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Held August 7-8, 2000 in Denver, Colorado
Fifth National Green Power Marketing Conference Summary
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As the preeminent conference addressing green power marketing in the United States, the fifth annual conference provided an update of domestic green power marketing activities and address such topics as evolving perceptions of green power, why businesses and government agencies are buying green power, how to build demand for green power, what is working well in utility green pricing programs, and international green power markets. The conference was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Electric Power Research Institute, and Edison Electric Institute.
View all of the Conference Presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint 95 (PPT) or Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Format is noted with file sizes.
REPORT SUMMARY
Radical changes in the electricity industry have dramatically opened the marketplace to renewable energy development. In fact, by the end of 2000, more than one-third of all U.S. electricity consumers had option to purchase green power. The Fifth National Conference on Green Power Marketing—attended by some 160 green power professionals—examine various strategies for growing the green power market, successful utility approaches to green power pricing programs, and the cost of renewable energy systems. The conference also provided an overview of international green power activities and the government as a green power purchaser. Finally, the conference featured a business customer roundtable exploring why customers are purchasing green power as well as panel discussions on the nature of green power and information technology as it relates to green power.
Background
The term green power is used to define power generated from renewable energy resources, such as wind and sun (solar), the earth's heat (geothermal), flowing water (hydropower), and power and waste materials (biomass). Green power is typically marketed through either a regulated utility green-pricing program or as a competitive offering in a deregulated market. Even as the tide of deregulation sweeps the country, new green-pricing programs continually emerge. The focus for many, however, is on marketing innovations in the competitive retail sector, where green power is believed to hold significant customer appeal.
Objective
To examine the state of green power marketing and explore opportunities for enhancing the success of green power sales in both regulated and deregulated markets.
Approach
Organizers of the Fifth National Conference on Green Power Marketing-held August 7-8, 2000, in Denver, Colorado—included the U.S. Department of Energy, EPRI, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Edison Electric Institute, Conference organizers arranged for presentations to cover governmental and commercial approaches to renewable energy development as well as customer perspectives on green power.
Results
Key messages that emerged from the conference include the following:
- Although energy providers may disagree over which sources qualify as green power, there appears to be a consensus that conformation disclosure is crucial to educating consumers about electricity product options and their relative environmental impacts. Consumers making power purchase decisions in the marketplace may be the ultimate arbiters of this debate.
- Businesses, governments, and other commercial customers account for a growing share of green power demand. Nonresidential customers are interested in green power as a reflection of organizational values. Businesses increasingly recognize that green power purchasing can help meet corporate goals related to environmental improvement and sustainable business practices. Finally, government entities at all levels are purchasing green power, both as a matter of civic duty and to "lead by example." Given these realities, suppliers need to assist customers in identifying tangible private benefits.
- Conference attendees heard from several utility representatives whose companies have been particularly successful in marketing their respective green power products. In almost all cases, these utilities were responding to the interest expressed by customers in green power choices. Utility representatives pointed to internal management support, collaborative marketing, activities involving community groups, and participation by nonresidential customers as key success factors.
- Utilities are employing a number of strategies to grow the green market beyond the yield of simple marketing efforts. Among the strategies discussed were customer aggregation, grassroots marketing, the linking of green power purchases to environmental compliance, and the creation of renewable energy certificates that reduce green power transaction costs.
EPRI Perspective
With electricity price spikes occurring in California and other areas of the country, additional green power development is viewed as a necessary and attractive means for addressing electricity shortages and stabilizing market prices. EPRI fosters and participates in conferences such as this one to facilitate the advancement of green power technologies in both regulated and deregulated marketplaces. These National Green Power Marketing Conferences have provided a key forum for shaping effective, innovative strategies that accelerate the development of a green power customer base and the associated technology infrastructure. Previous DOE-EPRI National Green Power Conferences are documented in reports TR-109179, TR-112315, and TR-114878.
Keywords
Renewable energy
Green power
Copyright © 2002 Electric Power Research Institute. 1004649.
Fifth National Green Power Marketing Conference: Powering the New Millennium,
Reprinted with Permission.
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