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August 2006 - Pepco Energy Services announced that Lerner Enterprises and The Tower Companies have committed to purchase 100% wind energy for both the Washington Square office building in Washington, D.C., and their joint headquarters building in Bethesda, Maryland. Under the terms of the 48-month contract, Pepco Energy Services will provide more than 64 million kWh of renewable energy certificates (RECs) supplied by Sterling Planet from wind projects nationwide.
News Release - Pepco Energy Services Provides Wind Power to Prestigious Washington Square Office Building and Lerner/Tower Headquarters
News Article - Real Estate Firms Buy Credits for Wind Power
August 2006 - Tim and Diane Mueller, owners of Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado, Okemo Mountain Resort in Vermont, and Mount Sunapee Resort in New Hampshire, entered into an agreement with Gunnison County Electric Association to purchase 27 million kWh of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to offset 100% of the electricity use at the three ski resorts for one year. The RECs are being supplied by Sterling Planet. The Muellers are paying a 10% premium on the RECs price to promote Colorado wind energy development through a partnership between Sterling Planet and the Colorado Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation.
News Release - Muellers Go "Green" to Power "White"
News Article - Crested Butte Ski Resort Turning its Electricity Use Green
July 2006 - Pepco Energy Services announced that it has been awarded a contract to supply green power to the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the National Geographic Society. Under the 29-month contract, Pepco Energy Services will supply more than 39 million kWh of Green-e certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) sourced from Sterling Planet utilizing wind energy projects located across the United States. When combined with savings under the Society's existing electric service contract, the cost of the green power will be less than current standard-offer service rates for D.C. electricity customers.
News Release - Pepco Energy Services Supplies Affordable Wind Power To National Geographic Society
July 2006 - Duke University has become the latest institution to break into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Power Partnership's (GPP) list of the "Top 25" green power purchasers. Overall, the school is purchasing 54 million kWh per year of renewable energy certificates (RECs) supplied through an agreement with Sterling Planet, Inc. The most recent commitment by a Duke program comes from the Fuqua School of Business, which committed to offset 100% of its electricity usage with REC purchases.
The GPP purchaser list is updated four times annually. Combined, the Top 25 purchases amount to 3.7 billion kWh of green power annually.
News Release - Fuqua School of Business to Purchase Renewable Energy Certificates
News Release - Nicholas School Purchases Renewable Energy Certificates to Offset Fossil Fuel Use
Additional Information - EPA GPP Top 25 Partners
July 2006 - Warren Wilson College, a private, liberal arts college located in North Carolina, has become the first college or university in the Southeast to offset all of its electricity use with green power. The college will purchase 4.4 million kWh annually of renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Sterling Planet, Inc. at an additional cost of $20,000 or about 0.45¢/kWh. The purchase is the result of a year-long effort by students who researched numerous REC providers, launched a successful petition drive, and worked with the college administration to get the purchase approved. A student fee of about $20 will provide the funding for the purchase.
News Release - Warren Wilson College Campus Converts to 100 Percent Green Power
News Article - Warren Wilson Students to Pay a Little More to be Green
May 2006 - The Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), a non-partisan, not-for-profit business group, has teamed with Washington Gas Energy Services (WGES) and Sterling Planet, Inc. to offer businesses a green power purchase option in Maryland's competitive retail electricity market. Through WGES, businesses can buy electricity with 50% or 100% wind energy content at rates below those for standard offer service. The product is supplied by Sterling Planet using renewable energy credits (RECs) sourced from wind projects located across the nation.
News Release - CEP Unveils New Wind Electric Offer to Save Money and Help the Environment
CEP Contact: Gary Skulnik (240) 514-0189
April 2006 - The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), along with other state agencies and leaders, announced the statewide availability of the CleanPower Choice program. The program allows electricity users to support the development of renewable energy sources located in New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic region by purchasing green power from one of four marketers: Community Energy, Green Mountain Energy, Jersey-Atlantic Wind, and Sterling Planet.
