U.S. EPA Activities to Spur Green Power Purchasing

Transcription

1 U.S. EPA Activities to Spur Green Power Purchasing Roger Fernandez Director, Corporate and Institutional Engagement U.S. EPA s Green Power Partnership Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council 2015 Summit Seattle, Washington

2 Green Power Partnership Overview! Summary' " Free,'voluntary'program'that'encourages'organiza7ons'to'use'green'power'as'a'way'to' reduce'the'environmental'impacts'associated'with'conven7onal'electricity'use.''! Objec7ves' " Reduce'U.S.'greenhouse'gas'emissions' " Expand'the'voluntary'green'power'market' " Standardize'green'power'procurement'as'part'of'best'prac7ce'environmental' management' " Provide'recogni7on'plaEorm'for'organiza7ons'using'green'power'in'the'hope'that' others'follow'their'lead'! Current'Status' " 1,300'Partners'using'28'billion'kWh'of'green'power'annually,'equivalent'to'the'annual' carbon'dioxide'emissions'from'electricity'use'of'more'than'three'million'u.s.'homes.' 2

3 EPA s 1,300 Green Power Partners 3

4 What is Green Power? Biomass Biogas Wind! Subset'of'renewable'energy'N'representa7ve'of' resources'and'technologies'that'offer'the'highest' environmental'benefit.'! Electricity'generated'from'natural'resources'that' replenish'themselves'over'short'periods'of'7me,' including'the'sun,'wind,'moving'water,'organic'plant' and'waste'material'(biomass),'and'geothermal.' Solar Low-Impact Small Hydro! Must'be'from' new 'facili7es'placed'into'service' within'last'15'years.'! Must'be'from'the' voluntary 'market.' Geothermal 4

5 Green Power Markets! Mandatory markets exist because of policy decisions, such as state Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS).! Voluntary markets are driven by consumer preference. Source: NREL

6 Program Resources for Procuring Green Power The Partnership Offers: # Green Power Locator Tool # Green Power Equivalency Calculator # Guide to Purchasing Green Power # Resource Library featuring example contracts and solicitations # Webinars showcasing best practices # Issue whitepapers 6

7 EPA s Green Power Partnership: Helping You Leverage Your Green Power Use o Credible Benchmarks & GHG Quantification o Metrics for How much green power is enough? o Definition of eligible renewables & products o Carbon footprint guidance and calculations o Planning & Implementation Resources o Green power locator o o Purchasing strategy guidance Marketing and communications support o Recognition o o o Top Partner Lists Use of the Partner mark Green Power Leadership Awards o Best Practices & Innovation o Collaborative solar procurement o New contract mechanisms o Project matching initiative 7

8 Partnership Requirements! EPA supports Partners procurement of green power by offering advice, technical support, tools and resources, and recognition.! Partners agree to procure green power and provide an annual update.! In return, EPA commits to: " Provide public recognition " Provide procurement and communications assistance, as requested " Provide a brief description of the Partner's green power use on EPA s website If your annual electricity use is: Partnership Benchmark You must, at minimum, use this much green power: Leadership Benchmark You must, at minimum, use this much green power: Over 100,000,000 kwh 3% 30% 10,000, ,000,000 kwh 5% 50% 1,000,001-10,000,000 kwh 10% 100% Under 1,000,000 kwh 20% N/A 8

9 EPA s Top Partner Lists 9

10 Leadership Partners Doing Even More On-site project development Green Power Partnership has launched the On-site Renewables Challenge, with a goal to double the use of on-site green power by the end of the decade. Employee, customer, and community outreach Internal incentives and recognition for environmental performance. Communication with customers about their environmental goals and what customers can do for the environment. Collaboration and information sharing with their community and more broadly with universities, government, corporate peers. Project financing through innovative mechanisms. 10

11 Value Proposition to Companies! Environmental # Addresses indirect GHG emissions (Scope 2 emissions)! Potential Electricity Cost Savings and/or Stability # Reduce exposure to fossil fuel price volatility! Economic Development # Job creation # Local/regional economic growth! Demonstrate Leadership # Enhance image # Differentiate products/services # Improve employee morale/attract and retain talent Purchasing green power helps our organization become more sustainable while also sending a message to others that supporting clean sources of electricity is a sound business decision and an important choice to help fight climate change. - Jodi Shapiro, VP, Environment, Health and Safety, Motorola.! Capture Favorable Media Attention 11

12 Emission Sources & Green Power! GHG'emissions'generated' directly'and'indirectly'by' an'en7ty'can'be'classified' into' scopes, 'based'on' the'source'of'the' emissions'! Scope'2'represents'one'of' the'largest'sources'of' emission'(in'us,'electricity' genera7on'accounts'for' 40%'of'emissions)''! Green'power'addresses' Scope'2'emissions' 12

