Green Power Programs in Washington: 2003 Report to the Legislature
 


Executive Summary

RCW 19.29A.090, signed into law in 2001, directed 16 of Washington’s electric utilities to offer a voluntary “qualified alternative energy resource” (essentially an electricity product powered by green resources) by January 2002. The statute calls for the utilities to report annually on the progress of these voluntary green power programs to the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development and the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (collectively referred to as the “agencies”). This is the second reporting year. The following are key findings:

• All 16 utilities that fall under the jurisdiction of the statute have submitted data for this report. All but one utility reported green power sales. One additional utility with a green power program contributed data voluntarily.

• Between January and September 2003, customers purchased 39,390,016 kilowatt-hours (kWhs), or 4.5 average megawatts (aMW), of green power through voluntary green power programs. Annualized, this represents a doubling of 2002 green power program sales.

• Wind-powered electricity represented 95.8% of these green power sales, or 37,731,796 kilowatt-hours (4.3 aMWs).

• 17,795 utility customers in Washington are participating in these voluntary utility programs. This is a 46% increase in customer participation since 2002.

• Apart from these green power programs, electric utilities in Washington reported selling 17 aMW of wind power and 25 aMW of electricity generated from landfill gas to all of their retail customers through their standard power sales in 2002. The agencies project that 2003 retail sales in Washington of wind-generated electricity from combined green power program sales and standard power sales will approach 23 aMW, or 203,872,000 kWhs and that landfill gas sales will continue at the current annual volume of 25 aMW. This represents a shift in the resource mix for Washington utilities that, in 2000, sold no electricity powered by wind and one-third as much electricity powered by landfill gas.