Participating electricity customers will continue to be served and billed by their local electric company, and the renewable energy purchase will appear as a separate line item on the bill. The program began October 1 in the PSE&G and JCP&L service territories and has now expanded to Atlantic City Electric and Orange & Rockland Utilities.
News Release - New Jersey Makes the Choice for Clean Energy
News Article - N.J. to Offer Renewable Energy Surcharge
News Article - 'Green' Electrical Bills Will Cost More Green
NJBPU Contact: Anne Marie McShea, (609) 777-3300
November 2005 - The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced a commitment to purchase renewable energy for all its electricity needs. Under the agreement, DEP facilities will collectively purchase 7.6 million kWh of renewable energy annually through the CTCleanEnergyOptions program, adding an estimated $125,000, or about 10%, to the department's annual electric bill. The purchase will be split evenly between the two clean energy suppliers participating in the program, Community Energy and Sterling Planet.
The DEP purchase represents the largest institutional clean energy purchase since the CTCleanEnergyOptions program was unveiled in April 2005, and will help the state achieve its 20% renewable electricity purchase goal for state agencies and universities for 2010. To date, about 5,500 Connecticut customers have enrolled in the program.
News Release - DEP Announces Move to "Clean" Energy: First State Agency to Get Power from Renewable Sources
November 2005 - Customers of Consolidated Edison Company of New York (Con Edison), a regulated utility which provides electricity in nearly all of New York City and most of Westchester County, can choose among green power options supplied by four providers. Given New York's competitive retail electricity market, Con Edison customers can switch electricity service to an energy service company which provides green power, currently either ConEdison Solutions or Econnergy, or can sign up with a green power marketer, either Community Energy or Sterling Planet, while still receiving electricity from Con Edison.
More Information - Con Edison Green Power Brochure (PDF 847 KB) Download Acrobat Reader Correction Notice - This article replaces a previous article entitled "Sterling Planet Teams with Con Edison to Offer Green Option"
October 2005 - The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities announced the start of a new program through which the state's retail electric customers can purchase renewable energy without switching electricity suppliers. Under the CleanPower Choice Program, residential and business customers can enroll by checking a box on their utility bills and selecting from among renewable energy products offered by four marketers: Community Energy, Green Mountain Energy Company, Jersey-Atlantic Wind, and Sterling Planet. The program began October 1 in the PSE&G and JCP&L service territories and will expand to Atlantic City Electric and Orange & Rockland Utilities in April 2006. The products available through the program are as follows:
Community Energy is offering a blend of wind (50%), low-impact hydro (49%), and solar (1%) at a rate premium of 1.3¢/kWh.
Green Mountain Energy is offering a blend of wind (50%), and small hydro (50%) sourced in the region at a premium of 0.9¢/kWh.
Jersey-Atlantic Wind is offering a blend of New Jersey-based wind (50%) and low-impact hydro (50%) at a premium of 2.9¢/kWh. The company is also offering a 100% New Jersey-based wind product in 100-kWh monthly increments for $5.50, or a premium of 5.5¢/kWh.
Sterling Planet is offering a blend of new wind (33%), small hydro (33%), and new bioenergy (34%) from sources in the Mid-Atlantic states at a premium of 1.2¢/kWh. Customers can elect to purchase the product to meet 50% or 100% of their electricity usage.
News Release - Acting Governor Codey Declares October "Clean Energy Month in New Jersey"
News Article - Would You Pay More for Clean Energy?
More Information - New Jersey CleanPower Choice Program
NJ BPU Contact: Anne Marie McShea, (609) 777-3300
August 2005 - The Western Area Power Administration announced that 10 entities of the U.S. Department of Energy, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, have teamed with the Fort Carson Army Base to purchase 117,825 megawatt-hours (MWhs) of renewable energy certificates (RECs) annually for the next five years. The RECs will come from a combination of biomass generation from sawmill plants in California, and wind projects located in California and Nebraska, and will be supplied by Sterling Planet, a national RECs marketer based in Norcross, GA. Western coordinated the requests for proposal for all of the agencies and also committed to purchase a portion of the RECs.
