Green Mountain Energy News

Green Mountain Energy Celebrates 10 Years of Clean Energy in Texas

Press Release | 1/12/2012

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan 12, 2012 -- Austin-based Green Mountain Energy Company is celebrating the 10th anniversary of electric competition in Texas by recognizing its hundreds of thousands of customers who have chosen renewable energy. On January 1, 2002, the state of Texas opened its electricity market to full competition, allowing Texans the ability to choose their electric provider. As the first retail electric provider in the state to offer renewable energy and the longest serving green power provider in the U.S., Green Mountain has led the way in changing the way power is made.

"Opening the market to retail competition enabled Texans to not only choose their electric provider, but also choose the source of energy they want to support," said Paul Thomas, president of Green Mountain Energy Company. "As the first electricity provider in Texas to offer renewable energy to residential and commercial customers, Green Mountain is proud of the role we have played in the growth of renewable energy in the state and the success Texas has modeled for other states. We're especially thankful to all of our customers who have recognized the importance of clean energy and made the choice to support it. "

Green Mountain will be celebrating in 2012 with some of its first customers, who were among the earliest supporters of clean energy in Texas. The company will also be marking the anniversary through social media, customer engagement programs and at festivals and events throughout the year.

Over the last 10 years, the Lone Star state has evolved into one of the most successful competitive energy markets in the nation:

-- In 2008, 80% of registered voters in Texas favored a competitive electricity market(1)

-- By 2010, 55% of residential customers had exercised their power to choose and selected a competitive retail electric provider or product(1)

-- In 2011, the Texas market was described as the best retail market in the country for the fifth consecutive year and received a ranking of "Excellent" in the Annual Baseline Assessment of Choice in Canada and the United States (ABACCUS) report

Recognizing the exponential growth in the renewable sector over the past decade in Texas, Paul Thomas said, "More and more, consumers are recognizing the critical role that clean energy can play both in the health of the environment and in our state's economic future."

Green Mountain's Environmental Impact Since 2002

When Texas residents and businesses become Green Mountain customers, they help support the renewable energy industry and the development of clean energy sources like wind. Over the past 10 years, Green Mountain and its customers have made a positive impact on the environment and to the Texas economy, including:

-- Delivery of more than 10.7 billion kWh of cleaner energy to Texas customers

-- Spurring the development of 32 new solar energy facilities at various schools and nonprofit organizations in Texas through the Green Mountain Energy Sun Club(TM)

-- Avoiding nearly 8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which is the equivalent of : -- not driving nearly 9 billion miles

-- not plowing the entire state of Texas (172 million acres) with a diesel tractor

-- not burning over 8 million barrels of crude oil

-- 6.5 million Texas houses turning off their lights for a year

Green Mountain continues to have aggressive growth goals, including new market expansion plans and new products and services for both its residential and commercial customers.

Green Mountain Energy has Contract with Empire State Building

Press Release | 11/17/2011

The annual awards recognize the country's leading green power purchasers for their commitment to renewable energy and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation's voluntary green power market. EPA presented the Empire State Building with the award at an event held in conjunction with the 2011 Renewable Energy Markets Conference in San Francisco today.

The Empire State Building, believed to be New York City's largest commercial purchaser of 100% renewable energy, is purchasing 55 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of wind power annually from Green Mountain Energy Company, the nation's leading competitive retail provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions. According to the U.S. EPA, as of April 2011, the purchase is the largest green power purchase of any EPA Green Power Partner in New York City.

The building's renewable purchase is enough green power to meet 100 percent of the building's purchased electricity use. The contract with Green Mountain is for two years.

The 2.85 million square-foot office building was one of only five organizations nationwide to be chosen as a Green Power Partner of the Year. The award recognizes EPA Green Power Partners who distinguish themselves through their purchase, leadership, overall strategy, and impact on the green power market.

"Receiving a Green Power Leadership Award is a significant accomplishment in the Empire State Building's ongoing commitment to challenge business as usual when it comes to energy efficiency and energy consumption," stated Anthony E. Malkin, Empire State Building Company. "This is only part of our continuing efforts to reduce our environmental impact and we hope to encourage other buildings globally to consider purchasing clean energy."

