Spring Break
Blowing our cash?
Experts say renewable energy money too difficult to follow
Kaeli West
Issue date: 5/5/08 Section: News
The rapid growth of Renewable Energy Credit sales across the nation, including at CSU and in the City of Fort Collins, may be hitting its stride as City officials are looking to replace REC purchases with more efficient alternatives that more directly benefit REC consumers.
A REC is a unit of energy generated by using infinite natural resources that can be powered by infrastructure such as wind turbines or solar panels.
The Environmental Protection Agency dictates that money going to RECs is used to benefit the renewable energy market and expand projects. But local experts and researchers say the national REC market is broken because the money is difficult to trace, and the credits are nearly impossible to follow.
"It's very difficult to quantify the green attribute with the purchase of renewably energy credits," said David Roy, Fort Collins City Council member who has followed the issue since community members started expressing concern about a year ago.
Roy said renewable energy efforts should become local instead of national.
"I think the money we spend in RECs outside of (Platte River Power Authority) are a bad investment for taxpayers and ratepayers in the City of Fort Collins," he said. "We can also create renewable energy sources like solar panels that the people of Fort Collins can use directly."
REC sales in the U.S. grew about 144 percent from 2003 to 2005, according to a 2007 study by Princeton University.
And CSU reflects the national trend.
Student participation in the university's Green Power Program grew 200 percent since its establishment in 2004. This year, more than 300 students purchased renewable energy.
The credits, which provide power for nine months, cost $17 for dorm residents and $52 for students living in apartments on campus, according to Housing and Dining Services.
Tonie Miyamoto, the director for CSU's renewable energy programs, said until the renewable energy industry in Fort Collins grows, CSU will have to show its support of renewable energy production by buying RECs, which federal monitoring verifies as certifiable beneficial.
A REC is a unit of energy generated by using infinite natural resources that can be powered by infrastructure such as wind turbines or solar panels.
The Environmental Protection Agency dictates that money going to RECs is used to benefit the renewable energy market and expand projects. But local experts and researchers say the national REC market is broken because the money is difficult to trace, and the credits are nearly impossible to follow.
"It's very difficult to quantify the green attribute with the purchase of renewably energy credits," said David Roy, Fort Collins City Council member who has followed the issue since community members started expressing concern about a year ago.
Roy said renewable energy efforts should become local instead of national.
"I think the money we spend in RECs outside of (Platte River Power Authority) are a bad investment for taxpayers and ratepayers in the City of Fort Collins," he said. "We can also create renewable energy sources like solar panels that the people of Fort Collins can use directly."
REC sales in the U.S. grew about 144 percent from 2003 to 2005, according to a 2007 study by Princeton University.
And CSU reflects the national trend.
Student participation in the university's Green Power Program grew 200 percent since its establishment in 2004. This year, more than 300 students purchased renewable energy.
The credits, which provide power for nine months, cost $17 for dorm residents and $52 for students living in apartments on campus, according to Housing and Dining Services.
Tonie Miyamoto, the director for CSU's renewable energy programs, said until the renewable energy industry in Fort Collins grows, CSU will have to show its support of renewable energy production by buying RECs, which federal monitoring verifies as certifiable beneficial.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Eric Sutherland
posted 5/05/08 @ 9:48 AM MST
Imagine you had a job planting trees and were making $9.00 for every tree you planted. And then I came along and offered to pay you 40 cents more per tree for the rights to claim credit for every tree you planted. (Continued…)
Craig Hawley
posted 5/05/08 @ 2:14 PM MST
Interesting Post Eric. Very informative and nice analogy to make it easy to understand.
Well done.
Post a Comment