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August 2007 - Pepco Energy Services has signed agreements with the General Services Administration to supply 122 million kWh of renewable power in 2007 to the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Energy, Interior, and Agriculture, the Office of Personnel Management, and the National Archives and Inter-American Development Bank, all located in Washington, D.C. The green power will come from multiple nationally sourced renewable resources and will be certified through the Environmental Resources Trust and Green-e.
News Release - Pepco Energy Services Supplies Green Electricity To Several Large Federal Government Facilities In The Nation's Capital
November 2005 - Environmental Resources Trust (ERT) announced that it has released a revised Uniform National Standard for EcoPower renewable energy certificates (RECs). Some noteworthy revisions include: requiring Ecopower-certified RECs to be derived exclusively from new renewable energy sources (defined as beginning operation on or after January 1, 1998) starting in 2007, and adding certain solar water heating systems as eligible renewable energy sources. Other key additions are a newly revised certification statement and a checklist of environmental assets, which will be attached to EcoPower RECs and are designed to clarify what attributes are conveyed with any given REC purchase.
Revised Standard - Uniform National Standard for EcoPower Renewable Energy Certificates - October 2005 (PDF 364 KB) Download Adobe Reader
ERT Contact: Alden Hathaway, (202) 785-8577
June 2005 - The Environmental Resources Trust, a Washington, D.C.-based, non-profit environmental organization, invites public comment by July 31, 2005, on its updated Uniform National Standard for EcoPower Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Under EcoPower certification, RECs convey only the renewable energy attributes of renewable electricity and do not convey environmental benefits.
Under the revised standard, eligible renewable energy resources include wind, solar, tidal and wave, selected biomass, geothermal, low-impact hydropower, and hydrogen fuels derived from eligible renewable energy sources. At least 50% of the RECs must be derived from "new" generating sources, defined as a generating unit beginning operation or being repowered on or after January 1, 1998. RECs are eligible for inclusion in EcoPower-certified products up to 14 months after the date of generation.
ERT certification requires a signed attestation by the renewable energy generator. In addition, ERT performs an annual audit of all EcoPower RECs produced or sold during the previous calendar year.
ERT Uniform National Standard for EcoPower Renewable Energy Certificates (PDF 264 KB)
News Release - Environmental Resources Trust Calls for Public Comment on Uniform National Standard for Renewable Energy Certificates (PDF 100 KB)
ERT Contacts: Alden Hathaway, 202-785-8577 ext. 13 or Wiley Barbour, 202-785-8577 ext. 14
January 2005 - The Colorado Office of Energy Management and Conservation (OEMC) announced a venture to create renewable energy certificates (RECs) derived by co-firing biomass with coal. The biomass, supplied from local forest thinning operations, is being utilized at the W.N. Clark Generating Station in Canon City, CO. The plant owner, Aquila, Inc., plans to market the RECs, representing the attributes ascribed to the biomass component of the generation, in voluntary purchase markets. The REC product has received EcoPower certification from Environmental Resources Trust (ERT).
News Release - Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation, Aquila Inc., and U.S. Department of Energy Project Creates Renewable Energy Credits Using Forest Thinnings (PDF 30 KB)
News Article - Old source sparks renewable energy - No longer online at canoncitydailyrecord.com
OEMC Contact: Joe Lambert (303) 866-2326
November 2004 - Keys Energy Services (KES), a municipal utility serving 27,000 customers in the Florida Keys, is now offering green power to its residential and business customers. Under the GO GREEN program, customers can choose from two green power options. The first, called Florida Ever Green, is supplied from solar hot water heating systems (20%), photovoltaic systems (5%), and biomass facilities (75%) located in Florida. The utility offers $10, $25, and $50 monthly purchase options for this product, which carries a 2.75¢/kWh premium price.
The second option, called USA Green, is supplied from wind farms (50%), biomass facilities (45%), and photovoltaic systems (5%) sourced nationwide and is offered as $10, $15, and $20 monthly purchase options, with a lower rate premium of 1.6¢/kWh. Both products are supplied by Sterling Planet and certified by Environmental Resources Trust. There is no minimum enrollment period for either product.
KES Contacts: Rochele Miller (305) 295-1115
Julio J. Barroso (305) 295-1023
March 2004 - The Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee (MWAQC) of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) approved a "State Implementation Plan" (SIP) for air quality improvement that includes wind energy purchases by Montgomery County, Maryland, as a control measure to reduce ground-level ozone pollution. If approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it will become the first case in which wind power purchases by a local government are credited for reducing air emissions under a regional air quality plan, according to Environmental Resources Trust, Inc. Montgomery County, which will offset 5% of its energy requirements with wind energy, is the first local government in the region to purchase wind power.
News Release - MWAQC Prepares to Submit Regional Air Quality Plan to EPA
News Release - Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Approves Precedent-Setting Plan to Use Green Power to Improve Regional Air Quality
More Information - Metropolitan Washington COG State Implementation Plan to Improve Air Quality
More Information - Air Quality Gold Book: State and Local Government Initiatives to Clean the Air (PDF 242 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
Montgomery County Contact: Jim Caldwell (240) 777-7700
June 2001 - The City of Chicago and 48 local government agencies have selected ComEd to supply 10% of their aggregated electricity needs with renewable power. Under the agreement, ComEd will increase the percentage of green power supply to 20% after five years, representing 80 MW of annual renewable power capacity from sources such as wind, solar, small hydro, and landfill gas.
ComEd's profits from the sale of green power to the City will go into a Reinvestment Fund, which will be used to help attract and develop new renewable generation within the area. ComEd will administer the fund through the Environmental Resources Trust, a Washington D.C. based auditing group that also will substantiate and track ComEd's green purchases.
News Release - City Selects ComEd to Provide Clean Power- Leads Nation in Building "Green" Electricity Market - No longer online at City of Chicago
News Release - ERT to Certify Power Supplies in Largest Ever Clean Energy Buy
April 2000 - ComEd and the Environmental Resources Trust (ERT), a non-profit, environmental organization, have teamed up to offer the first wholesale renewable power product in Illinois. ComEd is selling the product, called EcoPower, through the APX Midwest Market. Electricity suppliers purchasing "green tickets" through the APX Market can use the EcoPower label in their retail marketing.
At present, Ecopower consists entirely of power generated from landfill gas facilities. However, ComEd plans to add other renewable resources, such as small hydro, wind and solar, to the Ecopower portfolio in the future. Profits from the sale of the EcoPower product will be used to finance the development of new renewable resources in Illinois through a fund to be administered by ERT.
News Release - ComEd Launches EcoPowersm
News Release - Automated Power Exchange Opens APX Illinois Market and Expands Midwest Electricity Trading Opportunities - No longer online at APX
ComEd Contact: Mark Jantze, (312) 394-5665
ERT Contact: Eric VanGestel (734) 622-9705
May 1997 - Environmental Resources Trust (ERT), an independent, non-profit organization founded with the help of the Environmental Defense Fund, will act as an electric power broker for clean electric power products. ERT has signed an agreement with Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to broker BPA power products that have environmental benefits, including power generated from federal hydro facilities as a result of fish recovery operations, power generated from renewable projects, and power from instream flow improvements enabled by ERT water purchases. Proceeds from the sales will be invested in fish and wildlife and other on-the-ground environmental projects.
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