Renewable Energy Powered the Republican National Convention

September 8, 2004

The Coalition of Environmentally Responsible Conventions (CERC) announced on August 26th that the 2004 Republican National Convention relied in part on renewable energy to minimize its environmental impact. The convention's host committee bought enough renewable energy credits from New York's Fenner Wind Farm to equal the anticipated energy use at Madison Square Garden. In addition, CERC bought enough renewable energy certificates from New York's hydropower and landfill gas facilities to equal the electricity used by the 50,000 convention guests and delegates while staying at area hotels. CERC also bought carbon credits to offset the greenhouse gases emitted when the guests and delegates traveled to and from the convention. And, as previously announced by the convention, eight General Motors hybrid buses shuttled delegates and guests around the city. The convention concluded on Thursday, September 2nd. See the CERC press release (PDF 151 KB). Download Acrobat Reader.

CERC is a non-partisan, non-profit coalition of more than 50 leading New York and Boston environmental organizations and businesses such as Union of Concerned Scientists, Saunders Hotel Group, CERES, Starwood Hotels, and New England Aquarium. The group provided similar services to the Democratic National Convention in late July. See CERC's June 17th press release (PDF 471 KB).

Renewable energy certificates, also called tradable renewable certificates, are largely responsible for a large growth in green power sales in 2003, according to preliminary data from the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS). The non-profit organization, which manages the Green-e certification program, found an 86-percent increase in Green-e-certified renewable electricity sales in 2003 compared with the previous year. Although utility green power sales to customers increased 12 percent, the sale of renewable energy certificates increased 12-fold. Unfortunately, a loss of green power sales in California after the state's energy crisis led to a decline in retail sales of green power, as well as a decline in the number of customers buying retail green power in competitive power markets. See the CRS press release.

Speaking of green power, the Ninth National Green Power Marketing Conference is only a month away. The conference will be held in Albany, New York, from October 4th through the 6th. See the conference Web site.