Study: Consumers Unwilling to Pay More for Renewable Energy | Heartlander Magazine.
Relatively few consumers are willing to pay extra for renewable energy offered under voluntary ‘green’ pricing programs, according to a newly published report from the Institute for Energy Research.
The report, “Evaluating Voluntary Consumer Adoption of Green Pricing Programs,” examined information obtained from 31 electric utilities nationwide that allow customers to “opt in” to green pricing programs. These programs allow consumers to purchase their electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass.
State Mandates, Higher Prices
Green pricing programs charge participating customers a prescribed cost per kilowatt hour (kWh) of green energy produced. The prices typically do not fully reflect the higher costs of producing electricity from renewable sources, but they are higher than conventional power prices. The additional charge varies from utility to utility, ranging from .33 cents per kWh to 5.0 cents per kWh.
A Conservative Edge 