News Release - Agencies Purchase Biomass, Wind Certificates
News Release - Fort Carson Invests in Renewable Energy Production (PDF 116 KB)
Western Contact: LaVerne Kyriss (720) 962-7051
March 2005 - The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) announced that Georgia-based Sterling Planet and New York City-based Community Energy have been selected through a competitive bidding process to provide renewable energy options for customers of the state's two major utility companies, United Illuminating and Connecticut Light and Power. Under the new program, which will begin on April 1, customers will have the option to purchase green power from either of the two providers to meet 50% or 100% of their electricity needs.
The Sterling Planet product is sourced from new wind (33%), existing small hydro (33%), and new landfill gas generators (34%) at a premium of 1.15¢/kWh over standard offer service, which would cost the average residential customer an additional $5.75 per month for the 100% option. The Community Energy offering, which is sourced from 50% new wind and 50% landfill gas, is priced at 1.1¢/kWh over standard offer rates. The two utilities will distribute information about the green power options in monthly billing statements and through their respective Web sites.
News Release - Community Energy, Inc. Announces Launch of CTCleanEnergyOptions
News Release - DPUC Announces Start of Clean Energy Options (PDF 113 KB)
News Article - Starting April 1, electric customers in Connecticut can go "green"
DPUC Contact: Beryl Lyons (860) 827-2670
November 2004 - Keys Energy Services (KES), a municipal utility serving 27,000 customers in the Florida Keys, is now offering green power to its residential and business customers. Under the GO GREEN program, customers can choose from two green power options. The first, called Florida Ever Green, is supplied from solar hot water heating systems (20%), photovoltaic systems (5%), and biomass facilities (75%) located in Florida. The utility offers $10, $25, and $50 monthly purchase options for this product, which carries a 2.75¢/kWh premium price.
The second option, called USA Green, is supplied from wind farms (50%), biomass facilities (45%), and photovoltaic systems (5%) sourced nationwide and is offered as $10, $15, and $20 monthly purchase options, with a lower rate premium of 1.6¢/kWh. Both products are supplied by Sterling Planet and certified by Environmental Resources Trust. There is no minimum enrollment period for either product.
KES Contacts: Rochele Miller (305) 295-1115
Julio J. Barroso (305) 295-1023
November 2004 - Lakeland Electric, a municipal utility serving about 100,000 customers in Lakeland, FL, announced an agreement with Sterling Planet to market up to 330,000 kWh of renewable energy certificates (RECs) derived from solar water heating and photovoltaic (PV) systems to other utilities and corporate customers. The deal is believed to be the nation's first involving RECs derived from solar water heaters.
The utility employs special meters to measure the thermal output of the solar water heating systems and converts the thermal energy to an electricity-equivalent. In September, Sterling Planet sold 50,000 kWh of solar RECs to the Democratic National Convention and Keys Energy Services, which includes the RECs in one of its two green power options.
News Release - Lakeland Electric Trades Green Energy Credits from Solar Water Heaters
Lakeland Contact: Jeff Curry (863) 834-6853
September 2004 - SmartPower, a Hartford, Connecticut-based non-profit organization, announced that more than 1,250 electricity customers have enrolled in Narragansett Electric's GreenUp program just five months after its launch. Under the program, Narragansett customers can purchase renewable energy from one of four participating green energy marketers—Community Energy, Inc., Conservation Services Group, People's Power and Light, and Sterling Planet—without switching their electricity service.
With support from the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Fund, SmartPower conducted an integrated marketing campaign in cooperation with Narragansett Electric to raise awareness of the renewable energy program.
Newsletter Article - Power Switch is on as Rhode Island Reaches 1250 Clean Energy Customers (September 2004)
SmartPower Contact: Michael Trahan (860) 214-6868
September 2004 - Niagara Mohawk (NiMo) announced that about 8,800 customers have enrolled in the utility's GreenUp renewable energy program, since it was unveiled two years ago. Under the program, the utility's customers can purchase renewable energy from one of four participating marketers—Community Energy, EnviroGen, Green Mountain Energy, and Sterling Planet—while continuing to be served by the utility. The additional cost to purchase either 50% or 100% green power ranges from 1.0¢/kWh to 1.5 ¢/kWh, depending on the provider selected. NiMo includes the surcharge as a line item on the participating customer's bill.
