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February 2009 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced that participation in its Green-e Marketplace program grew substantially in 2008. Under the Marketplace program, organizations that buy Green-e Certified renewable energy (or generate their own electricity) can apply to use the Green-e logo in their annual reports, displays, marketing collateral, select product packaging and corporate Web sites to promote their renewable energy use. In 2008, total purchases by Green-e Marketplace participants exceeded 2.8 million MWh, which represented a 50% increase from the previous year, and a number of new companies representing a variety of industries joined the program. The new participants included Avatar New York, Beaulieu Commercial, Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems, Inc., Cascades Tissue Group, Hall Street Storage, Intel Corporation, K-1 Packaging Group, Marian Heath Greeting Cards, Millipore Corporation, The Philadelphia Phillies, Solberg Manufacturing, and Unboundary.
News Article - U.S. Businesses Purchase Record Amount of Renewable Energy in 2008
October 2008 - The Center for Resource Solutions, which manages the Green-e Energy certification program, released it annual verification report, detailing certified voluntary renewable energy sales for 2007. According to the report, total sales of Green-e Energy certified renewable energy reached nearly 15.7 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2007, an increase of nearly 60% over 2006. This includes 13.8 million MWh of certified renewable energy certificates (RECs), which grew at a similar rate.
At the end of 2007, 49 REC marketers and brokers, 122 utilities and electricity distributors, and 12 energy service providers were participating in the program and offering Green-e Energy certified products to residential or commercial customers. Nearly 260,000 residential customers and over 10,000 commercial customers across the U.S. and Canada had purchased Green-e certified renewable energy during the year.
The Green-e Marketplace program also grew in 2007, with 55 companies participating and collectively purchasing 2.7 million MWh. The Green-e Marketplace program works with organizations seeking to purchase Green-e certified renewable energy and helps them promote their purchase. The program licenses the Green-e logo for use on purchasers’ web sites, marketing materials, and manufactured goods.
Full Report - 2007 Green-e Energy Verification Report (PDF 880 KB) Download Adobe Reader
May 2008 - According to preliminary data, the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) certified 15 million MWh of renewable energy sales in 2007, up more than 50% from 2006. This represents sales to more than 90,000 new residential customers and 50% more commercial customers, for Green-e certified renewable energy. The audited report will be released later in the fall.
The CRS Green-e program provides independent, third-party certification to ensure certified renewable energy meets environmental and consumer protection standards. The program currently certifies products for 190 participating vendors.
More Information - CRS Newsletter: New Solutions Spring 2008
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
April 2007 - Baxter International Inc., a global healthcare company, announced that it has purchased 15.5 million kWh of Green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) to match the annual electricity use of its corporate headquarters in Deerfield, Ill. The company is also offsetting its natural gas use by purchasing credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange, of which Baxter is one of the founding members. The RECs are being supplied by Constellation NewEnergy from wind projects located across the country.
News Release - Baxter Announces Carbon Neutral Headquarters
April 2007 - PepsiCo, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, announced that it will purchase enough Green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) to match the purchased electricity used by all PepsiCo U.S.-based manufacturing facilities, headquarters, distribution centers and regional offices. The three-year purchase totals more than one billion kWh annually, making PepsiCo the nation's largest corporate purchaser of RECs, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Green Power Partnership. The RECs are being supplied by Sterling Planet, which will seek to source the RECs to model PepsiCo's purchased electricity use geographically.
News Release - Pepsico Makes Largest Corporate Purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates
News Release - EPA Recognizes Largest-Ever Corporate Green Power Purchase
News Article - PepsiCo Takes Top Spot in Global Warming Battle
Additional Information - U.S. EPA Green Power Partnership's Top 25 Partners
June 2006 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) is seeking stakeholder comments on a new consensus document, Recommended Practices for the Treatment of Behind-the-Meter Generators in Certificate Tracking Systems (PDF 216 KB). The document presents recommendations for obtaining, verifying, and reporting generation data from small behind-the-meter generators for renewable energy certificate (REC) tracking systems. The recommendations were developed by a working group of tracking system operators, regulators and other experts that meet regularly under the auspices of the North American Association of Issuing Bodies (NAAIB). CRS will host conference calls on July 11 and July 19 to provide opportunities for stakeholders to ask questions or offer comments. All written comments are due to CRS by August 1.
