Renewable energy capacity in the United States supported by voluntary demand rather than regulatory requirements is up more than 1,000 percent in just 5 years, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The report also notes that purchases by large businesses, institutions and governmental entities are driving the growth of the U.S. voluntary green power market.

Green power currently accounts for about 2 percent of America’s electricity supply, but voluntary purchasing of renewable energy is accelerating development of new renewable energy sources. The report, from DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), "Green Power Marketing in the United States: A Status Report," shows that renewable generating capacity in the United States installed to meet voluntary green power purchasing has soared.

While the number of residential customers buying green power has more than doubled over the past five years, green energy purchases by large businesses and other U.S. organizations have increased dramatically. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Power Partnership, a voluntary program that encourages large organizations to switch to green power for a specified minimum portion of their annual electric usage, the partnership has grown from 21 founding partners in 2001 to over 600.

These Green Power Partners are collectively purchasing over 3.1 billion kilowatt hours of green power annually, a figure which has doubled over the past 15 months.

“Five years ago, the voluntary green power market was focused primarily on residential purchasers, and there were only a handful of significant non-residential purchasers,” said Douglas L. Faulkner, acting assistant secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. “The entry of commercial, industrial, and government purchasers into the renewable energy market has resulted in tremendous growth in the development of clean and limitless renewable energy resources.”

Leading purchasers include Johnson & Johnson, Safeway, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Harvard University, Whole Foods, Hyatt Regency Dallas & Hyatt Regency DFW, Hillwood, and the U.S. Government.

More than 100 consumer products are now "Made with Certified Renewable Energy" and labeled with the Green-e logo to designate their environmental advantage, including chips, juices, syrup, wine, fabrics, carpet, and paper.

The full report is available at http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/resources/pdfs/38994.pdf.