The Empire State Building's renewable energy purchase also has a significant environmental impact -- it avoids nearly 100 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions each year.

The Empire State Building currently ranks number 22 on EPA's 100% Green Power Purchaser list that highlights EPA Green Power Partners that are buying green power to meet 100 percent of their U.S. organization-wide electricity use.(1) U.S. EPA updates its Top Partner lists quarterly at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/ .

The renewable energy that supplies the Empire State Building is being purchased in the form of wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from NRG Energy, Green Mountain's parent company. Purchasing RECs is a widely accepted way to address the greenhouse gas emissions of electricity consumption. Purchasing RECs in the same quantity as the Empire State Building's electricity consumption ensures that the amount of energy used by the building is added to the U.S. power grid from renewable sources and supports the further development of these projects.

The Empire State Building's green power purchase further reinforces the building's sustainability strategy. In July, the Empire State Building unveiled a $2 million interactive, multi-media sustainability exhibit at the second floor visitor's center, which showcases a $20 million energy retrofit project that was announced with President Bill Clinton and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The installation aims to educate the millions of people who visit the building every year on the positive global impact of both energy efficient building and sustainable living practices.

Green Mountain Energy Launches New Mobile Website

Press Release | 10/12/2011

The mobile site is optimized for smart phone users and offers on-the-go access to the most popular features available at greenmountain.com. Through the mobile site, people can do the following from their mobile phones:

Learn about Green Mountain and how clean electricity works;browse products and sign up for Pollution FreeSM electricity service; log in to My Account to view their balance or pay their bill (Texas customers only); contact customer service.

"We are pleased to bring this convenience to the public by providing a streamlined way to access the necessary features of our site from their smart phones," said Helen Brauner, senior vice president of Marketing and Strategic Planning, Green Mountain Energy Company. "By enabling our customers to access Green Mountain anytime, anywhere, we empower them and respond faster to their customer service needs."

Businesses can also browse Green Mountain's commercial offerings and request a quote through this site. There is no download necessary – simply visit greenmountain.com from your mobile phone browser and get immediate access to all of these features. The new mobile site is also available in Spanish.

Green Mountain Energy Teams Up with San Diego Padres

Press Release | 11/9/2010

Padres to offset game’s electricity usage and fans’ vehicle emissions by partnering with Green Mountain Energy Company

San Diego (Vocus) September 3, 2010

The San Diego Padres today announced today they are partnering with Green Mountain Energy Company, the nation’s leading competitive retail provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions, for Padres “Go Green” on Saturday, September 4. The effort is part of the Padres ongoing effort to make PETCO Park as environmentally friendly as possible.

The Padres are partnering with Green Mountain Energy Company to offset both the estimated electricity usage for the game and the fans’ estimated roundtrip vehicle travel to and from the game.

Green Power The Padres are purchasing an estimated 41,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green energy to power the game. Green Mountain is providing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from a California solar project to offset the estimated electricity for Saturday’s game.

Carbon Offsets In addition, the Padres will offset nearly 210,000 pounds of carbon dioxide vehicle emissions associated with fans driving to and from the game. Green Mountain is providing carbon offsets from the Van Eck Forest Project in Humboldt County, California. The vehicle emissions are based on the Padres’ estimations of fan attendance and average fan mileage to and from the game.

By offsetting the electricity usage for the game and the vehicles emissions, the Padres are avoiding approximately 238,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. That equates to taking roughly 1,100 cars off the road for a week.

“Green Mountain Energy Company is pleased to partner with the San Diego Padres to help make Saturday’s game greener,” said Scott Hart, President of Commercial Services, Green Mountain Energy Company. “The Padres’ commitment to renewable energy and carbon offsets promotes clean air and a healthy environment. They are leading by example and we hope more organizations will choose to follow their lead.”

Renewable energy facilities generate renewable energy certificates (RECs) when they produce electricity. Purchasing these certificates is a widely accepted way to address the greenhouse gas emissions of electricity consumption. Purchasing RECs in the same quantity as the Padres’ estimated electricity consumption ensures that the amount of energy used by the baseball team is added to the power grid from renewable sources and supports the further development of these projects.