News Release - The NAAIB Issues Recommended Practices for Behind-The-Meter Generators in Certificate Tracking Systems
More Information - NAAIB Documents
NAAIB Contact: Meredith Wingate, (415) 561-2100
June 2006 - The World Bank Group (WBG) announced that it will become "carbon neutral" in its Washington, DC headquarters offices, support facilities, and business travel. The carbon neutrality will be achieved through the purchase of 107 million kWh of renewable energy certificates (RECs), representing 100% of the WBG's annual local electricity usage, and the purchase of 59,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in verified emissions reductions (VERs) from projects in developing countries. The RECs are being supplied by WindCurrent, which sells a Green-e certified "green tag" product sourced from wind projects in the Mid-Atlantic region.
News Release - On World Environment Day–World Bank Group Goes Carbon Neutral - No longer online at Wolrd Bank
WBG Contact: Sergio Jellinek, (202) 458-2841
April 2006 - Northwestern University, a private institution with 14,000 students and campuses in Evanston and Chicago, IL, has signed a four-year agreement to purchase 40 million kWh of renewable energy certificates (RECs) each year, equal to 20% of the school's total annual electricity needs. The RECs are Green-e certified and will be supplied by 3 Phases Energy (now serviced by 3Degrees) from Midwestern wind farms, including the newly developed Weatherford Wind Energy Center in Custer County, OK. The RECs purchase makes Northwestern the second largest purchaser of renewable energy among the nation's colleges and universities, according to the U.S. EPA's Green Power Partnership.
News Release - Northwestern Buys 'Wind Power' for 20 Percent of Power Needs
February 2006 - The Center for Resource Solutions announced the release of a new Green-e National Standard (PDF 56 KB) for certification of renewable energy products, which will replace all previous region and product-specific, Green-e criteria documents.
The new standard, which will go into effect on January 1, 2007, provides a single, consistent nationwide standard for green power certification. Green-e held two comment periods and received comments from more than 100 stakeholders during the standard development process.
The Green-e program provides independent, third party certification to ensure certified renewable energy meets strict environmental and consumer protection standards. Currently, more than 100 marketers and utilities throughout North America offer Green-e certified renewable energy products. Collectively these suppliers sold 3.5 billion kWh of certified renewable energy in 2004.
News Release - The New Green-E National Standard
Additional Information - Summary of Key Policy Changes
Green-e Contact: Dan Lieberman (415) 561-2100
January 2006 - The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Purchasers, a program of the Center for Resource Solutions and Think Energy, announced that eight Massachusetts-based businesses and institutions have come together to purchase more than 20.5 million kWh of Green-e certified green power. Community Energy, Inc. will supply the group with renewable energy certificates sourced from wind farms in New England and across the nation.
The purchasers include: Amherst College, the John Merck Fund, Mount Holyoke College, Oak Foundation, PerkinElmer Optoelectronics, Sasaki Associates, Inc., Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
News Release - Businesses and Universities in Massachusetts Make Large Wind Power Purchase
CRS Contact: Këri Bolding (415) 561-2100
Think Energy Contact: Mark Crowdis (301) 270-0483
November 2005 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) released a report detailing the verification results for its Green-e certification program. In 2004, more than 100 marketers and utilities offered 56 Green-e certified green power products and reported combined certified renewable energy sales of 3.5 billion kWh—an 18% increase from 2003. Wholesale and retail sales of renewable energy certificates (RECs) represented more than two-thirds of all Green-e certified sales and grew by more than 50% from 2003. Last year, Green-e certified renewable energy was sold in 49 states and represented more than 50% of renewable energy sales in the voluntary market nationally.
Green-e provides independent, third-party certification to ensure renewable energy products meet strict environmental and consumer protection standards, which are established through a collaborative stakeholder process. Providers of Green-e certified renewable energy undergo an annual verification process to document that the company purchased or generated a sufficient amount of renewable energy to serve its customers and support its marketing claims.
News Release - Green-e Verification Reveals Significant Increase in Certified Renewable Energy Sales in 2004
Full Report - Green-e 2004 Verification Report
Green-e Contact: Lars Kvale (415) 561-2100
October 2005 - The Center for Resource Solutions is seeking additional comments on its proposed Green-e National Certification Standard (PDF 60 KB), which would replace existing regional standards and apply to all types of renewable energy products, including green pricing programs, tradable renewable certificates (TRCs), and competitive market electricity products. Once adopted, the proposed certification criteria will take effect on January 1, 2007.
