Choosing Green Power
Silicon Valley residents do their part, one utility bill at a time
Palo Alto Utilities and Silicon Valley Power pay rebates to their customers who add solar panels to their homes. Below: Chasing windmills: Every time they pay their bills, Palo Alto Utilities and Silicon Valley Power customers can choose to support renewable energy projects like these wind turbines in Altamont Pass near Livermore.
Terrance Emerson/istockphoto; below: Gene Chutka/istockphoto
Palo Alto residents who want to make a greener choice when they pay their monthly electricity bills can join their neighbors in a club that boasts a rapidly increasing membership. That “club” is run by the city-owned Palo Alto Utilities, which has seen 22 percent of its customers participating in the renewable energy program PaloAltoGreen.
Renewable energy is electricity that is produced from sources that replenish themselves naturally. Since all power is delivered to the same power grid, proof of renewable energy is made through renewable energy credits, which are energy commodities purchased by the utilities. By enrolling in PaloAltoGreen, electricity customers support the creation of renewable energy facilities, such as wind farms and solar power systems.
The 28,000 participants in PaloAltoGreen constitute the highest participation rate in the country for utility customers choosing renewable energy. Part of the reason for this high participation rate is the program’s affordability. In 2003, Palo Alto Utilities started its “green pricing” program: For a few dollars more in their utility bills, customers could purchase the equivalent of a certain number of kilowatt hours of green power per month.
After a year, the utility saw a 5 percent participation rate. That rate improved when the utility began mailing tear-off sign-up sheets, which made enrollment a snap.
“By percent of participation, we’re still so far off the chart,” says Brian Ward, the key account representative with Palo Alto Utilities. “Six percent is common now. We’re at 22 (percent).”
In Santa Clara, Silicon Valley Power generates the equivalent of 163.1 million kilowatt hours of green power, which is the highest in the country, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
But in contrast to Palo Alto’s 22 percent participation rate, only 9 percent of Silicon Valley Power’s residential and commercial customers participate in the utility’s renewable energy program.
Both Palo Alto and Santa Clara households and businesses can expect to pay 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour or an average of less than $10 a month extra for renewable power. Small and large businesses can also sign up for the programs.
Silicon Valley Power, a 114-year-old utility, launched its green pricing program in 2004.
“Our customers are really happy about it,” says Larry Owens, customer services manager for Silicon Valley Power. “Those customers who choose to purchase green power…consistently rank higher in their satisfaction of the utility than those who don’t.”
The green pricing works through renewable energy certificates, known as RECs, which are purchased wholesale by the Palo Alto and Santa Clara utilities. The RECs are generated by owners of green power facilities, including windmill farms and solar projects, both locally and outside California.
In purchasing green power, consumers fund the purchase of RECs through the utilities, which allow developers to invest further into green energy projects. For every REC purchased, one megawatt hour (1,000 kilowatt hours) of renewable electricity is generated and delivered to the power grid.
The renewable energy programs in Santa Clara and Palo Alto are both certified by Green-e Energy, a program of the Center for Resource Solutions, a national nonprofit environmental organization. Among other things, the Green-e certification means that the RECs are sold only once and go above and beyond the state’s mandated goals for renewable energy.
PG&E doesn’t offer green pricing, but 14 percent of its electricity comes from renewable power, says Jeff Swenerton, communications director at the Center for Resource Solutions.
The Palo Alto and Santa Clara voluntary green power programs are managed jointly by the utilities and 3Degrees, a San Francisco-based firm that works on green pricing programs and environmental commodities around the nation.
“Marketing is really important for these programs,” says Adam Capage, vice president of utility partnerships with 3Degrees. “What I’ve learned around the country is you have to tell people about these programs. You have to explain the benefits… that there’s a way for people to take responsibility for the environmental impact of their energy use.”
Additionally, Palo Alto Utilities and Silicon Valley Power offer rebates for the construction of solar power systems at private residences and businesses.
“All the programs tend to synergize with each other to generate more renewable power, which is our ultimate goal,” says Owens, of Silicon Valley Power.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Want your electricity dollars to support the building of renewable energy facilities? For less than $10 extra per month, South Bay residents and business owners can enroll in the renewable power programs offered by Silicon Valley Power and Palo Alto Utilities. Sign up at their respective websites: www.siliconvalleypower.com or www.cityofpaloalto.org/forms/pagreen/index.html.
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