If you reside or have a business in Palo Alto, then you can sign up for the nation's top-ranked renewable energy program, PaloAltoGreen. Since 2003, PaloAltoGreen (PAG) has been the City of Palo Alto, Department of Utilities’ 100% renewable energy rate program. Customers who enroll in PAG pay on average a slightly higher price for energy, when those renewable energy source prices are compared to fossil fuel and other non-renewable energy sources, and those higher prices create benefits for the environment. Over 20% of the City’s electric service customers are enrolled.

Customer participation in PAG leads to a cleaner environment, because renewable energy sources generate less greenhouse gas emissions than non-renewable energy sources, and the City uses funds allocated to the purchase of renewable energy to support the growth of “clean energy” technology jobs and renewable energy facilities—wind energy is the fastest growing sector of the energy economy. To ensure that your PAG enrollment contributes to this growth, the Department of Utilities (CPAU) purchased PAG resources that are exclusively derived from new renewable energy projects.

PAG receives renewable energy from new, local and regional, wind and solar energy resources. Most of PAG’s energy supply is generated from wind resources (97.5%); the remaining 2.5% are generated from solar panels. In 2007, 98.7% of PAG’s renewable energy was derived from projects that have been online since 2005. In 2008, CPAU received 100% of its supply from projects that have come online since 2005, including three CPAU-funded new solar projects within its own service territory. One of these CPAU projects uses a tracking system that (follows the sun’s path across the sky) increases its capacity factor or annual output percentage to 32%, which is almost 50% better than a nearby non-tracking solar system.

The wind used for PAG is generated in the Pacific Northwest, on the same western power grid as Palo Alto, and the solar comes from four solar projects within the city limits. Three are City-owned (located at the Baylands Interpretive Center, Cubberley Community Center, and the Municipal Service Center with a total capacity of 208 kW).  The fourth in-town system is at Roche Biosciences in Palo Alto. 

CPAU purchases Renewable Energy Certificates from wind and local solar resources. RECs represent the environmental, social, and other benefits of renewable energy generation. One REC is equal to one megawatt hour of electricity produced and are a byproduct of the generation of electricity that can be purchased and sold. The sale of RECs provides power developers and owners with additional revenue, helping new renewable energy projects to be built. This improves the environment for everyone, by expanding the amount of renewable energy generation throughout the state and region. 

More Information on the Program  is available.  You can also e-mail us at paloaltogreen@cityofpaloalto.org, call (650) 329-2161, or stop by the 2nd floor of City Hall at the Customer Service Center with questions. If you have questions about the methodology behind our environmental calculations, visit the  methodology page at www.cityofpaloalto.org/pagreen