Carbon Offsets

Silicon Valley Communities Continue to Choose 100% Renewable Power

Cities upgrade to 100% renewable GreenPrime electricity choice for municipal accounts

Sunnyvale, Calif. – Four additional Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) member agencies have upgraded their municipal electricity accounts to 100% renewable energy with SVCE’s GreenPrime electricity choice. The City of Los Altos upgraded their municipal electricity accounts at their January city council meeting followed by the Town of Los Gatos at their February town council meeting. The City of Gilroy made their decision at the beginning of March, with Los Altos Hills upgrading in March as well. With the actions of these communities, ten of the twelve SVCE member agencies have upgraded their municipal electric accounts to receive 100% renewable and carbon-free electricity.

“Upgrading our city’s municipal accounts to GreenPrime helps our community reach its climate action goals by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases we produce for electricity use,” said Los Altos Councilmember and SVCE Board Director Jeannie Bruins. “This benefits all our communities by providing everyone with a healthier and cleaner environment to live in.”

The cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Saratoga and Sunnyvale upgraded their municipal accounts to GreenPrime in December 2016. Residents and businesses may also reduce their carbon footprint and promote green energy through GreenPrime, anytime to start receiving 100% renewable and carbon-free electricity for a small premium above the GreenStart rate. For a typical residential customer, GreenPrime costs about $3-5 more per month on the generation portion of their electricity bill.

“We are bringing choice where there was no choice before. You can get carbon-free electricity with GreenStart without having to do anything, or you can upgrade to GreenPrime for electricity that comes from 100% renewable sources,” said Los Gatos Vice Mayor and SVCE Board Chair Rob Rennie. “With GreenPrime, Los Gatos, along with our neighboring communities, is furthering the demand for more renewable energy from sources such as wind and solar.”

SVCE started serving its first phase of customers in April 2017, the first phase of customers is receiving carbon-free electricity at costs 1% below PG&E rates with GreenStart. Customers are automatically enrolled and do not need to do a thing if they want cleaner, greener electricity. All remaining residential, commercial and agricultural accounts will be enrolled in July 2017, but customers can choose to enroll early if they upgrade to GreenPrime.