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		Energy Services Bulletin home page
		Iowa utilities still learning lessons from stored energy facility
		Concerned utilities meet energy issues with local leadership
		Mesa, Ariz., includes demand side management in integrated resource plan
		Topics from the Power Line: Church seeks guidance on energy use
		Energy shorts
		Calendar of events

Concerned utilities meet energy issues with local leadership

The gondola connecting the towns of Mountain Village and Telluride, Colo., now runs on renewable energy through Mountain Village's purchase of green tags from San Miguel Power Association. (Photo by Mountain Village, Colo.)

Maybe it's because they are used to listening to their customers, or it could be the understanding that saving the world starts in our own backyard. Whatever the reason, utilities and municipalities are taking the initiative to address climate change and energy independence.

Power providers as different as the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and San Miguel Power Association in southwestern Colorado have adopted aggressive energy and environmental policies. They are not required by law to do so, but are undertaking ambitious programs for the same reason—"It's the right thing to do," said SMPA General Manager Bobby Blair.

Ahead of state programs

SMPA announced its 80/20 program at the beginning of the year. The name comes from the goals of getting 80 percent of SMPA customers to use at least one 100-kWh block of renewable energy and to get 20 percent of the co-op's total kWh sales from renewable energy by the end of 2009. "Even though we are not required to follow the guidelines of Amendment 37, we live in a ski resort where issues of global climate change are a big concern," said Blair. 

Amendment 37 is Colorado's voter-enacted renewable portfolio standard that requires electric utilities to produce mandatory amounts of power from renewable resources in coming years. Small cooperatives are exempt from the rule's provisions, although several, like SMPA, have chosen to comply. "Eventually, legislation will extend RPS requirements to co-ops," Blair predicted. "It's better to be in front of the curve."

San Francisco unveiled its own Climate Action Plan two years ahead of California's landmark 2006 bill to control greenhouse gas emissions. The plan calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2012 through expanding energy efficiency and renewable energy in municipal buildings, using clean fuels for city fleets and working with consumers to reduce individual contributions to climate change.

SFPUC's "Clean Air, Clean Energy" program requires that all of the city government's power come from renewable sources by 2010. Currently, San Francisco's city buildings get 80 percent of their power from hydroelectric sources—the Hetch Hetchy dam and an allotment from Western. The remainder comes from conventional powerplants. The city plans to add tidal power, biofuels and, of course, solar power to the mix. "We will triple our investment in solar energy by 2009," said Communications Director Tony Winnicker. "The goal is to reach the point where we can shut down the last gas-powered plant in the city limits."

Redevelopment creates opportunity

Another program goal—to become a retail green power supplier—is about to become a reality. Under an agreement with developer Lennar BVHP, SFPUC will supply 100 percent green power to a "Green Public Power Community" at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. In a mature city, redevelopment of Hunters Point and Treasure Island, another decommissioned shipyard, offer SFPUC the chance to branch out into retail power delivery. "We are eager to show we can deliver reliable—and clean—power to retail customers," Winnicker stated.

The installation has no existing infrastructure, so SFPUC and Lennar will share costs of building the necessary transmission and distribution system to serve the development. Lennar will deed the infrastructure to the city and SFPUC will recoup its investment of $12 million from ratepayers over future years.

The developer is also contributing $2 million toward the cost of providing renewable energy to customers in the new neighborhood. The money may be allocated toward constructing rooftop solar facilities within the development.

Sustainability key to agreement

PG&E, the city's retail service provider, also bid for the contract, making for a lengthy negotiation process. "As investor-owned utility, PG&E could afford to subsidize service to the area for years," said Winnicker. "It's tough to compete with that."

SFPUC brought its own strengths to the table, however. "Lennar wanted to build a sustainable development," Winnicker explained, "and PG&E couldn't guarantee renewable energy. That gave us an edge and ultimately helped us to close the deal."

Scheduled for completion in 2009, the 93-acre neighborhood will include more than 1,600 new residential units and 300,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. Initially, the community will receive solar power and hydroelectric power from Hetch Hetchy. SFPUC is installing solar panels atop the facility's reservoir to supply this and other future green power communities.

Green tags answer for smaller utility

As a small utility with no renewable generation of its own, SMPA used green tags to satisfy a large customer's desire to purchase 100-percent renewable energy.

The town of Mountain Village became a "Green Public Power Community" Jan. 1, buying 4,000 100-kWh blocks of renewable energy credits from SMPA monthly. That is enough to offset the electricity used by the Telluride Mountain Village gondola, town hall, Telluride Conference Center, the maintenance shop, snowmelt system and town street lights.

Tri-State Generation and Transmission, SMPA's power wholesaler, is supplying the green tags, generated mostly by wind. "It's very exciting that one of our customers is now the single largest purchaser of renewable energy in Tri-State's system," said Blair.

The Mountain Village town council and owners association started discussing the idea of running on 100 percent green energy last fall. Around the same time, Tri-State reduced the cost of green tags from $2.50 per 100-kWh block to $1.25. "The price drop was just good fortune, because the town was intent on making the purchase anyway," Blair observed.

The decision to "go green" extends to several other measures Mountain Village has taken over the last two years. The town converted its work fleet to hybrid vehicles, and switched to all eco-friendly products in the Telluride Conference Center including lights, cleaning fluids and paper products. Also, the town's monthly newsletter and most communication are now printed on recyclable paper.

Schools join in renewable promotion

The green tag purchase was also a Christmas present to SMPA, giving the co-op a good start on its way toward meeting the goals of its 80/20 program. Blair estimated SMPA will need consumers to commit to 34 to 36 million kWh annually, or more than 28,000 blocks monthly. "It's a pretty lofty goal but I think it's definitely reachable.  If you're going to set goals, set them high," Blair said.

Reaching ambitious goals takes team work, and in February, SMPA kicked off a joint promotion with high schools and middle schools in its territory. Students will be contacting local residents and businesses offering 100-kWh blocks of renewable energy for $1.25 a month for a minimum of one year.  For each block sold, SMPA will donate $1 to the school, and will recognize top sellers with cash prizes.

"The promotion will help schools raise money, encourage the purchase of more renewable energy blocks and raise the level of awareness about renewable energy among students and consumers," Blair said. "We don't know what to anticipate, but we could potentially add 5,000 to 10,000 new blocks," he added.

The school partnership is SMPA's first promotion since it announced the 80/20 goal, but Blair acknowledged that the co-op's green tag program had been around since 1998. "There are a lot of good reasons to use renewable energy, but it's the environmental issues that are getting people's attention right now," he said.

Those issues are the same whether people live in a big coastal city or a small mountain town, but the best strategies for dealing with them differ from place to place. Utilities that are part of the communities they serve are turning out to be a source of innovation and action, and show that good leadership begins at home.