13 Renewable(Energy(Cer.ficates((RECs)( ( Making(Green(Power(Possible(! A'REC'is'the'legal'instrument'that'conveys'to'its'owner'the'right'to'claim'the'associated' environmental'a]ributes'of'a'genera7ng'resource' " In'essence'RECs'represent'the' renewablenness 'of'the'power'' " Analogous'to'patents,'both'convey'ownership'of'something'that'is'intangible'and'are' a'market'incen7ve''! A'REC'is'created'for'every'Megawa]Nhour'of'renewable'electricity'generated'and'delivered' to'the'u7lity'grid'! A'REC'includes'the'following'informa7on:' " Type'of'renewable'resource' " Loca7on'of'renewable'resource' " Date'stamp'or'vintage'of'genera7on' " Emissions'profile'of'the'genera7ng'resource' " Unique'iden7fica7on'number''! Electricity'from'a'renewable'resource'in'the'absence'of'owning'the'associated'RECs'is' considered'null'or'generic'power'and'has'the'same'environmental'profile'as'the'residual' grid'electricity'mix' 'RECs(make(it(renewable!' 13

14 RECs(and(Environmental(Claims(! REC'ownership'allows'you'to'claim'that'you'are'using'renewable'electricity' " Once'a'claim'is'made,'the'RECs'are're7red'! REC'ownership'signifies'that'your'electricity'was'generated'by'a'zero' emissions'resource'! REC'ownership'does'not'represent'a'direct'emissions'reduc7on'or'an'avoided' emission'claim.'recs'are'not'offsets!'! Substan7a7on'of'your'claims'is'necessary'(See'FTC s'green'guides'and'the' Na7onal'Associa7on'of'A]orneys'General'Guidance)' 14

15 Green Power Procurement Options 1. Renewable(Energy(Cer.ficates((RECs)( " The'environmental' a]ributes 'of'electricity'generated'from'renewable'resources'''' (1'REC'='1'MWh)' " A]ributes'are'based'on'the'genera7on'technology'type'and'age,'geographic'loca7on,' and'7me'of'genera7on' " Does'not'include'the'underlying'electrons' ' unbundled ' 2. U.lity(Supplied(Green(Power(Products( " Green'power'offered'by'u7lity'suppliers'that'is'generated'from'renewable'sources' " Bundled 'product'that'includes'both'the'recs'and'underlying'electrons' 3. SelfHfinanced(OnHsite(Genera.on( " Purchase'and'install'a'renewable'system'onNsite'(e.g.'PV'panels,'wind'turbine)' " Produces'both'electricity'and'RECs'(must'retain!)'from'the'onNsite'source' 4. Power(Purchase(Agreement((PPA)(for(Renewables( " Usually'a'longNterm'contract'to'procure'RECs'and'underlying'electrons'from'a'specific' project,'can'be'signed'pren'or'postnproject'development' " Can'be'from'onsite'or'offsite'project' 15

16 GPP Summary Statistics 2014: Annual Green Power Use by Product Type 16

17 Emergence of New Green Power Solutions Kohl s PPA for onsite solar with SunEdison Cleveland starts CCA 21% price discount and 100% green Utility Green Power Programs (Late 1990s) 3rd-Party Solar Financing (2007) Community Choice Aggregation (2013) What s Next? Virtual PPAs? Unbundled RECs (2000) BEF completes first REC transaction with EPA Region 10 Utility-scale Offsite PPAs (2010) Google signs PPA with wind farm Community Solar Gardens (2015) St. Olaf College leases land for 15 1-MW Solar Gardens 17

18 Power Purchase Agreements Source: OwnEnergy 18

19 PPA Price Trends for Solar and Wind Source: DOE

20 When and How You Engage a Project Affects Claims Timing(of(Engagement:(! PreNdevelopment' ' Market(Impact:(! Supply'push' ' Claim:'! I'use'renewable'electricity'! I'helped'develop'new'renewable'energy'supply' ' Procurement'Op.ons:(! Own'and'build'a'project'(retain'RECs)'! Direct'longNterm'commitment'(i.e.,'PPA)'with' new'project'(retain'recs)' ' Timing(of(Engagement:(! PostNdevelopment' ' Market'Impact:(! Demand'pull' ' Claim:'! I'use'renewable'electricity' ' Procurement'Op.ons:(! U7lity'supply'! Unbundled'RECs' ' 20

21 Increasing the Impact of Your Green Power Procurement It is cheaper than you think!! Buy more! Buy long-term (5+ years)! Buy from yet to be built projects! Own or host on-site projects! Take an equity position in new projects (off-site)! Engage staff, stakeholders and customers 21

22 Want to Know More?! Basic Information " An overview of Green Power Partnership is available on EPA s Web site " To see EPA s Top 100 Partners, please visit: greenpower/partners/top100.htm " To see examples of RFPs and contracts, please visit: greenpower/pubs/resourcelibrary.htm! More Questions? " Roger Fernandez, , fernandez.roger@epa.gov 22