Transcript Austin`s GreenChoice: a model for Green Pricing

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GreenChoice
TM
Austin Energy’s Renewable Energy
Program
Mark Kapner
Local Renewables 2007
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Austin Energy
 Municipally-owned
electric utility
 Serves
more than
700,000 population
 Area
> 1000 sq km
Austin
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Customers
 26%
of energy sold
to residential
 70% to commercial
 4% to municipal
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Generating Sources
3
gas and oil-fired plants 1670 MW
 1 coal-fired plant
570 MW
 1 nuclear plant
400 MW
 Purchase 212 MW of wind
 Purchase 11 MW landfill methane power
 Purchase 1 MW of Hydro
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 Coal
Conventional
Generation Mix
by MWH
34%
 Nuclear
30%
 Gas
30 %
Renewables 6%
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 Austin’s
GreenChoice
Background
TM
Strategic Goal: 20% of
energy from renewables by 2020
 By enrolling, customer causes
change in AE’s generation mix
 Customer benefits from the price
stability inherent in renewable energy
 GreenChoice price linked to actual
cost of renewable energy
TM
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GreenChoice
Renewable Sources
 Wind
79%
 Landfill methane
(17 % of MWH)
 Photovoltaics and Hydro
(4% 0f MWH)
Wind
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Pros and Cons
Least expensive

(per kWh)
 Little firm capacity
 Transmission
adequacy risk
 Public acceptancefairly high

Wind Capacity in
MW, end of 2006
245
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484
70
40
597
320
964
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Landfill Methane
Pros and Cons
 40%
more expensive
than wind energy
 Very high firm
capacity
 Public acceptancemoderate
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Tessman Road Landfill
Methane Power Plant
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Solar Photovoltaics
 Most
expensive
(about 7 times cost
of wind)
 Fairly high firm
capacity
 Public acceptance extremely high
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How GreenChoice
Works
TM
All customers eligible
 Commercial customers contract for min 5
years
 Subscribers pay a fixed GreenChoice
charge in place of a fuel charge that
fluctuates depending on market prices of
coal and gas; price lock for as long as 10
years
 Green Choice charge = 3.50 cents per kWh
 Fuel Charge is currently 3.35 cents per kWh
 Commercial customers receive recognition
proportional to level of participation

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Austin Energy
Electric Bill
Base Rate 6.44 cents x kWh

plus
Fuel charge = $0.033 x kWh

or
 GreenChoice charge = $0.035 x
kWh

Comparison to Fuel Charge
Premium or Discount?
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4
3.5
4
3
3
2
2.5
2
1
1.5
1
Fuel Charge
GC Batch 1 Charge
GC Batch 2 Charge
GC Batch 3 Charge
GC Batch 4 Charge
Batch #
0.5
Jan 2000 - Jan 2016
Jan-16
Jan-15
Jan-14
Jan-13
Jan-12
Jan-11
Jan-10
Jan-09
Jan-08
Jan-07
Jan-06
Jan-05
Jan-04
Jan-03
Jan-02
Jan-01
Jan-00
0
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Promotion and
Marketing
Stories in utility bill inserts
 Ads in local newspapers
 Billboards
 Customized presentations to businesses
 Speaking engagements
 Letter from environmental groups to their
mailing list
 TV commercials

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Corporate Champions (use
> 700,000 kWh per year)
3M Corporation
823 Congress
Advanced Micro Devices
(AMD)
Ambion, Inc.
Apple Computer
BAE Systems
BLOCKBUSTER
Fisher-Rosemount Systems
Four Seasons Hotel Austin
GSD&M
Ginny's + Merit
Graeber, Simmons & Cowan
Greenwood Towers
Habitat Suites Hotel
Heart Hospital of Austin
Hyatt Regency Austin
IBM
Iron Cactus
Kinko's
La Quinta Inn & Suites
LBJS Broadcasting Company
Live Oak Development
Maudie's Cafe
Pier 1 Imports
Samsung Austin
Semiconductor
Solectron Texas
State Farm Insurance
Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality
Texas Governor's Mansion
The Rebekah Baines Johnson
Center
Tokyo Electron America
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Corporate Champion Ad
Package
ad – features company logo
 Billboards
 List names twice per year in three
newspapers
 Company logo in EnergyPlus
customer newsletter
 GreenChoice logo available for
company’s use in its advertising
 TV
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Status
(end of Nov, 2006)
GreenChoice launched mid-Jan 2000
 Began billing April 2001
 Over 10,000 residential customers
enrolled
 44 large commercial subscribers
 348 small businesses
 Green Energy = 650 million kWh/yr.

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