《绿色电力购买攻略》1—摘要

原标题：《绿色电力购买攻略》1—摘要

现在，选用不同动力发电会对环境发生十分不同的影响。虽然曩昔30年美国在污染操控方面取得了前进，但发电仍然是美国工业大气污染的最大来历，也是温室气体排放的首要来历1。

事实证明，运用太阳能、风能、地热、某些方式的水力及生物质等可再生资源发电对电力顾客越来越具有吸引力。《绿色电力购买攻略》的重点是自愿购买由这些可再生资源发生的电力。它适用于期望使电力供应多样化并削减电力运用对环境的影响的企业和其他安排。虽然可再生资源也可以用于供热和制冷需求或运送，但本攻略并未触及这些运用。

绿色电力收购对电力顾客的吸引力在于可以使安排和个人运用超出公共政策规定（例如29个州和哥伦比亚特区选用的可再生动力配额方针）要求规模之外的可再生动力电力。安排可以购买挨近乃至超越其100％用电量的绿色电力。绿色电力收购将持续在推进美国新的可再生动力项目开展中发挥及其重要的效果（见图S-1），并在可预见的将来，有望成为整个商场的重要驱动力。

Figure S-1. Demand Drivers for Renewable Energy2

很多安排（包含联邦、州和地方政府，大学，企业，非营利安排，个别顾客）都在收购绿色电力。通过收购绿色电力，这些安排可以在必定程度上协助保护环境，完成其财政方针，加强利益相关者联系并为国内动力开展做出奉献。2016年，美国可再生动力发电（不包含水力发电）到达3.42亿兆瓦时（3420亿千瓦时），足以满意美国超越3100万个普通家庭的年用电需求。

绿色电力是动力战略办理计划的有用组成部分。成功的动力办理计划

考虑如动力功率、负荷办理、电力购买、自发电和非电力（热）动力需求等各种选项。与任何出资组合相同，这些选项的最佳组合取决于安排的方针、各种代替计划的本钱以及外部商场条件。

在曩昔的15年中，商场已为电力顾客开发了多种产品，使他们可以在通过验证的买卖中从可再生动力购买绿色电力。商场已在自愿购买办法上积累了丰厚的经历，包含物理购电协议、绿色电价和虚拟购电协议，以及现场或场外自发电。《绿色电力购买攻略》的最新版别对每种收购办法的要害细节进行了概述。

当今电力商场中自愿购买绿色电力渐渐的变遍及，一起商场也供给了多种挑选计划。本攻略旨在为已决定购买或出资绿色电力，以及仍在考虑绿色电力长处的安排供给辅导。

《绿色电力购买攻略》处理以下常见问题：

1. 什么是可再生动力和绿色电力？

2. 产品认证和验证的重要性？

3. 购买绿色电力会带来什么优点？

4. 绿色电力的本钱是多少？

5. 购买绿色电力有哪些挑选？

6. 安排应怎么正确的挑选绿色电力产品？

7. 购买绿色电力的最佳办法是什么？

8. 装置现场可再生动力发电的过程是什么？

9. 怎么丈量和核算排放量？

10. 怎么就绿色电力收购与利益相关者沟通？

Summary

Today, the diverse array of energy resources used to create electricity can produce very different environmental impacts. In the United States, power generation is still the nation’s single largest source of industrial air pollution and is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, despite advances in pollution controls over the last 30 years1.

Electricity generated from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, some forms of hydropower, and biomass has proven to be an increasingly attractive choice for electricity consumers. This Guide to Purchasing Green Power focuses on voluntary purchases of electricity generated from these renewable resources. It is intended for businesses and other organizations that want to diversify their electricity supply and reduce the environmental impact of their electricity use. Although renewable resources can also be used for heating and cooling needs or for transportation, this guide does not address those applications.

Green power purchases are attractive to electricity consumers because they allow organizations and individuals to use renewable electricity that is above and beyond what is required by public policy mandates such as the renewable portfolio standards adopted by 29 states and the District of Columbia. Purchases of green power can approach or even exceed 100 percent of an organization’s electricity use. Green power purchases have and continue to play an important role in driving the development of new renewable energy projects in the United States (see Figure S-1) and are expected to be an important driver for the overall market for the foreseeable future.

A wide range of organizations purchase green power, including federal, state and local governments; universities; businesses; nonprofit organizations; and individual consumers. By purchasing green power, these organizations are helping protect the environment, meeting their own financial goals, enhancing stakeholder relations and contributing to the development of domestic energy resources. In 2016, renewable electricity generation in the United States (excluding hydropower) approached 342 million megawatt-hours (342 billion kilowatt-hours)—enough to meet the annual electricity needs of over 31 million average U.S. homes.

Green power is an effective part of a strategic energy management plan. Successful energy management plans consider options such as energy efficiency, load management, power purchases, self-generation and non-electric (thermal) energy needs. As with any investment portfolio, the best mix of these options depends on the organiza-tion’s goals, the cost of various alternatives, and external market conditions.

Over the past 15 years, the market has developed a variety of offerings for electricity consumers, allowing them to purchase green power from renewable sources in verified transactions. The market has gained a wealth of experience with voluntary procurement methods, including physical power purchase agreements, green tariffs and financial power purchase agreement contracts, and self-generation, either on-site or off-site. This latest revision to the Guide to Purchasing Green Power provides an overview and key details on each of these procurement methods.

While voluntary purchases of green power are becoming more common in today’s electricity markets, these markets offer many choices. This guide is intended to provide guidance to organizations that have decided to purchase or invest in green power, as well as organizations that are still considering the merits of green power.

The Guide to Purchasing Green Power addresses the following commonly asked questions:

What is renewable energy and green power?

What is the importance of product certification and verification?

What benefits will my green power purchase bring?

What is the cost of green power?

What are the options for purchasing green power?

How should an organization choose a green power product?

What are the best ways to buy green power?

What are the steps for installing on-site renewable generation?

What are the steps for installing on-site renewable generation?

How do I measure and account for emissions?

How do I communicate my green power purchase to stakeholders?

1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2015). Sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov /ghgemissions/ sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions.

2 O’Shaughnessy, E., Heeter, J., Cook, J., and Volpi, C. (2017). Status and Trends in the U.S. Voluntary Green Power Market (2016 data). National Renewable Energy Laboratory. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy18osti/70174.pdf.

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