During its first comment period, CRS received 47 comments from stakeholders, which are available for review on the Green-e Web site. In response to comments received on municipal solid waste, coal co-firing, and new renewables, CRS is considering revisions to the Green-e National Standard as originally proposed. Comments must be submitted using an electronic comment ballot (Word 70 KB) and are due on October 19th, 2005.
Green-e Contact: Siobhan Doherty, (415) 561-2118
September 2005 - The Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), a Portland, Oregon-based non-profit marketer of green energy, introduced a new Green-e certified renewable energy certificate (REC) product that includes a larger amount of solar energy than its Cooler Future Green Tags product. The Brighter Future Green Tags product is a blend of 10% new solar energy from photovoltaic systems and 90% new wind energy sourced from projects in the 15 Western states and provinces. The product is sold in 1,000-kWh increments for $24, or 2.4¢/kWh. BEF introduced the new product in response to increased demand for solar-generated RECs.
News Release - Sunny Outlook for Solar Green Tags: Bonneville Environmental Foundation Blends in More Solar for Its New "Brighterfuture" Green Tag Product
June 2005 - The Center for Resource Solutions announced that Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) purchased enough Green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) to offset the carbon dioxide emissions associated with San Francisco's electricity use on June 5. The purchase was made to honor the United Nations World Environment Day 2005 Conference, which was hosted in San Francisco from June 1-5.
To make San Francisco's electricity use "carbon neutral" for the day, PG&E purchased 2.8 million kWh of RECs supplied from the 41-MW Edgeley Wind Farm in North Dakota through California-based marketer 3 Phases Energy (now serviced by 3Degrees).
News Release - California Utility Uses Green-E Certified Renewable Energy To Make San Francisco Electricity "Pollution Free" For A Day
January 2005 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced the release of its annual verification report documenting sales of Green-e certified electricity for 2003. Green-e renewable electricity sales totaled 2.9 million MWh in 2003, a 76% increase over 2002. Sales of certified tradable renewable energy certificates (TRCs) experienced the greatest growth, reaching 1.8 million MWh, which represents a twelve-fold increase over 2002. In all, 102 companies offered 65 unique Green-e renewable electricity or TRC products in 2003, with nearly 94,000 customers purchasing one of these products.
News Release - Green-e Verification Report Released: Significant Increase in Certified Renewable Energy Sales
Download Report - Green-e Verification Report 2003 (PDF 2.32 MB)
CRS Contact: Lars Kvale (415) 561-2100
December 2004 - The Center for Resource Solutions announced that Green-e certification is now available to all qualifying renewable energy products sold in the United States and its territories. On December 15, the Green Pricing Accreditation Board approved a National Green Pricing Default Certification Standard, enabling utilities in the 18 states not currently covered under a regional Green-e standard to achieve Green-e certification for their renewable energy products.
Currently, 100 marketers and utilities throughout North America offer Green-e certified renewable energy products. Collectively, these suppliers sold 3 billion kWh of certified renewable energy in 2003.
News Release - Green-e Certification Available to All Providers Nationwide
CRS Contact: Dan Lieberman 415-561-2100
July 2004 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) released its preliminary (unaudited) sales estimates of Green-e certified renewable electricity for 2003, showing an 86% increase in total volume from 2002. Annual sales of Green-e certified tradable renewable certificates (TRCs) grew to more than 1.8 million MWh—a twelve-fold increase over 2002 figures. Sales of Green-e certified renewable electricity in utility green pricing programs grew by 12%.
Despite the increases registered in TRC and green pricing markets, competitive markets showed a decline in sales of Green-e certified renewable electricity and purchasers of certified products. The reduction can be largely attributed to the repeal of direct access and consumer purchase incentives in California, where most competitive suppliers have stopped serving customers.
Regionally, the Northeast was the fastest growing market, showing a 75% increase in sales of Green-e certified renewable energy and a 50% increase in customers purchasing certified products.
News Release - Green-e Preliminary Verification Reveals Significant Increase in Certified Renewable Energy Sales in 2003
Additional Information - Annual Green-e Verification Reports
CRS Contact: Këri Bolding (415) 561-2100
July 2004 - The Center for Resource Solutions announced that 100 marketers and utilities throughout North America are now offering Green-e certified renewable energy products. This marks the largest number of distributors of certified green power in the program's seven-year history.
Green-e is the leading renewable energy certification and verification program in the United States, and provides independent certification to ensure renewable energy products meet strict environmental and consumer protection standards. The verification program helps assure customers that the renewable energy they receive is not "double sold" to other customers or used simultaneously to meet regulatory mandates.
