Marin Energy Garners EPA Honors, Eyes Growth

Just three months into its existence, the Marin Energy Authority has cracked the list of the Environmental Protection Agency's top 20 green power purchasers in the U.S.

The energy agency that launched May 7 ranked 13^th among green power purchasers, based on annual green power usage. With more than 42 million annual kilowatt hours, Marin ranked ahead of cities like Philadelphia and San Francisco, but far behind top-ranked Houston at 438 million kilowatt hours.

"It's a great validation of what we're doing and an honor," said Shawn Marshall vice chair of the Marin Energy Authority. "It signals that we're onto something good here."

Every Marin customer who opted to drop PG&E in favor of the MEA gets 25 percent renewable energy from solar, hydro-electric, wind, geothermal and other sources. The city of San Rafael was among those "light green" customers. Others who opt for the Marin Clean Energy program can get 100 percent renewable at about one cent more per kilowatt. Marin Clean Energy gets its energy from Shell Energy North America over the PG&E grid.

The agency is also looking to continue to grow. At its Aug. 20 board meeting, the panel will discuss a range of growth opportunities, starting with the possibility of reaching out to those municipalities who decided against going with the energy authority, including Sausalito, Corte Madera, Larkspur, Novato and Ross to see if they will reconsider now that Marin Clean Energy is established.

The agency has been receiving a number of inquiries from municipalities elsewhere in the state, said Dawn Weisz, the agency's interim director, and must decide whether to provide a blueprint or offer to have them join Marin Clean Energy itself.

"Sonoma County would be a great candidate to join forces rather than reinventing the wheel," Marshall said. "But the most important thing now is to make sure that we stay in business through this first phase."

The agency would need to do energy modeling to determine the volume of consumption of other municipalities to make sure Marin Energy can supply enough power to serve their needs, Weisz said. The board would also have to determine how bringing other agencies in would impact the makeup of the board itself.

"The board isn't going to want to be traveling all over California for board meetings, for instance," Weisz said.

In the meantime, two local energy efficiency programs are getting much of the agency's attention to expand renewable power production.

Solar Shares, a program pioneered by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, allows residents without the ability to install solar panels on their roofs to invest in a solar installation elsewhere in Marin. The agency would select a site for such an installation and investors could then participate in net metering, where a renewable energy system owner receives credit for at least a portion of the power they generate.

"It's great for people who live under trees and that sort of thing," Weisz said.

Solar Shares will likely launch in the fall, while the Bay Area Retrofit Program, funded by a grant from the California Energy Commission that came from federal stimulus money, will assist 600 homeowners in getting energy audits completed.

"These programs are related and are good for our customers and are also part of a growth strategy," Marshall said.

Marin County Supervisor Susan Adams, who represents San Rafael, said, "As we have proven in our recycling programs, Marin County is leading by example in Marin Clean Energy, making it easier for other jurisdictions to adopt programs that will address climate change issues."