in promoting renewable energy in this country.

More than 850 utilities across the United States now offer green power programs, and since 2000, NREL has conducted analysis to determine the “Top 10” utility programs for the following categories:

• Total sales of renewable energy to program participants;
• Total number of customer participants;
• 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.

And the Public Power Winners are…….

#1 in total sales for the eighth straight year. Public power utility Austin Energy in Texas led the nation in voluntary renewable energy sales for the eighth year in a row, with sales of 764.8 million kWh. Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) was fourth on the NREL list for total sales. SMUD also came in fourth in NREL's list for total number of customer participants, with over 50,000 participants.

Public power communities show support for renewable energy. Earning an incredible 8 of 10 spots on NREL's list for customer participation rates shows that public power communities support sustainable energy initiatives. With a 20.8% participation rate, Palo Alto Utilities won the top spot by a wide margin. Other public power utilities on the lab's top 10 list in this category were SMUD; Naperville, Ill.; Silicon Valley Power; River Falls Municipal Utilities; Stoughton, Wis., Utilities; Lake Mills, Wis., Light & Water; and Pacific County, Wash., Public Utility District.

Green power is a growing piece of the pie in public power communities. Public Power dominated the nation in green power sales as a percentage of total retail sales capturing 7 of the 10 top spots for this NREL ranking. At 21.4%, Waterloo Utilities led the field. Edmond Electric was second at 8.1%, Palo Alto third, Austin Energy fourth, River Falls, Wis., Municipal Utilities fifth and SMUD was eighth.

Seeing green in more ways than one. Public power held three spots in NREL list for lowest premium for green power measures in Cents/kWh. Edmond Electric tops the list, actually charging 0.17 cents less than its base rate. SMUD was seventh on the list charging a premium of only 0.50 cents, and a low premium of 0.80 cents earned Emerald People's Utility District in Oregon the number 10 spot.

Learn More about Green Power Programs in the U.S.

NREL's full report on 2009 green power programs will be released later this year, but you can learn more by reading the 2008 report: "Green Power Marketing in the United States: A Status Report (2008 Data). "

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development.