News Release - 100 Utilities And Marketers Offer Green-e Certified Renewable Power
May 2004 - EAD Environmental, a New York-based green power marketer, announced that it will supply Harvard University and the University of Southern Maine (USM) with renewable energy certificates (RECs) to offset the electricity consumption of newly constructed, energy efficient buildings. The purchases will help the universities achieve certification for their new buildings under the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System. The LEED System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard developed by the USGBC to certify high-performance, sustainable buildings.
Under a two-year contract, Harvard will purchase 3.99 million kWh of Green-e certified RECs from landfill gas generating projects, which is equivalent to 150% of the electricity needed to power the new Graduate Student Housing building. Under a separate two-year contract, USM will purchase 1.5 million kWh of Green-e certified RECs from wind energy facilities to offset the electricity needs of a new campus building for which it is seeking LEED certification.
News Release - Harvard University Purchases Green Power for Graduate Student Housing
Harvard Contact: Margot Rabinowitz (617) 496-2599
EAD Environmental Contact:
Samantha Unger (212) 806-0207;
Micah Cogen (866) 323-4733
January 2004 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced that the Green-e program has certified a Canadian green power product for sale in the United States. The product is offered by Vision Quest as tradable renewable energy certificates (TRCs) that represent the environmental attributes of wind power generated from several wind projects located in Alberta, Canada. In all, the company currently operates about 120 MW of wind facilities.
News Release - Green-e Certifies First Canadian "Green Tag" Product for Sale in the U.S. (PDF 46 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
CRS Contact: Këri Bolding (415) 561-2100
January 2004 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) released its Annual Verification Report for the Green-e Renewable Energy Certification Program, which documents a surge in green power sales during 2002. In total, nearly two billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of Green-e certified renewable energy was sold to customers by participating suppliers in 2002.
The CRS report notes that more than 147,000 households and businesses—one in three green power customers nationally—purchased a Green-e certified product in 2002 and that Green-e products represented a 58% market share of total U.S. green power sales. CRS attributes the increase in customers and sales volume to several factors including increased sales in direct access markets and among utilities with green pricing programs, and the development of a national market for tradable renewable certificates.
The Green-e program currently certifies 60 green power products offered by 98 marketers and utilities nationwide. The annual verification audit is an important component of the program, which seeks to build consumer confidence in renewable-based electricity products and spur national demand for renewable electricity.
News Release - Green-e Audit Report Reveals Significant Annual Growth in Green Power
Download Report - Green-e Verification Report Year 2002 (PDF 653 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
CRS Contact: Jennifer Martin (415) 561-2100
November 2003 - The non-profit Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced a new initiative to encourage businesses that purchase Green-e certified renewable energy to display the Green-e logo on packaging for their consumer products. Under its Made With Renewable Energy labeling program, CRS invites companies to publicize the fact that they have made an important environmental commitment through their purchases of certified renewable energy. By displaying the Green-e logo on product packaging, companies can inform consumers that a significant portion of the energy required to produce the product came from renewable sources.
According to CRS, about 10,000 businesses and 110,000 households currently purchase Green-e certified renewable energy. A number of businesses have already applied to use the Green-e logo, including White Wave, Interface Fabrics Group, Choice Organic Teas, and Lundberg Family Farms.
News Release - Top Renewable Energy Certification Program Launches Program to Place Green-e Logo on National Consumer Products "Made With Renewable Energy" to Appear on Product Packaging
CRS Contact: Këri Bolding, (415) 561-2100
September 2003 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced that its Green-e program has certified another seven Tradable Renewable Certificate (TRC) products. TRCs, or green tags, represent the environmental attributes of electricity generated from renewable sources.
The newly certified products are offered by: EAD Environmental, People's Power and Light, Sterling Planet, WindCurrent, Big Green Energy, Mainstay Energy, and Green Mountain Energy Company. A total of 15 marketers now sell Green-e certified TRCs nationally.
News Release - Seven NEW Green-e Certified "Green Tag" Products Increase Business & Consumer Choice
CRS Contact: Këri Bolding (415) 561-2100
May 2003 - The Massachusetts Energy Consumers Alliance (Mass Energy) and People's Power and Light (PP&L) announced a new green power product for New England consumers to be supplied exclusively from New England-based wind farms. The two non-profit organizations are offering New England Wind, a Green-e certified renewable energy certificate product, in 150 kilowatt-hour (kWh) blocks for $5.25, or a premium of 3.5¢/kWh. Initially, the wind energy will be supplied from a 660-kW wind turbine located in Hull, MA. Current purchasers include the Boston Public Health Commission, the City of Newton, Clean Water Action, and the Sierra Club.
