June was another history-making
month for the NC GreenPower program. Seven agreements were awarded
to the program’s first renewable energy producers. The providers,
located across the state, will provide energy from solar, landfill
methane and biomass resources, all of which are cleaner sources
of energy and are replenished by nature. All energy generated for
the NC GreenPower program will be produced in North Carolina for
the state’s power supply. |
|
The announcement was made June 16 at the North Carolina General
Assembly Building in Raleigh by Senator
Charles W. Albertson, Senator
R.B. Sloan, Jr. and Representative
Pryor A. Gibson, III. The event was an important milestone in
the growth of the NC GreenPower program.
"We are extremely pleased with the progress we have made since
our October 2003 program launch," said Dr. Robert K. Koger,
president of NC GreenPower. "The early support of a significant
number of residential and business customers has enabled us to enter
into agreements that will result in the generation of the program’s
initial renewable energy."
Agreements for the generation of renewable energy for the NC GreenPower
program were awarded to:
SOLAR
Solar Future Vision Solar Farm (Apex, Wake County)
N.C. Solar
Center (Raleigh, Wake County)
Private citizens Larry Bohs and Libby Searles-Bohs (Hillsborough,
Orange County)
Private citizen Nancy B. Carter (Highlands, Macon County)
Private citizens Chris and Gretchen Witzgall (Apex, Chatham County)
LANDFILL METHANE
Methane Credit (Dudley, Wayne County)
BIOMASS (agricultural waste)
Reusing Existing Nutrients, Energy and Water (RENEW) (Kenansville,
Duplin County)
Producers were selected from responses to a request for proposals
(RFP) and qualifications process. All energy proposed for generation
in the program will come from resources in the state. The state’s
electric utilities are working with NC GreenPower and its producers
to make the renewable energy available for North Carolina’s
power supply.
NC GreenPower received 46 responses from producers to provide renewable
energy for the program. These agreements are the first to be awarded
from NC GreenPower to meet the initial demand from customers; however,
as the program continues to grow, NC GreenPower will issue RFPs
to obtain additional resources to meet the growing demand for renewable
energy.
NC GreenPower is the state’s first program (and the nation’s
first multi-utility program) that encourages the development of
technology to transform renewable energy resources such as wind,
solar, and biomass sources into safe and environmentally sustainable
power. Powering homes and businesses in North Carolina, NC GreenPower
operates by using voluntary contributions from residential and business
consumers.
The NC GreenPower program was approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission
in January 2003 and began accepting contributions on July 28, 2003.
To date, the program is averaging 17 million kilowatt hours annually.
The program is made possible by contributions. Residential and business
consumers alike may sign
up for the program by visiting www.ncgreenpower.org. Because
of NC GreenPower’s not-for-profit status, all contributions
are tax deductible.
NC GreenPower is a subsidiary of Advanced
Energy, a Raleigh-based non-profit corporation that helps residential,
industrial and utility customers improve the return on their energy
investment. |
| |
Program participation
Current NC GreenPower subscribers – 5,220
Total monthly NC GreenPower blocks subscribed – 14,428
Annual equivalent blocks subscribed – 173,136
Annual equivalent energy – 17,313,600 kWh
Environmental equivalents
2,164,200 trees planted monthly (34 square miles)
25,970,400 trees planted annually (406 square miles)
1,067,672 days (2925 years) undriven by your automobile (monthly
block totals)
12,812,064 days (35,101 years) undriven by your automobile (annual
block subscriptions)
Annual environmental equivalents of blocks subscribed equal every
registered vehicle in the state of North Carolina sitting unused
for two entire days!
|
