Case study collections and reports

From the moment a company's product development team puts pencil to paper, a product's environmental impact is decided. That initial research and design phase is the first and best time to start a product down the path of reduced environmental impact. Through a process of green design, ecodesign, or design for environment, a company can commit to solving environmental problems before they start. Green Product Design will guide you through the process of incoporporating sustainable design practices into your next project.

Search State and Local Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Programs for case studies describing what U.S. states are doing about global warming.

Berkeley Lab, in collaboration with the Clean Energy Group, has initiated a case study series that will report on the use of clean energy funds. The primary purpose of this series is to briefly report on the innovative programs and administrative practices of state (and some international) clean energy funds, to highlight additional sources of information and to identify contacts.

Some municipal utilities have used the Renewable Energy Production Incentive federal funds to help pay for the construction their own renewable generation. The Department of Energy's REPI web page list these utilities, the projects funded and the funds received since the policy’s beginning in 1994.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory provides Profiles in Renewable Energy: Case Studies of Successful Utility-Sector Projects which includes biomass, geothermal, PV and wind projects.

 

State Energy Alternatives was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in collaboration with the National Conference of State Legislatures and provides information on renewable energy resources, generation data, current projects and supporting policy in each state.

More than 45 municipal electric utilities and 15 electric cooperatives in the United States offer their customers a green energy product. The DOE's Green Power Network Utility Listing provides a brief description of each of these utility programs. The site also provides green pricing program Top 10 lists, many of which include municipal programs.

Utility Options Competitive Edge, from the Western Area Power Administration and the Southeastern Power Administration, offers a searchable database of municipal and cooperative green energy programs and renewable energy projects.

In 2001 state House Bill 2247 required all electric utilities operating in Washington state offer its customers the option to purchase green energy. It also required these utilities to report on these programs annually. In the first report covering these programs, "Green Power Programs in Washington: A Report to the Legislature" the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development reviews such program attributes as participation rates and the results of aggregated purchasing opportunities, and summarizes on topics such as what is working with these programs, what are the challenges and what can be improved.