DG3 to Use 100 Percent Renewable Energy

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700

NFL Greens Super Bowl Week for Third Consecutive Year

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Tampa Electric Company (TECO) announced that it will provide green power for 100% of the electricity needs of Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009. Under the agreement, TECO will supply Florida-based renewable energy for the game at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, as well as the five-day NFL Experience festival, for a total of 187,000 kWh. The renewable energy will be sourced in part from biomass and solar power. The purchase was made possible by state regulators’ recent approval of a new offering that allows TECO to sell blocks of renewable energy to customers for one-time events.

To help offset the game’s carbon impact, the National Football League (NFL) will also plant 2,700 trees at a dozen sites in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, the Florida Division of Wildlife, and the Florida Division of Forestry. The NFL’s environmental program began in 1992 with recycling and has expanded to include green power and urban forestry.

News Release - Thousands of Trees Helping to "Green" Super Bowl

News Article - How this year’s Super bowl is going green

News Article -

GPN Launches GHG Site

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700

EPA Proposes Green Power Partnership Program Revisions

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced proposed revisions to its Green Power Partnership (GPP) program, which encourages voluntary purchases of renewable energy by offering recognition and tools for non-residential renewable energy purchasers to maximize the benefits of their purchases. Specifically, the EPA has proposed changes affecting the following five criteria for program participation: 1) minimum purchase levels for program participation, 2) requirements for new renewable energy purchases, 3) rules for accounting for future RECs, 4) green power claims, and 5) a reduction in the "window" of time allowed for members to make their purchase from the time they join the GPP.

First under the proposed changes, minimum purchase requirements will increase for all four partner size categories; categories are based on total annual electricity usage. The second proposal would require that 100% of a partner’s green power purchase come from "new facilities," defined as becoming operational on or after January 1, 1997. Third, the proposed changes would no longer allow partners to count RECs to be generated in future years towards their current year’s purchase. Fourth, the proposal would require that partners with branded franchise facilities which they do not own disclose whether or not the purchase scope includes these facilities. Finally, the window for new partners to consummate their purchase would be reduced from one year to six months from the date they join the partnership. The changes are proposed to take effect on February 13, 2009.

Additional Information - Proposed Revisions to Green Power Partnership Program Requirements Fact Sheet (PDF 68 ...

SUEZ Energy Resources NA Donates RECs to the New England Aquarium

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700

PPL EnergyPlus Launches RE Program for Mid-Atlantic Customers

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700

CARB Plan Addresses Voluntary Market Issues

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has released, Climate Change Scoping Plan, outlining how it will meet greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB32). The plan preserves the environmental impact that individuals and businesses can make through voluntary purchases of renewable energy.

The landmark scoping plan, approved by the board on December 11, 2008, outlines in broad strokes how the state plans to meet its goal of reducing GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. One chief mechanism is a cap-and-trade system, in which GHG emissions are limited in certain sectors, and that limit is gradually reduced over time until the goal is met. The final plan states that voluntary renewable energy purchasers will have the power to reduce the level of the cap, thus reducing the overall amount of GHG allowed to enter the atmosphere from the electricity sector. Rulemaking for the specific provisions under the plan will begin in 2009, with the cap-and-trade system beginning in 2012.

News Release - ARB says yes to climate action plan

News Release - California’s Approved AB32 Scoping Plan Retains Value of the Voluntary Renewable Energy Market

Additional ...

DVP and Appalachian Power Receive Green Pricing Approval

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The Virginia State Corporation Commission approved voluntary renewable energy options for customers of Dominion Virginia Power and the Appalachian Power Company, a subsidiary of American Electric Power. Customers of both utilities will now have an option to buy renewable energy certificates (RECs) to cover either a portion or the total amount of electricity that they consume.

Dominion customers will have the option to purchase an amount of renewable energy equivalent to their entire monthly electricity consumption, or to purchase renewable energy in 100 kWh blocks at a cost of 2¢/kWh above the standard rate, or $2.00 per block. Similarly, Appalachian Power customers will be able to utilize the 100% option or choose instead to buy 100 kWh. The two utilities will purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) from a variety of renewable energy resources. Included among the sources used to supply its program, Appalachian Power will purchase RECs from the Summersville hydroelectric plant in West Virginia.

The Commission also found that the two utilities failed to meet Virginia’s statutory definition for a 100% renewable energy offering. Under Virginia law, the finding means that competitive electric suppliers can continue to offer renewable energy in the state.

News Release — SCC Approves Renewable Energy Options for Dominion Virginia Power and Appalachian Power

Virginia SCC Contact: Ken ...

WRI Releases RFI for Green Power with Hedge Value

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700
In its role as convener of the Green Power Market Development Group (GPMDG), the World Resources Institute has released a Request for Information to renewable energy suppliers in 16 U.S. states with competitive retail electricity markets, plus the District of Columbia. The RFI is "meant to generate information necessary to assess the feasibility and attractiveness of renewable power hedge transactions for commercial and industrial facilities."

Hedge transactions protect or exempt a renewable energy purchaser from fossil fuel costs. Even though most renewable power sources are free of fuel costs, some renewable energy retail customers in the U.S. do not receive an exemption from fossil-fuel related costs and are not protected from price increases and the financial risks associated with their volatility. Through the GPMDG RFI, the large retail customers are seeking to obtain protection from fuel price volatility, reducing their exposure to these risks.

