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Like
blown Valentine kisses and whispered sweet nothings,
comments on the new Green-e Retail Greenhouse
Gas Product Standard have been steadily floating
into the CRS office. And like St. Patrick’s
fine single malts, both CRS and Green-e will mature
into mellow-but-strong 10-year-olds this spring.
With all this cause for celebration in mind, we
don’t want to forget to celebrate all of
you who have been thoughtful friends and commenters
over the past 10 years. For this we can’t
thank you enough, and if not for our 503(c)(3)
status we would send you all chalky candy hearts
and bonbons.
The
Green-e News highlights timely Green-e
program topics for competitive and regulated
electricity markets, and renewable energy certificate
markets including regional news, outreach efforts,
policy changes and verification updates. If
you know someone that would like to receive
the Green-e News, sign-up
or contact: news [at] green-e [dot] org.
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Green-e Program Updates
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Green-e
Retail Greenhouse Gas Product Certification Standard
The
Green-e brand currently hosts two certification programs,
Green-e Energy
and Green-e Marketplace. CRS is
also hard at work developing a third program, Green-e Climate. The comment period for the first draft of
the new standard closed on January 31st, 2007.
Green-e
staff hosted a conference call with stakeholders on
January 23rd to talk through the draft Green-e Climate Standard
and answer any stakeholder questions before the comment
period concluded. A mp3 of the call is posted here.
If
you would like to be included as a stakeholder in
this process, please contact Alex Pennock at alex
[at] resource-solutions [dot] org. If you
are a member of the press and would like to receive
updates on the group's progress, please contact Jeff Swenerton at jeff [at] resource-solutions [dot]
org. To read the full press releases and
stakeholder advisories, click here.
Green-e Marketplace
The
Green-e Consumer Product Labeling Program relaunched
on January 29, 2007. Based on stakeholder feedback,
the retooled program features:
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A new name - now called Green-e Marketplace
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Streamlined paperwork
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A new fee structure
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An enhanced public educational piece to generate
visibility for the renewable energy industry
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A more informative, user-friendly website
All
logo requests received in December and January
have been processed. We appreciate your understanding
over the past two months and look forward to working
with you in our new and improved program. Please
visit www.green-e.org/clp, or e-mail labeling [at] green-e [dot] org.
Are
Texas RECs Texas Toast for Green-e Certification?
In
2005, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 20, which
increased the state's renewable energy mandate to 5,000
MW by 2015. Section (m) of that bill states:
(m) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the commission shall ensure that all renewable capacity
installed in this state and all renewable energy credits
awarded, produced, procured, or sold from renewable
capacity in this state are counted toward the goal
in Subsection (a).
There
is some debate about whether Section (m) indicates
that all Texas Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)
are being applied toward compliance with the state
mandate. The Public Utilities Commission of Texas
has indicated that the legislature may take up the
issue to provide resolution. Until and unless this
matter is clarified, Center for Resource Solutions
will take a conservative approach and assume that
all renewable energy certificates generated in Texas
will be considered by the state as retired for compliance
with the Texas renewable energy mandate. Therefore,
in order to prevent double-counting, the Green-e program
will consider Texas RECs to be ineligible for certification
unless and until this policy has been finally modified
in such a way as to ensure that double counting does
not occur.
Companies
selling Green-e certified products have already been
notified about this policy. We hope the issue described
above is resolved to our satisfaction in the near
term so that marketers and customers can feel confident
buying and selling Texas renewables.
Recent
Green-e Board Decision
Green-e
is excited to announce certification of the Eugene Water
and Electric Board’s new green pricing program,
EWEB Greenpower. EWEB Greenpower is a voluntary program
to support and build renewable electric generation in
the Pacific Northwest. EWEB Greenpower is comprised
of wind, small hydro and solar resources located in
Oregon and Washington and is sold as either 100 percent
of use or in 100 kWh blocks. We
welcome two new Green-e Governance Board members.
Betsy Blaisdell of Timberland Company stepped down
from the Green-e Board and has been replaced by Erin
Meezan of Interface Inc. Jim Marston of Environmental
Defense has been replaced by Virgil Welch of Environmental
Defense.
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| Upcoming
Events |
Green-e
staff will speak or exhibit at the following conferences:
2007
Global
CO2 Cap-and-Trade Forum Pacific
March 5th - 6th in San Francisco, CA.
US
Green Building Council-NCC Meeting
Wednesday,
March 14th at 5PM at the AIA Building on Sutter
Street in San Francisco, CA.
Utility
Energy Forum
Wednesday,
May 2nd in Tahoe, CA. CRS to present on new standard
at pre-conference workshop.
CERES
Conference, Advancing Sustainable Prosperity
April 24th-April 25th in Boston, MA.CRS will speak
and exhibit.
US
Green Building Council-NCC Meeting
Wednesday,
March 14th at 5PM at the AIA Building on Sutter
Street in San Francisco, CA.
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| Upcoming Meetings |
PMAC/UGPAC
Conference Call
Thursday,
February 15th at 10AM Pacific
Marketers'
Marketers Group
Wednesday,
April 11th at 10AM Pacific
Green-e
Governance Board Conference Call
Thursday,
March 8th at 9:30AM Pacific |
| New
Certifications |
The
Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) welcomes the following
new renewable energy products to the Green-e Program:
Eugene
Water and Electric Board is offering
a new green pricing program, EWEB Greenpower to customers
located in its service territory.
Evergreen
Wind Power, LLC offers a 100% wind
renewable energy certificate product, Mars Hill Wind
Tags wholesale customers.
Hess
Corporation offers a renewable energy
certificate product, Hess Green, to wholesale and
commercial customers.
Renewable
Choice Energy offers a renewable energy certificate product,
Clean Source, to wholesale and commercial customers.
Xcel
Energy Markets offers a renewable energy
certificate product to wholesale and commercial customers.
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| Green-e in the News! |
Recent Press
Press Releases
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| Green-e at-a-Glance |
Program Stats
154 certified
renewable energy products
69 participating
marketers and utilities offer a Green-e certified
products
Over five million MWh of certified renewable energy sold in 2005
114,500 households and businesses purchase Green-e certified energy products nationwide in 2005.
201 consumer products are labeled with the Green-e Logo.
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