News Release - Niagara Mohawk Customers Choosing Renewable Energy
NiMo Contact: Alberto Bianchetti (315) 428-6932
Community Energy Contact: Ron Kamen (917) 453-5740
Green Mountain Energy Contact: Andy Prince (512) 289-4728
Sterling Planet Contact: Bob Maddox (203) 266-7973
EnviroGen Contact: Robert Kreppel (716) 631-1518
August 2004 - Constellation NewEnergy, a Baltimore-based power marketer, announced that it is supplying green power to nine Starwood hotel properties in New York City during the Republican National Convention. Under the agreement, the marketer is supplying renewable energy credits sourced from Sterling Planet to meet the hotels' anticipated peak demand during the convention, approximately 10 million kWh. EAD Environmental and Constellation NewEnergy also supplied green power to Boston's FleetCenter during the Democratic National Convention in July.
News Release - Constellation NewEnergy Supplying Green Power to Starwood Hotels During RNC Convention in New York
News Release - Constellation NewEnergy to Supply Renewable Power for Democratic National Convention
News Release - Hyping Hydro Power (EAD Environmental Offsets the Democratic National Convention)
August 2004 - The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), a municipal utility that serves nearly 1.1 million electricity customers on Long Island in New York, announced that its LIPA Green Choice Program is now open for enrollment. Under the program, LIPA customers can purchase renewable energy attributes through one of the three participating green power marketers—Community Energy, EnviroGen, or Sterling Planet. The green power options are supplied from sources such as wind, hydro and biomass and range in price from 1¢/kWh to 2¢/kWh above standard electricity rates. LIPA will apply the green power surcharge to the standard monthly electricity bills of participating customers.
Participants can change their initial selections or discontinue participation in the program at any time. LIPA will be supporting the program with a public education campaign that will include inserts in monthly billing statements, a Web page, and newspaper advertisements.
News Release - LIPA Opens Green Power Enrollment
News Article - 'Green' power purchase eased by LIPA plan - No longer online at www.newsday.com
June 2004 - 1st Rochdale Cooperative is now offering a fixed-price green power option to electricity customers in Con Edison's service territory in New York City and Westchester County. The product, called Sterling Green, is supplied from in-state renewable energy sources, including new wind (40%), small hydro (30%), and methane from landfills or animal wastes (30%). Customers can purchase the green power at a fixed price of 14.4¢/kWh—a 1.5¢/kWh premium above the Cooperative's standard electricity rate of 12.9¢/kWh—for one year from the time of enrollment. Participating customers will receive a separate bill from 1st Rochdale. The product is supplied by Sterling Planet and certified by Environmental Resources Trust.
1st Rochdale Contact: Tom Thompson (917) 886-4793
Jakob Cirell (212) 673-3900 ext. 1
March 2004 - Narragansett Electric, a National Grid subsidiary, now offers a green power option to its 465,000 electricity customers in Rhode Island. Under the utility's GreenUp program, customers can purchase green power from one of four participating green power marketers: Community Energy, Conservation Services Group, People's Power & Light, and Sterling Planet. The product options range in price from 0.75¢/kWh to 2.0¢/kWh and consist of renewable energy supplied from a variety of sources, such as wind, small hydro, biomass, and solar. Participating customers do not switch from their existing utility service but will see a green power surcharge on their regular utility bills. National Grid also offers the GreenUp program through distribution subsidiaries in Massachusetts and New York.
News Release - Community Energy Makes NewWind Energy® Available to Rhode Island Residential and Small-Commercial Customers through New Narragansett Electric Program
News Release - Sterling Planet Offers Narragansett Electric Customers a Robust Renewable Energy Blend With Unprecedented 25% New Solar
News Release - Narragansett Electric Offers Customers New Green Energy Program
March 2004 - SmartPower, a Connecticut-based, non-profit organization that promotes the use of renewable energy, has formed a new partnership with the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Fund (RIREF) to publicize the availability of green power in the Ocean State. Beginning in April, Rhode Island residents will have the opportunity to purchase green power from four providers: Conservation Services Group, Community Energy, People's Power & Light and Sterling Planet. Each provider will market its products individually while SmartPower will conduct a direct marketing campaign to educate state consumers.
