River Falls leads nation in use of renewable energy. Program’s success ranks among top ten in U.S.

River Falls leads nation in use of renewable energy. Program’s success ranks among top ten in U.S. River Falls Municipal Utilities recently earned national recognition for its leadership in the use of renewable energy. The utility was recognized in two categories on the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) annual lists of leading utility green power programs.

Based on 2009 customer participation rates, 5.8 percent of utility customers in River Falls purchased green power equal to all or a portion of their electricity usage, higher than NREL's 2008 national average of 2.2 percent. This participation rate placed River Falls Municipal Utilities eighth in the nation among more than 850 utilities across the United States who offer green power programs.

In addition, the utility ranked sixth in the nation for its green power sales as a percentage of total utility retail electricity sales for 2009, with 6.2 percent of its total retail load supplied by renewable energy.

Community members in River Falls purchase electricity from clean, green sources by participating in their utility’s Renewable Energy and Green Power for Business Programs. Customers pay $3.00 per month for blocks of renewable energy equal to some or all of their monthly electric usage. A block is the equivalent of 300 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

The current NREL “Top 10” list marks the fifth time River Falls has earned national recognition for its successful green power program performance. The utility’s renewable programs are provided through its nonprofit power supplier, WPPI Energy, and River Falls Municipal Utilities is a member-owner of WPPI Energy.

Using information provided by utilities, NREL develops “Top 10” rankings of utility programs in the following categories: total sales of renewable energy to program participants, total number of customer participants, customer participation rate, green power sales as a percentage of total utility retail electricity sales, and the lowest price premium charged for a green power program using new renewable resources. The lists are compiled each year based on United States utilities’ green power program performance in the previous year.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. To view NREL’s “Top 10” lists for 2009, visit http://www.nrel.gov.

For more information about the Renewable Energy Program, call us at 425-0906 or click here.