Electric Utilities Are Under Pressure from Customers to Clean Up the Grid-Mix

In certain parts of the U.S., and I presume the rest of the world as well, electric utility customers are beginning to express their concerns about the modes by which their providers generate the power they will sell.  Apparently, most of the angst here centers around climate change, as more people every day are starting to see the truth: our devotion to fossil fuels as our primary source of energy is causing the Earth’s temperature to warm, in turn resulting in numerous environmental maladies. 

In the “Green Grid” conference I attended last week in the California Bay Area, the presenter from Google described the way his company pressures its providers for more renewable energy.  He told the audience, and I’m sure it’s true, that when a company with the stature of Google asks for something, the answer is usually yes. 

But what happens when a community, made of up millions of private citizens and small businesses (i.e., “nobodys”) rises up and makes a similar demand on the utility?  The answer is more complicated – and it’s addressed in this SmartGridNews article: More Utilities Are Seeing Municipalization Nipping at Their Heels.