The RIREF is administered by the Rhode Island State Energy Office and is financed with funds collected from Rhode Island electric ratepayers. The Fund works to bring more affordable renewable electricity to the state and supports consumer education efforts.
Monthly Charge Newsletter (March 2004) - SmartPower Launches Rhode Island Effort
Smartpower Contact: Brian Keane (860) 249-7040
November 2003 - Sterling Planet, Inc. announced that it has entered into agreements to supply renewable energy certificates (RECs) to corporate partners of the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Green Power Market Development Group, including Alcoa Inc., Delphi Corporation, DuPont, Interface, Pitney Bowes and Staples. Collectively, Sterling Planet will supply the companies with 795 million kWh of RECs from wind and bioenergy resources over the next several years.
News Release - Major U.S. Corporations, World Resources Institute and Sterling Planet Make History with Record-Setting Corporate Renewable Energy Purchase - No longer online at sterlingplanet.com
Sterling Planet Contact: Mel Jones (404) 513-0259 or (770) 408-6389
October 2003 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has committed to purchase green power to meet 50% of the annual electricity needs at its laboratory complex in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Under three separate agreements, the Agency will purchase a total of 35.7 million kWh of green power for the facility.
During the 2004 fiscal year, EPA will purchase 5.7 million kWh of green power for the laboratory complex through the new statewide NC GreenPower program. In addition, it has contracted with 3 Phases Energy Services for 10 million kWh of wind energy certificates from a wind power project in Algona, Iowa, and with Sterling Planet for 20 million kWh of renewable energy certificates from a landfill gas plant in Jacksonville, Florida.
With this latest purchase, EPA now uses green power for more than 40% of the electricity needs at its facilities nationwide. Other purchases include: News Release - EPA Boosts Green Power Use With RTP Renewable Energy Purchase
Additional Information - EPA's Green Power Purchases
September 2003 - Massachusetts Electric Company and Nantucket Electric Company, both electricity distribution subsidiaries of National Grid, announced the availability of new retail green power products for their Massachusetts customers. The GreenUp program offers products from four different green power suppliers, ranging in price from 1.2¢/kWh to 2.5¢/kWh above a customer's standard electricity rate. The products are blends of power from new and existing renewable energy resources.
News Release - Massachusetts Electric Offers Customers New Green Energy Program
News Release - Nantucket Electric Offers Customers New Green Energy Program
September 2003 - The Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced that its Green-e program has certified another seven Tradable Renewable Certificate (TRC) products. TRCs, or green tags, represent the environmental attributes of electricity generated from renewable sources.
The newly certified products are offered by: EAD Environmental, People's Power and Light, Sterling Planet, WindCurrent, Big Green Energy, Mainstay Energy, and Green Mountain Energy Company. A total of 15 marketers now sell Green-e certified TRCs nationally.
News Release - Seven NEW Green-e Certified "Green Tag" Products Increase Business & Consumer Choice
CRS Contact: Këri Bolding (415) 561-2100
July 2003 - Suburban Energy Services (formerly Agway Energy Products), a Syracuse, NY-based company that provides heating oil, natural gas, and other energy services, announced that it is offering green power to homeowners and small businesses in the Niagara Mohawk and NYSEG electric service territories in partnership with Sterling Planet. The companies are offering a Green-e certified product called Sterling Green, which is a blend of 40% wind, 30% small hydroelectric and 30% methane gas derived from renewable sources. Customers choosing the green power product will pay 1.5¢/kWh more than Agway's variable rate for electricity.
