March 4, 2002—The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently updated its top-ten lists of utility programs that sell green power—electricity produced from renewable energy sources. NREL ranks the most effective of these utility programs based on customer participation, new renewable energy installed capacity, and cost premiums.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power ranked first for total number of customers: Its “Green Power for a Green L.A.” program has 87,000 participants, although about half of those are low-income customers who are signed up at no cost. Moorhead Public Service of Minnesota ranked first for highest percentage of customers signed up, 7 percent. Austin Energy of Texas ranked first place for new renewable power capacity, with 76.9 megawatts of wind and solar power installed. And there’s a three-way tie for the lowest premium, with two California utilities—Roseville Electric and Sacramento Municipal Utility District—and the Texas-New Mexico Power Company each charging customers just a penny extra per kilowatt-hour for green power.
The complete lists can be viewed at the Department of Energy’s Green Power Web site.