Under the RFI, the prospective customers seek to identify and compare renewable energy supply options and contract structures that convey hedge value and obtain indicative pricing. The two main hedge structures the customers are focusing on are fixed price supply contracts and "contracts-for-differences," both of which achieve the result of shielding the customer from variations in fossil fuel costs to the extent of the renewable energy purchase.

More Information - WRI Request for Information

WRI Contacts: Robert Heilmayr and Alex ...

J&J Expands Renewable Energy Purchase in 2008

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Johnson & Johnson (J&J), a long-time green energy purchaser, has surpassed the 400 million kWh per year mark for its annual renewable energy credit (REC) purchase. The total purchase size of about 435 million kWh per year makes the healthcare products provider the nation’s eighth largest purchaser, according to the EPA’s Green Power Partnership program. The purchase of various RECs from wind and biomass facilities represents about 38% of the company’s U.S. electricity use.

Johnson & Johnson has won numerous environmental awards over the past 15 years, including the Green Power Partner of the Year in 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Among its environmental initiatives is its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 7% below 1990 levels by 2010. The company’s renewable energy portfolio also includes direct purchases of bundled green energy from low-impact hydro and wind power. In addition, the company has now installed 4.1 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic installations at its U.S. facilities. Lastly, the company’s unique 3 MW onsite landfill gas project In Mountain View, California became fully operational in 2007. Under a 15-year gas purchase agreement with the City of Mountain View, ALZA Pharmaceuticals, a J&J subsidiary, uses the landfill methane gas to power three research and development buildings in the area adjacent to the landfill site.

Additional Information - EPA Green Power Partnership Partner Profile

Additional Information - GHG Project Case Study (

Staples Pursues Multi-Faceted Green Approach

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700

University of Phoenix Tops Arizona Green Power Purchases

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Walmart Makes Large Wind Purchase in Texas

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Voluntary RE Market Will Reduce Emissions under RGGI

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:00:00 -0600
Under the rules set up by states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), voluntary renewable energy purchases may count towards the emission reduction aims of the program. The first mandatory carbon dioxide (CO2) cap-and-trade program to be implemented in the U.S. and scheduled to commence in January 2009, RGGI covers the electric power generation sector in 10 states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. Under the program, CO2 emissions from power plants in the ten-state region will be capped and then reduced to 10% below 2009 levels, by 2018.

Each participating state has a proportional share of the regional emissions cap. Based on its CO2 emissions budget, each state will issue CO2 allowances to emitting power plants. Each CO2 allowance represents a permit to emit one ton of CO2. The states will sell all or a portion of their CO2 allowances via periodic auctions, beginning with pre-compliance auctions in September and December of 2008. Proceeds from the sale of allowances will fund state programs that promote energy efficiency and projects for renewable energy.

Renewable energy generation sources typically do not emit CO2 (or emit significantly less than fossil fuel generation sources). Without an emissions cap, renewable energy generation displaces fossil generation on the margin, resulting in a reduction of carbon emissions. However, where CO2 emissions are capped and the number of allowances is fixed and distributed only to emitting sources, renewable energy purchasers cannot claim CO2 emissions reductions, because their purchases do not reduce the number of allowances in circulation. Instead, their purchases simply free up more allowances that emitters can trade. Only the retirement of allowances, or a reduction in the number issued, reduces overall CO2 emissions levels. Purchasers’ inability to make claims ...

Dell Significantly Increases Renewable Energy Purchase

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:00:00 -0600
Computer manufacturer Dell Inc. has announced a series of programs to offset the company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the end of 2008, including a significant increase in its renewable energy purchase and energy efficiency initiatives. Dell’s U.S. renewable energy purchase, from wind, solar, and biogas sources, is about 554 million kWh per year, or about 158% of the company’s U.S. electricity use. The 2008 increase in the size of Dell’s renewable energy purchase, from about 12 million kWh in 2004 and about 116 million kWh as recently as July, 2008, represents the largest such increase in the U.S. for the year to date, by a wide margin. The purchase was made under agreements with several regional and national REC marketers and renewable energy programs throughout the U.S.

Dell is now the fourth largest renewable energy purchaser in the U.S. and the only new entrant among the top ten, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership program. Among its other sustainability initiatives, Dell offers an energy efficient "hybrid" desktop computer, partners with Conservation International and other environmental groups on habitat, forest preservation, and tree-planting initiatives, and requires its primary suppliers to report CO2 emissions data during quarterly business reviews, as part of the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Supply Chain Leadership Coalition.

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DG3 to Use 100 Percent Renewable Energy

NFL Greens Super Bowl Week for Third Consecutive Year

GPN Launches GHG Site

EPA Proposes Green Power Partnership Program Revisions

SUEZ Energy Resources NA Donates RECs to the New England Aquarium

PPL EnergyPlus Launches RE Program for Mid-Atlantic Customers

CARB Plan Addresses Voluntary Market Issues

DVP and Appalachian Power Receive Green Pricing Approval

WRI Releases RFI for Green Power with Hedge Value

J&J Expands Renewable Energy Purchase in 2008

Staples Pursues Multi-Faceted Green Approach

University of Phoenix Tops Arizona Green Power Purchases

Walmart Makes Large Wind Purchase in Texas

Voluntary RE Market Will Reduce Emissions under RGGI

Dell Significantly Increases Renewable Energy Purchase