Voluntary Green Power Procurement
NREL has tracked the voluntary green power market since its inception in the 1990s to help corporate purchasers, utilities, and others selling renewable energy products understand available renewable options and move renewable energy forward.
Voluntary green power is separate from renewables used to meet state renewable portfolio standards. View visualizations of NREL's voluntary green power market data over time. View U.S. voluntary green power market data for 2020.
2021 Utility Green Pricing Program Ranks
NREL has evaluated utility green pricing programs and published 2021 rankings. The 2021 and previous annual rankings provide assessments of utility green pricing programs in terms of green pricing customers and sales as well as the percentage of green pricing customers and the percentage of green power sales.
Renewable Energy Procurement Options by Utility
NREL has developed a comprehensive list of renewable energy procurement options available by utility and municipality nationwide. NREL has also developed a separate list of active utility green pricing programs with more detailed information on these programs. To NREL’s knowledge, these lists identify all active procurement options or green pricing programs nationwide. We welcome your input; if you see that a program is missing or inaccurate, please contact Jenny Heeter.
2020 Data
Status and Trends in the Voluntary Market (2020 Data)
In 2020 the U.S. voluntary green power market grew to 192 million megawatt-hours sold
to 7.5 million customers. The presentation covers trends in utility green pricing
programs, utility renewable contracts, competitive suppliers, unbundled renewable
energy certificates, community choice aggregations, and power purchase agreements.
Some of the report data are available in Excel through the NREL Data Catalog.
Featured Publications
Status and Trends in the Voluntary Market (2019 Data)
In 2019 the U.S. voluntary green power market grew to 164 million megawatt-hours sold
to 7.8 million customers. The presentation covers trends in utility green pricing
programs, utility renewable contracts, competitive suppliers, unbundled renewable
energy certificates, community choice aggregations, and power purchase agreements.
Status and Trends in the U.S. Voluntary Green Power Market (2018 Data)
In 2018 the U.S. voluntary green power market grew to 134 million megawatt-hours sold
to 6.3 million customers. The presentation covers trends in utility green pricing
programs, utility renewable contracts, competitive suppliers, unbundled renewable
energy certificates, community choice aggregations, power purchase agreements, and
community solar.
Status and Trends in the U.S. Voluntary Green Power Market (2017 Data)
This version of NREL's annual tracking of the voluntary market found that the U.S.
voluntary green power market grew to 112 million megawatt-hours sold to 5.5 million
customers in 2017. The report covers trends in utility green pricing programs, utility
renewable contracts, competitive suppliers, unbundled renewable energy certificates,
community choice aggregations, power purchase agreements, and community solar. Some
of the report data are available in an Excel format through the NREL Data Catalog.
The Geography of Green Power
This fact sheet explores the geography of green power demand (number of customers)
and supply (megawatt-hours of generation) using 2017 data. The fact sheet illustrates
how demand for and supply of green power are ubiquitous, with green power customers
and generators located in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Existing and Potential Corporate Off-Site Renewable Procurement in the Southeast
This project assesses the market for off-site PV in the Southeast, based on projected
corporate load, corporate renewable goals for load in the Southeast, solar economics
relative to utility rates, presence of a viable PV purchasing method, and other factors.
The project team gathered data directly and indirectly from corporations, higher education
institutions, and cities and counties with renewable energy targets. The result is
a guide for utilities, state policymakers, and corporates trying to meet their corporate
RE targets in the Southeast. State summaries are available for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Community Choice Aggregation: Challenges, Opportunities, and Impacts on Renewable
Energy Markets
This report explores the emergence of community choice aggregation, an energy procurement
model that puts communities in control of their electricity supply. It features data
on community choice aggregation voluntary green power sales and impacts on voluntary
green power markets.
Charting the Emergence of Corporate Procurement of Utility-Scale PV
This report examines the benefits, challenges, and outlooks for large-scale off-site
solar purchasing in the United States. It features case studies of an aggregate power
purchase agreement, a corporation exiting their incumbent utility, a utility offering
large scale renewables to corporate customers, and a company with approval to sell
energy into wholesale markets. [presentation and summary]
Policies for Enabling Corporate Sourcing of Renewable Energy Internationally: A 21st
Century Power Partnership Report
This report explores the policy and regulatory enabling environment for corporate
sourcing of renewables. The authors find that policy certainty is essential to creating
vibrant markets for renewable energy, that policymakers may need to adjust policy
mechanisms over time as markets go through different stages of maturity, and that
policymakers must also consider the economic decisions that end users make in evaluating
projects. [summary]
Renewable Electricity Use by the U.S. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Industry
This analysis examines renewable electricity use by 113 ICT companies in the United
States using data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership
and the Carbon Disclosure Project Worldwide. The 113 ICT companies examined collectively
consumed more than 59 million MWh of electricity in 2014, which represents 1.5% of
the total U.S. electricity consumption. Of the 59 million MWh, 14% (8.3 million MWh)
was sourced from voluntary renewable electricity.