News Release - Mass Energy and People's Power & Light Introduce New England Wind, Region's First 100% Wind Product (PDF 200 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
Mass Energy Contact: Nicole Wobus (617) 524-3950
PP&L Contact: Erich Stephens (401) 487-3320
April 2003 - The Center for Resource Solutions announced that Evolution Markets, an emissions and coal brokerage firm based in White Plains, New York, has been approved as a broker of Green-e certified Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs). As the first broker approved to source and package TRCs for Green-e certification, Evolution Markets will be able to offer certified TRC products in wholesale markets on a regional and national basis. Green-e already certifies a total of eight TRC marketers.
News Release - Green-e Approves First Broker of Certified Green Tags
CRS Contact: Gabe Petlin, (415) 561-2100
December 2002 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced that it has certified the tradable renewable certificate (TRC) product of 3 Phases Energy (now operated by 3Degrees), a Manhattan Beach, California-based company. The company offers green certificates supplied from new wind resources for approximately 2.5¢/kWh. The charge is in addition to a customer's monthly electric utility bill. The certificates can be purchased on a monthly or annual basis. The company's Web site includes an "environmental footprint calculator" with which potential customers can calculate the number of certificates that would be required to offset the carbon emissions associated with an individual's annual household energy use and transportation requirements.
3 Phases is also a registered energy service provider in California where it markets power generated from existing and new renewable energy sources to business customers.
News Release - Green-e Certifies 3 Phases Green Certificates
3 Phases Contact: Dan Kalafatas (415) 346-7662
May 2002 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced that another five providers of Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs) have earned Green-e certification, which provides independent assurance to customers that their TRC purchases "support generation from high-quality newly developed renewable energy plants."
The five TRC providers are Aquila, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Community Energy, Renewable Choice Energy, and Sterling Planet. CRS previously announced TRC certification for Sun Power Electric (see previous story).
News Release - News Conference Announces Clean Energy Available to All Through Green Tags - No longer online at usnewswire.com
News Release - Green-e Certifies Six "Green Tag" Providers
CRS Contact: Këri Bolding (415) 561-2100
April 2002 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced that Sun Power Electric Corporation has become the first tradable renewable energy certificate (TRC) supplier to receive Green-e certification. Sun Power Electric's Regen product is supplied from a mix of 1% solar and 99% biomass and is sold in annual blocks of 2,000 kilowatt-hours, which are roughly equivalent to 20% of the annual energy use of the average New England home.
News Release - Green-e Certifies First "Green Tag" Product and Plans National Press Conference
CRS Contact: Këri Bolding (415) 561-2100
March 2002 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) issued final standards for Green-e certification of green power products supplied with Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs), which represent the environmental attributes of renewable electricity. The standards were developed with the assistance of a national advisory committee consisting of more than 100 organizations and stakeholders from around the country. Green-e is offering three classes of TRC certification: retail, wholesale/commercial, and resale.
To be eligible for Green-e certification, TRCs must be derived from new renewable facilities (those that began commercial operation after January 1, 1999) and must be sold in blocks of at least 150 kWh/month or blocks representing at least 25% of a customer's average monthly electricity use. Eligible renewable resources include those that fall under regional or state Green-e or Green Pricing Accreditation definitions, if such definitions exist. Renewable energy facilities developed to meet government mandates or other legal requirements are not eligible for certification.
News Release - Green-e Certifies New Way for Consumers to Support Renewable Energy
TRC Standard - Green-e Renewable Energy Certification (PDF 216 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
CRS Contact: Gabe Petlin (415) 561-2100
November 2001 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) is seeking public comments on proposed standards for certifying green power products supplied with tradable renewable energy certificates (T-RECs). The standards were developed with the assistance of a national advisory committee, and address issues such as disclosure, double counting, and new renewable content requirements. Comments must be received by November 26, 2001.
The advisory boards of the Green-e and the Green Pricing Accreditation programs plan to meet in late November to review the standards. Green-e expects to issue final certification standards for TREC products in early 2002.
Proposed Standards - Green-E Certification of Tradable Renewable Electricity Certificates (PDF 152 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
Newsletter - The Green-e Monthly, November 2001 (PDF 104 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
CRS Contacts: Meredith Wingate or Dan Lieberman (415) 561-2100
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