Green Power Market Research Articles

Green power: status and perspectives

The main objective of the so-called green power marketing is to provide selective customers of electric energy with choices to purchase electric energy from sustainable, environmentally friendly sources. This paper presents a rationale for marketing of green power provides a brief overview of some of the existing efforts in the United States and abroad, and attempts to identify the conditions and future trends for survival of renewable energy in the energy marketplace. Our goal is primarily to provide a representative sample of the current technology status, rather than a comprehensive coverage of worldwide initiatives in this area.

How California Is Advancing Green Power in the New Millennium

Despite continuing problems building a green power market during the transition from a monopoly-based structure, an auction to increase supply and a customer rebate to boost demand are moving the renewable energy industry forward.

Customer Choice and Green Power Marketing in the United States: How far Can it Take US?

This article explores whether and to what extent individuals are willing to voluntarily pay a premium for products that provide public environmental benefits. In particular, we critically review and analyze the status and impacts of U.S. green power marketing to date. Green power marketing – the business of selling electricity products distinguished by their environmental attributes – seeks to develop a private market for renewable energy driven by consumer demand for green products. Debate has centered on the ability of such a market to provide a significant level of support for renewable energy sources. This paper examines experience to date with green power markets in the United States, providing an historical overview, reviewing product offerings, assessing customer response, and calculating overall support for renewable energy. While market research shows that a majority of the populace states a willingness to pay a premium for renewable energy, early experience with green power marketing shows that those attitudes have not yet translated into large-scale behavior change, tracking experience in other environmental product markets. While a niche market for green power does exist, the data presented in this paper indicate that the collective impact of customer-driven demand on renewable generation has been modest thus far. Much will need to be done if this market is to play a strong role in supporting renewable energy in the early part of the millennium. Several lessons on how to potentially improve the prospects of green power marketing are therefore discussed.

The role of public policy in emerging green power markets: an analysis of marketer preferences

Green power marketing has been heralded by some as a means to create a private market for renewable energy that is driven by customer demand for green products. This article challenges the premise — sometimes proffered in debates over green markets — that profitable, sizable, credible markets for green products will evolve naturally without supportive public policies. Relying primarily on surveys and interviews of US green power marketers, the article examines the role of specific regulatory and legislative policies in ‘enabling’ the green market, and searches for those policies that are believed by marketers to be the most conducive or detrimental to the expansion of the green market. We find that marketers: (1) believe that profitable green power markets will only develop if a solid foundation of supportive policies exists; (2) believe that establishing overall price competition and encouraging customer switching are the top priorities; (3) are somewhat leery of government-sponsored or mandated public information programs; and (4) oppose three specific renewable energy policies that are frequently advocated by renewable energy enthusiasts, but that may have negative impacts on the green marketers’ profitability. The stated preferences of green marketers shed light on ways to foster renewables by means of the green market. Because the interests of marketers do not coincide perfectly with those of society, however, this study also recognizes other normative perspectives and highlights policy tensions at the heart of current debates related to green markets. By examining these conflicts, we identify three key policy questions that should direct future research: To what extent should price competition and customer switching be encouraged at the expense of cost shifting? What requirements should be imposed to ensure credibility in green products and marketing? How should the green power market and broader renewable energy policies interact?

Renewable energy alternatives for developed countries

This paper examines renewable energy alternatives in developed countries: environmental mechanisms; future energy alternatives; green electricity marketing and its potential; pricing; and limitations on the eve of open access. It discusses objectives in electricity restructuring; the role of resources planning in forming long range energy environmental policies; feasibility of electricity trading mechanisms; green marketing in the United States and Australia; green energy offers in Canada; and the results of green pricing programs in Europe and the United States. The role of existing and planned mechanisms to achieve environmental benefits in restructured electricity markets are reviewed. Technological and institutional challenges of achieving real, long-term reductions in carbon dioxide and other emissions from the electric sector are discussed. Factors associated with infrastructure turnover together with technology development and deployment are addressed, where attention is given to policies which promote highly integrated and coordinated reductions in emissions. The paper then focuses on the green pool and trends in power marketing where status of competitive markets, green pricing programs for franchise customers, green power products for contestable customers, credibility of green power marketing, and public policy for renewable energy technologies in competitive markets are discussed. It then reviews green energy in Ontario on the eve of open access, and shows there is a market for green energy if customers have a choice.

