Green-e Energy Certifies Austin Energy's GreenChoice Program

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) SAN FRANCISCO, CA (January 6, 2011)—Center for Resource Solutions announced today that Austin, TX–based Austin Energy's market-leading green-pricing program GreenChoice® is now Green-e® Energy Certified. In December 2009, GreenChoice led the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's "Top Ten Utility Green Power Programs" list for renewable energy sales for the eighth year in a row. GreenChoice is sourced from wind and landfill gas generation located in the U.S. and is available to Austin Energy's commercial and residential customers. Austin Energy joins the growing network of renewable energy providers that offer products certified by Green-e Energy, the nation's leading certification and verification program for renewable energy.

"Austin Energy's GreenChoice program has been a great resource for the people of Texas, and the utility's success is an example for others to follow," said Green-e Energy Manager Alex Pennock. "We welcome them into the program and are pleased that even more Texans now have a certified renewable energy option."

GreenChoice sources its clean energy from Texas-based wind installations located throughout the state and landfill gas generation in Austin and San Antonio. Residential and commercial customers of GreenChoice support currently available renewable resources and aid the development of new renewable resources in North America.

"We are proud to offer the nation's leading green power program, and excited that we now offer our customers the added confidence of the nation's premier green power certification," said Larry Weis, General Manager of Austin Energy.

Green-e Energy is the leading renewable energy certification and verification program in the U.S., with nearly 300 participating vendors that sold over 18 million MWh of renewable electricity in retail transactions in 2009. The program provides independent, third-party certification to ensure certified renewable energy meets strict environmental and consumer protection standards.

Providers of Green-e Energy Certified renewable energy agree to abide by the Green-e Energy Code of Conduct, and meet strict disclosure and truth-in-advertising requirements. All marketers of Green-e Energy Certified products undergo an annual verification audit to document that the company purchased and/or generated enough quantity and type of renewable energy to meet customer demand and marketing claims.

 

About Austin Energy
Austin Energy is the nation's 9th largest community-owned electric utility. It serves more than 400,000 customers and a population of almost 1 million. It provides service within the City of Austin, Travis County, and a small portion of Williamson County, Texas. Austin Energy powers the capital city of Texas through a diverse generation mix with 3,000 megawatts (MW) of total generation. For more information on Austin Energy's GreenChoice, please visit www.austinenergy.com.   About Green-e Energy
A program of Center for Resource Solutions, Green-e is the nation's leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market. Green-e offers certification and verification of renewable energy and greenhouse gas mitigation products through Green-e Energy, a renewable energy certification program; Green-e Climate, a greenhouse gas emission reduction certification program; and Green-e Marketplace, a program that licenses the Green-e logo for organizations that purchase or generate sufficient quantities of renewable energy. To learn more about Green-e Certified products and programs available in all 50 states, visit www.green-e.org.

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