Scientists and policy-makers alike have acknowledged our society’s need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and shift to more renewable sources of energy. The United States in particular, as the country that consumes the most energy and emits more than a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases, needs to take the lead in switching to more sustainable energy sources.

Renewable energy technologies offer great promise, but many market barriers stand in the way of making renewable energy a viable alternative for most customers. With high start-up costs and low maintenance costs, renewable energy systems tend to be more expensive in the short term, but a better investment in the long run both economically and environmentally.

As a result of the market barriers, state assistance is necessary to encourage the growth of a renewable energy industry and to educate the public regarding the environmental hazards of traditional electricity resources such as fossil fuels, nuclear and hydropower.

Environmental disclosure laws are one effective tool for educating the public and spurring demand for renewable energy sources by encouraging more sound and informed decision-making by electricity consumers.

Environmental disclosure legislation requires electricity providers to reveal to their customers the resources that are used in the production of the electricity they sell. Companies must clearly state how much electricity (in percentage and kilowatt-hours) comes from oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydro, coal and renewable energy, and they must disclose specific environmental impacts associated with these resources, such as harmful emissions. By increasing customer awareness, these customers are empowered to make more discerning decisions about the electricity they buy.

A study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that between 56% and 80% of US consumers say they are willing to pay more for environmental protection and energy generated by renewable sources. In light of these findings, environmental disclosure laws are a critical component in the move towards greater energy sustainability. Energy companies that have already invested in renewable energy technology will stand to be rewarded by informed consumer decisions. Similarly, those companies that do not offer a suitable mix of renewable energies will be pulled, by changing market demand, toward a pattern of investment that generates a more sustainable fuel mix.

Currently, more than twenty states have recognized the importance of consumer education and consumer choice and have adopted some form of environmental disclosure legislation.

Relevant Publications

Following are references on environmental disclosure policy. Some of these publications are available to you online; just click on the highlighted title.

Abe, J., L. Alexander, C. Clark, and R. Rosen "NETS: Capturing Electricity Information in New
England," The Electricity Journal, (May): 46-54, 1999. http://www.electricity-online.com/

Biewald, B., D. White and T. Woolf. "Follow the Money: A Method for Tracking Electricity for
Environmental Disclosure," The Electricity Journal, 12(4): 55-60, 1999.

Center for Clean Air Policy (1998) Disclosure in the Electricity Marketplace: A Policy Handbook for States. Washington, DC. (PDF Report can be found under “publications” at http://www.ccap.org/)

Disclosure and Certification: Truth in Labeling for Electric Power, by Edward Holt (1997), www.repp.org/repp_pubs/articles/issuebr5/issuebr5.pdf

Job Creation and Renewable Energy
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
http://www.repp.org/articles/static/1/1007479178_1021645500.html

New England Model Disclosure Rule, by the Regulatory Assistance Project (May 1998), provides general information and model legislation on disclosure. http://www.rapmaine.org/modelissue.html

Swezey, Blair and Lori Bird. “Estimates of Renewable Energy Developed to Serve Green Power Markets.” January 2002. NREL: http://www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower/new_gp_cap.shtml

Wiser, Ryan, Mark Bolinger, Edward Holt, and Blair Swezey. “Forecasting the Growth of Green Power Markets in the United States” October 2001.
www.eren.doe.gov/greenpower/pdf/30101.pdf

National Council on Competition and the Electric Industry Disclosure Series:

The following articles can all be found in PDF version at: http://www.NCouncil.org/publications.html#disclosure

• Full Environmental Disclosure for Electricity: Tracking and Reporting Key Information (David Moskovitz et al., July 1997)
  
  
• Information Disclosure for Electricity Sales: Consumer Preferences from Focus Groups (Alan S. Levy et al., July 1997)
  
  
• Disclosure of Fuel Mix and Emissions by Electric Retail Service Providers: Confidentiality vs. the Public's Right to Know (Scott Hempling, July 1997)
  
  
• Information Disclosure for Electricity Sales: Consumer Preferences from Focus Groups, Report 2 West Coast (Mario Teisel et. al., 1997)
  
  
• Information Disclosure for Electricity Sales: Consumer Preferences from Focus Groups, Report 3 Rocky Mountain West (Lynn Halverson & Edward Holt, 1997)
  
  
• Uniform Consumer Disclosure Standards for New England: Report and Recommendations to the New England Utility Regulatory Commissions (Tom Austin et al., January 1998)
  
  
• Information Consumers Want in Electricity Choice, Summary of Focus Group Research (Ed Holt, January 1998)
  
  
• Summary Report, Baseline Survey Consumer Knowledge, Practices, and Attitudes, Electric Utility Deregulation and Consumer Choice (Kenneth Winneg et al., January 1998)
  
  
• Model Electricity Consumer Protection Disclosures (Jerrold Oppenheim and Barbara Alexander, October 1998)
  
  
• Label Testing: Results of Mall Intercept Study (Kenneth Winneg et al., October1998)
  
  
• Consumer Research on Tracking Approaches and Product Versus Supplier Labeling (Melissa J. Herrman and Brian Roe, October 1998)
  
  
• A Summary of Research on Information Disclosure: Synthesis Report (David Moskovitz, et al., October 1998)