In addition to offsetting electricity usage and fans’ vehicle emissions on Saturday, the Padres will offer fans the opportunity to recycle old cell phones and iPods through ecoATM. Before the game, fans will also have the chance to visit the “Go Green Village,” an educational expo featuring local environmental organizations and vendors. The annual “Padres Go Green” event is an extension of the organization’s year-round efforts to make PETCO Park as environmentally friendly as possible. Those efforts include recycling cooking oil, diverting food waste, grass clippings and coffee grinds for composting and printing the official Padres game-day program on recycled paper, using soy-based ink. The Padres’ environmental efforts have been recognized by several organizations. Most recently, PETCO Park won the 2010 City of San Diego Environmental Services Department’s Recycler of the Year award.

Green Mountain Energy Company Green Mountain, the nation’s leading competitive retail provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions, was founded in 1997 “to change the way power is made.” The company is the longest serving green power marketer in the U.S. and in 2009 was ranked the “Highest in Business Customer Satisfaction with Retail Electric Service” by J.D. Power and Associates1. Green Mountain offers consumers and businesses the choice of clean electricity products from renewable sources such as wind and water, as well as a variety of carbon offset products. Green Mountain customers have collectively helped avoid over 11.3 billion pounds of CO2 emissions. For more information, visit GreenMountain.com.

NRG Energy Acquires Green Mountain Energy

Business Wire | 11/9/2010

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov 05, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- NRG Energy, Inc. has completed the acquisition of Green Mountain Energy Company, the nation's leading competitive retail provider of clean energy products and services, for $350 million in cash.

"Green Mountain, as the preeminent national retailer of green energy products and services, is a great complement to NRG's fast-growing solar and wind portfolio," said David Crane, NRG President and Chief Executive Officer. "This combination enables us to match green wholesale and green retail in order to meet the American public's growing demand for a fully sustainable alternative energy supplier."

By combining with NRG, Green Mountain will be able to expand the scope of its green products and services and accelerate the pace of its expansion into attractive markets and market segments. Green Mountain will be run as a standalone business within NRG and will maintain its commitment to customers to make a difference for the environment.

"This acquisition is a win-win for Green Mountain, our customers, employees and shareholders," said Paul Thomas, CEO of Green Mountain Energy Company. "It enables us to continue pursuing our mission to change the way power is made even more rapidly."

Green Mountain ranked highest in J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Texas Business Retail Electric Provider Satisfaction Study. Austin-based Green Mountain has residential and commercial customers primarily in Texas and the New York metro region. Green Mountain also delivers green products and services to select utilities, including Portland General Electric--ranked as the number one green utility program by the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory--as well as providers in New York and New Jersey.

About NRG

NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 Index company, owns and operates one of the country's largest and most diverse power generation portfolios. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, the Company's power plants provide more than 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity--enough to supply more than 20 million homes. NRG's retail business, Reliant Energy, serves more than 1.5 million residential, business, commercial and industrial customers in Texas. A past recipient of the energy industry's highest honors--Platts Industry Leadership and Energy Company of the Year awards, NRG is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a group of business and environmental organizations calling for mandatory legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More information is available at www.nrgenergy.com.

About Green Mountain Energy Company

Green Mountain, the nation's leading competitive retail provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions, was founded in 1997 "to change the way power is made." The company is the longest serving green power marketer in the U.S. and in 2009 was ranked the "Highest in Texas Business Customer Satisfaction with Retail Electric Service" by J.D. Power and Associates. Green Mountain offers consumers and businesses the choice of clean electricity products from renewable sources such as wind and water, as well as a variety of carbon offset products. Green Mountain customers have collectively helped avoid over 11.3 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. For more information, visit GreenMountain.com.

Green Mountain Energy in the Dallas Morning News

Dallas Morning News | 12/9/2009

The study surveyed business customers in Texas and ranked their favorite retail electricity providers. It found customers were most pleased when assigned to a specific account representative.

