Go Green Choice

USA: Customer choice can boost 'green power' use-study.
NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Giving consumers more energy supply choices could boost use of cleaner electricity sources by 40 percent by the end of the decade, regardless of whether the market is deregulated, a federal study said.
But there's a catch. While 10 percent of U.S. electricity already comes from hydro and another 2 percent comes from wind, solar and geothermal sources, stimulating alternative energy demand to meet the 40-percent goal will require more so-called green pricing programs, which are often more expensive to the consumer.
According to the study, pushing consumers to adopt electricity alternatives besides coal, oil, gas or nuclear will require utilities to offer green power choices. Indeed, the study showed some customers will 'go green' even if the price is higher than conventional sources.
"Market research consistently shows that consumers prefer to receive their power from clean energy sources ... giving consumers energy supply choices can be a powerful mechanism for moving renewable energy into the marketplace," said Blair Swezey, co-author of the study.
Swezey works at National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which conducted the study along with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Both organizations are U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories.
The study does not advocate competitive markets over regulated markets, but suggests utilities in states without competition should offer their customers green products.
"If competitive retail markets fail to materialize, utility programs must pick up the slack," said Ryan Wiser of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, another co-author of the study.
CALIFORNIA CAVEAT
Green power marketing had seen success in states with retail market competition, such as in California .
But in the wake of California 's heavily publicized deregulation crisis, the state seems to have backed away from deregulation, and green power has been one of the victims.
"The California experience shows that the transition to competitive retail power markets will not be smooth," Wiser added, noting that at least until California makes up its mind regarding the fate of deregulation, green power programs will remain on the back-burner.
More than 85 utilities in 29 states out of more than 500 utilities nationwide give consumers the option to choose to buy power from renewable sources, meaning much of the potential growth for green power use has not yet materialized.
Non-hydro renewables provide about 2 percent, or 16,500 megawatts (MW), of all the electricity used in the United States. Hydropower provides about 10 percent.
With the expansion of customer choice, the study found the market could support about 6,000 MW of additional non-hydro renewables over the next decade.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, based in Golden, Colorado, is a research center for alternative fuels managed by Midwest Research Institute, technology developer Battelle and global engineering firm Bechtel.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, of Berkeley, California , is a scientific research center managed by the University of California .