Utility-Wind Energy MarketerPartnerships: A New Model forBuilding Wind Facilities

摘要

Utility partnerships with green power marketers are increasingly becoming an attractiveapproach for utilities to market wind energy to end-use retail electric customers. Throughthese partnerships, utilities can obtain national expertise about green marketing, reducerisk, and enhance their brand image typically with far less out-of-pocket expenses thanimplementing a program by themselves.In New York State, wind energy production costs exceed the price of conventionalenergy on the New York wholesale market. Selling wind energy as a premium product toresidential and non- residential customers who are willing to pay a little more for cleanenergy can provide an additional credit-worthy revenue stream for wind farms. Once theoutput from existing wind farms have sold out, retail wind energy purchases are expectedto quickly drive the development of new wind farms in the New York market.In mid-2001, Community Energy Inc. (CEI) and NYSEG began discussions to form acooperative relationship to market wind energy wind energy to residential andcommercial customers in New York State. This partnership is a unique new approach fordeveloping budgets, allocating work, and splitting margins. About the same time,Community Energy also participated in a regulatory mandated wind energy program withNiagara Mohawk, a neighboring utility, which allows competitive electric suppliers toplace their product offerings on the Niagara Mohawk bill and take advantage of NiagaraMohawk bill inserts and the utility name. In the first bill insert that went out in the fall of2002, over 5,000 customers responded to purchase a green energy product from a singlebill insert. The result of the CEI initiative was to sell over 10 MW of wind energy inNew York State within a six-month periodThis paper examines the issues associated with the development of utility-green marketerpartnerships and the lessons learned in implementing them. Based on these experiences,the paper will identify factors that are likely to be associated with successful partnerships.