CPL Retail Energy and TXU Energy ranked lowest in the survey, which considered pricing; billing and payment; communications; and customer service.

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Green Mountain Energy Receives JD Power Award

Earthtimes | 12/7/2009

Green Mountain ranked the highest in business customer satisfaction with Retail Electric Service. In 2008, Green Mountain ranked highest in residential customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power and Associates Texas Retail Electric Service Satisfaction Study℠. Green Mountain was the first retail electric provider in Texas to offer renewable energy when electricity competition began in 2001 and the company remains committed to focusing solely on cleaner energy.

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Green Mountain Energy Earth Day Commitment

Npros.com | 4/26/2009

In honor of Earth Day 2009, Green Mountain is encouraging participants to take action to help the environment by making a personal resolution. For each action chosen through www.MyEarthDayAction.com, Green Mountain will plant a tree -- up to a total of 5,000 - in a forest restoration project in Florida. Green Mountain's carbon offset division, BeGreen, has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to support the tree plantings.

"At Green Mountain, every day is Earth Day because our company was founded with a mission that's centered on helping to protect the environment," said Gillan Taddune, chief environmental officer, Green Mountain Energy Company. "We are committed to helping others learn how they, too, can easily live Earth Day every day and make an even greater difference. This campaign is about all of the little steps each one of us can take as individuals that can, collectively, add up to a big impact for the environment."

The My Earth Day Action campaign begins today, Earth Day, April 22, 2009. Participants can make a resolution anytime between April 22 and the end of 2009, with up to 5,000 resolutions submitted being recognized with a tree planting.

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Green Mountain Energy Gives School Grant

Npros.com | 4/24/2009

The new panels will produce about 5,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year, saving the school about $3,000 annually, officials said.

Green Mountain funded the project through its Big Texas Sun Club Program, through which customers can allot an additional $5 or more on their monthly energy payment to pay for solar projects by nonprofit organizations.

Green Mountain was looking for other local solar-power projects to help fund, said Mark Lamping, vice president of sales.

“We invite people to apply through our Web site for similar grant funds,” he said.

“We’d love to help Galveston with other solar projects like this one. We just need to know where the needs are.”

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Green Mountain Energy in the Chicago Herald

Chicago Daily Herald | 3/2/2009

These days, environmentally conscious people want to go on a different diet. They would like to reduce the size of their carbon footprint, or go on a carbon diet, if you will.

But it's not so easy to know the best way to do that. After all, a few years ago you didn't even know you had a carbon footprint, much less knowing that you needed to reduce the size of it.

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Green Mountain Energy Receives Award

Ad-Hoc-News | 11/5/2008

The 2008 Green Power Pilot Award was presented by CRS to Green Mountain at an awards event, Monday evening, Oct. 27, in conjunction with the 2008 National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference taking place in Denver this week.

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Green Mountain Energy Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction

electricnet | 8/21/2008

Westlake Village, CA - Among electric retail providers in Texas, Green Mountain Energy Company ranks highest in customer satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Texas Residential Retail Electric Provider Customer Satisfaction StudySM released today.

The inaugural study measures customer satisfaction with retail electric providers in Texas by examining four key factors (listed in order of importance): pricing, billing and payment, communications and customer service. Starting in 2002, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas opened portions of the residential electric utility market in the state to retail competition. According to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, 42 percent of Texas residential customers were served by competitive retail electric providers by the end of 2007, totaling approximately 5.1 million households.

Green Mountain Energy Company achieves a score of 716 on a 1,000-point scale and performs particularly well in three of the four factors: billing and payment, communication and customer service. Stream Energy (687) and Reliant Energy Retail (659) follow Green Mountain Energy Company in the rankings. Stream Energy performs particularly well in the pricing factor.