News Release - Agway Energy Products Announces Green Electricity Offer: New Product Available In Niagara Mohawk and NYSEG Territories
Suburban Energy Services Contact: Michael Meath (315) 449-6445
Sterling Planet Contact: Bob Maddox (877) 276-3525
March 2003 - The Tower Companies, a family-owned commercial and residential building developer, announced an agreement to purchase green power to supply company-owned buildings in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Under the terms of the 18-month deal, Pepco Energy Services (PES) will supply 24 million kWh of green power to meet 50% of the energy needs of Tower's commercial buildings and 25% of the energy of Tower-owned apartment communities. Sterling Planet will provide the green power to PES using renewable energy certificates.
News Release - Companies Join Forces to Provide Washington's First Renewable Energy for a Commercial Developer
January 2003 - Green power marketer Sterling Planet has completed the acquisition of two Oklahoma-based engineering companies — EDG Power Group and Engineering Design Group. With the acquisitions, Sterling Planet now has the combined capability to develop renewable energy generating facilities and market the output nationwide. The company has a total of 175 employees working out of offices in Atlanta, Tulsa, and San Diego. September 2002 - Niagara Mohawk, which serves 1.5 million electricity customers in upstate New York, has unveiled a new program allowing residential and commercial customers to purchase electricity generated from renewable energy sources. Under the program, customers can choose to purchase green power products offered by three providers—Community Energy, Inc., Green Mountain Energy Company, and Sterling Planet. Participating customers will not switch from their regular utility service but will see a green power surcharge appear as a line item on their utility bills.
Community Energy is offering a 50% wind/50% hydro product for 1.3¢/kWh that would supply all of a customer's electricity needs. The Green Mountain Energy product, which is also designed to meet 100% of the customer's electricity needs, is supplied from 85% hydro and 15% wind, and priced at 1.5¢/kWh. Finally, customers can choose to meet 50%, 75%, or 100% of their electricity needs with the Sterling Planet product, which is supplied from 30% wind, 20% hydro, and 50% biomass, and priced at 1.5¢/kWh. All of the utility's residential and commercial customers will receive program information with their September bills.
The development of the renewable energy program stems from the settlement agreement reached in the Niagara Mohawk-National Grid merger.
News Release - Niagara Mohawk Kicks Off Renewable Energy Choice - No longer online at niagaramohawk.com
News Release - Green Mountain Energy Company Expands By Launching in New York State
News Release - Sterling Planet and Niagara Mohawk Team to Deliver Green Energy Choices - No longer online at sterlingplanet.com
News Article - NiMo customers can opt for 'green' electricity - No longer online at buffalonews.com
May 2002 - JEA and Sterling Planet, Inc. announced a partnership to market the environmental attributes of solar power installations installed in the JEA service territory in northeast Florida. Since 2000, JEA has installed 520 kilowatts of solar energy generating capacity, mostly in the form of photovoltaic systems located at 26 Jacksonville-area high schools. The environmental attributes of the solar system output will be a component of Sterling Planet's 100% green energy blend, which also includes attributes from geothermal, small hydro, biomass and wind projects. The attributes are sold as tradable renewable certificates (TRCs), which are available nationwide from Sterling Planet.
Sterling Planet Contact: Mel Jones (770) 408-6389
March 2001 - ENERGYguide.com announced an agreement with Sterling Planet, Inc. to offer a 100% green electricity product to residential and business customers across the continental United States. Sterling Planet is an Internet-based green power marketer based in Roswell, Georgia.
The companies are offering consumers an option to purchase green power equivalent to 50%, 75% or 100% of their power consumption at an additional cost of 10-20% of their monthly electricity bill, or about $10-15 more per month. Sterling Planet promises to use the revenues to add renewable electricity to the national electric grid to "replace an equal amount of conventional electricity" as demanded by consumers. According to the company, the green power will come from renewable sources such as wind, solar, small hydro, geothermal, and biomass.
Consumers are not required to switch suppliers to participate in the program and will continue to receive a monthly bill from their current electricity supplier. According to Sterling Planet, there are no long-term contracts, and buyers can increase, decrease or cancel their green purchases at any time. The company claims that it will "partner with utilities" to offer the green power choice.
Media Contact: Karen McGrath (617) 520-9112
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