Major Indiana companies and cities call on utilities for more renewable energy options

Sarah Bowman, Indianapolis Star
·5 min read
15

Several of Indiana’s major employers and biggest cities are not happy with their energy options — they want more, and they want it cleaner.

That desire has prompted companies such Salesforce, Roche, Cummins and more to call on their utility providers to make it easier to get green power.

These companies, along with the cities of Indianapolis and Bloomington, wrote a letter to Duke Energy and AES Indiana formally requesting the utilities offer more options for large customers to source their electricity from renewable energy. More specifically, they want what’s often called a Green Tariff.

The tariff would let these cities and companies buy power produced from renewable energy that is locally produced. With that, this program would let the companies run with their goals to go green and meet sustainability targets.

“There is strong customer demand for clean energy in Indiana,” said Caryl Auslander, executive director of Advanced Energy Economy Indiana. AEE is a national association of businesses working to accelerate the transition to clean energy.

Wind turbines operate in a rural area north of Lafayette, Indiana. Several major companies in Indiana are calling on their utilities to create a new program that makes it easier, and more cost-effective, for them to get green power.
Wind turbines operate in a rural area north of Lafayette, Indiana. Several major companies in Indiana are calling on their utilities to create a new program that makes it easier, and more cost-effective, for them to get green power.

“Many corporations, cities and institutions in Indiana have clean energy goals, and they are dependent on Indiana’s utilities, like Duke and AES, to get their energy,” Auslander said in a statement. Large customers “want to choose renewable energy, and we’re asking Duke and AES to give them more options.”

Both utilities currently offer green pricing programs for residential as well as business customers: Go Green for Duke and Green Power for AES Indiana. With these programs, customers pay a premium as an extra charge on their electricity bill to be put toward renewable energy sources in the Midwest.

Depending on the utility and how much energy is used, the average residential customer can expect to pay between $2 to more than $10 on top of their regular bill in a given month. But for large customers that use a lot of energy, that sort of program is not what they’re looking for.

A green tariff program, on the other hand, lets these big companies and cities have a long-term agreement to have some or all of their electricity come from renewable energy projects — and often for a lower price.

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Coca-Cola has committed to reducing carbon emissions 25% by 2030, and one of its bottlers has signed onto the letter. How the corporation powers its bottling facility plays a big part in meeting this target.

“As we continue to invest in Indiana, we are hopeful that Indiana utilities can offer more options to purchase our electricity from more sustainable sources of energy, like wind and solar,” said Todd Marty, senior director of sustainability at Coca-Cola Consolidated, the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States, in the statement.

Not only could a green tariff program help meet sustainability targets, Marty said, but it could help Coca-Cola stabilize its energy costs over the long-term. The other signatories — Cummins, Walmart, Salesforce, Rivian and Roche — feel the same. These companies want lower and less volatile costs that come with renewable technologies.

So do the cities of Indianapolis and Bloomington.

“We’re striving towards creating healthier and more resilient communities,” said Indianapolis’ director of sustainability Morgan Mickelson in a statement. That’s a key part of the city’s sustainability plan, she said, and using more renewables is a critical aspect.

“The City of Indianapolis is interested in more clean energy choices that not only improve the quality of life for our communities,” Mickelson added, “but also spurs the investments needed to lower energy costs long-term for our city.”

Instead of paying on top of their current bill, the tariff program would let the companies and cities lock in a new rate that pays directly for the cost of electricity from the wind or solar farm. The renewable projects could be owned by the utility or contracted with independent producers within the local grid.

It also opens up the opportunity for building new green energy projects in the state to support the demand and to keep that growth in Indiana.

Such large-scale projects have faced serious opposition in Indiana — more than 30 counties in Indiana have passed ordinances that restrict, if not outright prohibit, wind and solar projects. The state passed a law last year to create some consistent standards and encourage counties to open their doors to large renewable projects.

The letter is quick to point out that utilities in more than 15 other states have established green tariffs, including Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Solar panels sit on some open land. Several major companies in Indiana are calling on their utilities to create a new program that makes it easier, and more cost-effective, for them to get green power.
Solar panels sit on some open land. Several major companies in Indiana are calling on their utilities to create a new program that makes it easier, and more cost-effective, for them to get green power.

Both AES Indiana and Duke reference their existing green power options that are available to customers, but also told IndyStar they already are exploring ideas about other renewable offerings.

“We are glad to talk with these companies and municipalities,” said Duke spokeswoman Angeline Protogere. “We can discuss with these organizations different approaches they are interested in.”

AES Indiana added that it similarly “stands ready to partner with our customers and communities to help create Indiana’s economy for the future.”

All green tariff programs would need to be approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the state’s utility regulator. While utilities could design a program of their own accord, consumer advocates would prefer some policy guardrails.

“There is enormous demand for these types of programs,” said Kerwin Olson, executive director for the Citizens Action Coalition, an Indiana consumer advocacy group. “But we would have a strong preference that the legislature set the policy, otherwise consumers are relegated to the monopoly utilities writing the rules of the game.”

Still, Olson said CAC is very supportive of customers having more power choices, especially when it comes to accessing green energy. He just wants to ensure the programs are designed in a way that works for companies and cities across the state.

Call IndyStar reporter Sarah Bowman at 317-444-6129 or email at sarah.bowman@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook: @IndyStarSarah. Connect with IndyStar’s environmental reporters: Join The Scrub on Facebook.

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Salesforce, Cummins and more call on utilities to bring them green power