In 2018, Green-e® Energy certified retail sales totaled 62,124,000 MWh, an overall increase of 4% compared to 2017 sales.

Green-e® Energy certified sales have increased at an average rate of 13% per year over the past four years. Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) sales, either in the form of standalone RECs or in a power purchase agreement or virtual power purchase agreement, continue to drive the majority of certified sales and grew by 2% as a category in 2018. Certified sales through green pricing programs offered by regulated utilities grew by 8% compared to 2017, while customers in regulated markets purchasing through a community choice program (also known as community choice aggregation [CCA]) purchased 15% more MWh than in 2017 due to the surge in the amount of CCAs that have launched in their local communities, particularly in California. Total certified competitive electricity sales grew by 7% due to increased purchasing in the non-residential sector. Certified Direct procurement and onsite generation also grew 15% from 2017.

Note: The “RECS, PPAs, and VPPAs” category includes all certified REC transactions, including RECs that are part of PPA and VPPA deals.

Sales by customer type grew about 11% from 2017 for residential customers and 3% for non-residential customers, with the latter accounting for the vast majority of certified MWh purchased, at more than 56 million MWh. MWh sold as certified wholesale transactions increased by 23% from 2017, and residential sales almost reached 6 million MWh as more utilities increasingly seek Green-e® Energy certified green pricing options for their customers and more communities launch their own CCAs. Although there are significantly more residential customers that purchase Green-e® Energy certified renewable energy, they tend to purchase smaller amounts than non-residential customers.

2018 saw the largest number of total retail customers purchasing certified products, with an overall increase of 12% over 2017. The number of customers enrolled in a certified green pricing option has continued to grow, reaching 860,000 customers for an 11% growth from the previous year, while the number of customers enrolled in a certified CCA offering increased 16% from 2017 for a total of 127,000 customers. The number of Competitive Electricity purchasers decreased to 42,700.

Note: The “RECS, PPAs, and VPPAs” category includes all certified REC transactions, including RECs that are part of PPA and VPPA deals.

States With Green‑e^® Energy Certified Renewable Electricity Options

Many customers throughout the U.S. have the option to purchase Green‑e^® Energy certified renewable energy through their local utility or electric service provider. In 2018, bundled certified renewable electricity options were available in 36 states and Washington, D.C.

RECs unbundled from electricity are available to buyers regardless of location. Businesses purchasing large MWh volumes tend to purchase unbundled RECs, often for multiple locations, while residential customers and businesses purchasing smaller volumes tend to purchase a bundled electricity product available through their utility or electric service provider.

In 2018, Green-e® Energy sales came from a range of resources across the United States and Canada. The resource mix of the voluntary market continues to be wind-dominated in 2018 with wind facilities accounting for 87% of the total supply. Output from more than half of installed wind facilities in the U.S. is sold in Green-e® Energy certified transactions, based on total capacity. Solar energy consumption has grown exponentially the past couple of years and is increasing its share of the market mix, nearly doubling from 2017 to 2018 after increasing by a magnitude of 8 from 2016 to 2017. Solar now represents 6% of the overall mix.

There were 1,075 unique generation facilities with a total capacity of over 52,500 MW supplying Green‑e^® Energy certified products in 2018. The number of solar facilities used to supply Green‑e^® Energy certified products continue to grow at a fast pace; the number of unique solar facilities in 2018 reached 536 unique facilities, or nearly half of all total facilities. Total solar capacity utilized grew to more than 3,820 MW, reflecting a trend toward larger-scale facilities that is especially prevalent in direct transactions. However, wind still comprises the vast majority of overall capacity, at just over 90%. Overall, 68 facilities were added in 2018.

For the purposes of this report, solar installations contributing to a utility solar buyback program are aggregated into one facility per utility.

Only new renewables are eligible to meet Green‑e^® Energy standards. Eligible facilities must have started operation or have been declared repowered in the last 15 years or otherwise been approved for extended use in order to provide generation to a Green‑e^® Energy certified product. In 2018, over half of the MWh used to supply certified sales came from facilities that were less than five years old at the time. This showcases how cost-effective it is to build new renewables, but also how much new build is being used to supply the voluntary market.

Newer facilities also provided a large portion of generation that went to certified sales in 2018. Facilities five years or younger made up just over 48% of all facilities that provided any amount of MWh to Green‑e^® Energy certified sales. This may be due to the policy outlook impacting certain states at that time—some states may have had rebate programs or tax incentives that were implemented at that time, or may have been pursuing compliance targets aggressively and therefore had surplus generation to contribute to the voluntary market. It may also show the preference of corporate buyers for their monetary investment to be the determining factor in getting a new generator built.

The total volume of all Green‑e^® Energy certified transactions in 2018 reached nearly 76.6 million MWh. This total represents all transactions, including both certified retail sales to electricity end users looking to make a green power use claim, and wholesale sales to resellers of renewable MWh that did not claim the renewable electricity or RECs themselves. Green‑e^® Energy certified wholesale transactions exceeded 14.4 million MWh in 2018. Of these certified wholesale transactions, around 5.4 million MWh were resold in Green‑e^® Energy certified retail transactions. The remaining 9 million MWh were sold in non–Green‑e^® Energy certified transactions to utilities, electric service providers, power marketers, and other buyers in the voluntary market—a slight increase from the 6.9 million MWh sold in non-certified transactions in 2018.

Green‑e^® Energy certified sales of over 71.1 million “unique” MWh in 2018 (retail sales plus wholesale sales that are not resold)—an increase of 4% from 2017 and the highest total of certified unique MWh to date.

Note: The “RECS, PPAs, and VPPAs” category includes all certified REC transactions, including RECs that are part of PPA and VPPA deals.