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Florida Terminates Green Mountain Energy Program

Paul Markovich Green Mountain Energy | 8/1/2008

"We are disappointed the Commission voted today to end FPL's very successful Sunshine Energy renewable energy program. Green Mountain Energy Company helped FPL grow Sunshine Energy to one of the Top Ten utility green power programs in the U.S., out of more than 800 such programs*. "Sunshine Energy provided tens of thousands of FPL customers an affordable, easy way to voluntarily reduce their carbon footprint. The Sunshine Energy program has helped avoid more than 1 billion pounds of CO2 emissions since 2004. "The Sunshine Energy program has delivered on its promises to customers. Our management of the program has been stellar by industry standards. Green Mountain has fulfilled every customer purchase, kilowatt hour for kilowatt hour. In fact, since the program began in 2004, Green Mountain has served more than 1.15 billion kilowatt hours of green power to Sunshine Energy customers. Additionally, Green Mountain has supported the construction of 450 kilowatts of new solar electric power in Florida, including the largest solar electric array in the State, at Rothenbach Park in Sarasota. More than 100 percent of Sunshine Energy customer revenue has been put back into the program. "Sunshine Energy has been ranked among the 'Top Ten' utility green power programs in U.S. for four consecutive years, as ranked by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the U.S. Department of Energy. There are more than 800 utility green power programs nationwide. "In 2004, Sunshine Energy received a national Green Power Leadership Award for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy." Green Mountain, the nation's leading provider of cleaner energy and carbon offset solutions, was founded in 1997 "to change the way power is made." Today, the company is the longest serving green power marketer in the U.S. Green Mountain offers consumers and businesses the choice of cleaner electricity products from renewable sources such as wind and water and carbon offset products through its ( www.begreennow.com) division. Green Mountain customers have collectively helped avoid over 4.1 million tons of CO2 emissions. For more information, visit www.greenmountain.com.

Paul Markovich, senior vice president, Green Mountain Energy Company.

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Green Mountain Energy Donates to Ronald McDonald House

Bizjournals.com | 6/2/2008

The new Ronald McDonald House of Austin and Central Texas that opened late last year at the Mueller redevelopment is the first building in Austin to achieve a platinum LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The certification was announced this week.

The 28,500-square-foot new home of the nonprofit opened in December and provides 30 guest rooms to families of children receiving treatment at Austin-area medical centers, particularly the adjacent Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas. Also included in the house's design are butterfly and rooftop gardens, a children's playground and a picnic area.

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Green Mountain Energy Donates 48 Panels in Greater Waco

Waco Tribune Herald | 6/2/2008

Chamber officials received the gift due to their efforts to emphasize environmentally responsible building techniques on their new headquarters.

Waco is in the position to brand itself as a green city, which would boost the city’s image and improve economic development opportunities.

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Green Mountain Energy in Yellow Springs News

Yellow Springs News | 5/27/2008

The green pricing program allows Yellow Springs utility consumers to purchase renewable energy credits (RECs) equivalent to the amount of kilowatt hours of electricity they consume each month. While all energy consumers are using the mix of renewable and non-renewable energy available on the power grid at any given moment, green pricing participants will be paying only for the renewable sources. According to Julia Blankenship, who directs the AMP-Ohio program that will administer green pricing for Yellow Springs, green pricing participants are thereby investing only in renewable energy.

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Green Mountain Energy Provides RECs to Vancouver

North American Windpower | 3/29/2008

In recognition of that commitment, the port has been certified as a member of the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership Leadership group.

"From an environmental and business standpoint, this is something that really makes sense for us to do," says Larry Paulson, the port's executive director. "When we put together our 2008 budget, we planned to purchase a certain amount of our energy exclusively from wind energy developments in the Pacific Northwest."

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Green Mountain Energy in the Dallas Morning News

Dallas Morning News | 3/6/2008

Paul Thomas, chief executive of Green Mountain Energy, which sells renewable energy, said corporate customers will make up about half his business this year, more than last year.

Corporate customers have been growing quickly. Last year, Green Mountain delivered 50 percent more electricity to corporate customers than in 2006, Mr. Thomas said.

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Green Mountain Energy on Energy Central

Energy Central | 2/4/2008

Consider Direct Energy, which has just completed a deal for 10 cities in Texas to buy almost 13,000 renewable energy credits over the next 15 years: The alternative energy provider says it will then purchase that energy and the associated credits from five West Texas wind farms, with a total output of 813 megawatts. That, it adds, will offset more than 2 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.

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