Green power and the liberalisation of the UK electricity market

SYNOPSIS The UK electricity market is being opened up to full competition in stages, starting in September 1998. This radical change means that consumers can contract with suppliers of their choice, rather than just with their local Regional Electricity Companies. It also makes it possible for purveyors of renewable energy to offer “green” power from renewable energy sources direct to consumers, although they are likely, at least initially, to have to be charged a premium price. While some hope that this new green power market will expand so that renewable energy technology can begin to make a significant contribution to the UK's electricity supplies, there are several problems with this new scheme, not least the fact that it relies of the voluntary support of altruistic consumers. Can they be relied on to provide sufficient surplus to fund the expansion of renewables? Shouldn't this be the responsibility of the government? Or the energy companies? Some renewable energy proponents even fear that, since liberalisation may drive down the price of conventional electricity, renewables will be left looking expensive, and, far from expanding, could be wiped out entirely. This paper explores the potential and limits of the green market approach to renewable energy development, and looks at some of the alternative, or complementary, approaches that might be used to help stimulate the development and use of renewable energy technologies. In this paper the term “liberalisation” is used to mean giving consumers the opportunity to buy electricity from whom they please by removing restraints on competition. In the US the term “deregulation” is sometimes used. However, liberalisation is not necessarily synonymous with abandoning regulation. Nevertheless, there is clearly a debate over how much freedom should be given to the market, and how much regulation should be relaxed.

Green power marketing: increasing customer demand for renewable energy

As electricity restructuring has progressed, the debate over appropriate mechanisms for the promotion of renewable energy has intensified. Green power marketing seeks to develop an emerging, customer-driven market for renewables. Because demand for green power is analogous to the voluntary provision of public goods, however, some believe that green marketing will not, on its own, provide a large market for renewables. After all, individuals have strong incentives to `free-ride' and therefore not contribute to the provision of public goods. This paper describes green power marketing activities, reviews aspects of the extensive literature on public goods, free-riders, and collective action problems, and explores some of the implications of this literature for the green marketing of renewable energy. The author recommends four strategies that may be used by marketers to boost participation in green power programs.

Renewable energy policy and electricity restructuring: a California case study

Many countries are in the process of deregulating and restructuring their electric power industries. Although the introduction of retail competition may have negative impacts on the development of renewable energy, a number of countries are establishing new programs to support these clean energy technologies. In the United States, debate has centered on three primary renewables support mechanisms: (1) the renewables portfolio standard; (2) programs funded by an electricity distribution surcharge; and (3) voluntary renewable energy purchases by electricity customers via green power marketing. California provides a good case study of the design of renewables support programs within industry restructuring because policymakers considered all three of these options during the state’s restructuring proceedings. Moreover, many of the same policy options, design issues, and political conflicts that have arisen in California are likely to recur in other states and countries. Some of the most important lessons from the California experience include: (1) renewable energy and environmental advocates must clearly articulate the need and rationale for continued support of renewables; (2) cost containment and competitive neutrality concerns must be addressed head on; (3) combinations of policies are likely to be far more effective than any single renewables policy; and (4) the effectiveness of renewable energy policies developed during the restructuring process will be strongly linked to their duration and stability.

95/01108 Unity and divergence in going to Eastern Europe

As a platform for green electricity suppliers and customers, Greenprices tracks deals contracted on the green power market. Greenprices asked the Dutch and Swedish railways, ABN AMRO in The Netherlands, Body Shop, Cooperative Bank and University of Edinburgh in UK, 3E in Belgium and Weleda AG in Germany their reasons for “going green”.