3Degrees Staff,
October 12, 2016
Good things come in threes.
3Degrees will showcase three executive speakers at the annual 2016 Renewable Energy Markets (REM) conference on October 16-18, a premiere clean energy industry conference focusing on national and international markets for renewable energy. Our speakers will highlight 3Degrees’ leading-edge work developing and delivering innovative renewable energy products for commercial, industrial and utility customers.
Kim Fiske
Vice President, Renewable Energy Procurement
Kim will bring her 15+ years of renewable energy development experience to a panel discussion about how corporations are navigating market risks, internal obstacles and policy barriers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by buying renewable energy through power purchase agreements (PPAs).
Amanda Mortlock
Vice President, Utility Partnerships
Amanda will lead and moderate a panel addressing new, innovative product offerings at large utilities that are keeping green pricing programs relevant. Other speakers on this panel include: Kerynn Gianotti, PG&E; Josh Halley, Portland General Electric; and Eric O’Shaughnessy, NREL.
Scott Eidson
Vice President, Environmental Markets
Scott will be one of two speakers within the “Market Growth and Trends: Spotlight on California/Western Voluntary and Compliance Markets” session, focused on addressing market trends, drivers, barriers, and impacts in both voluntary and compliance markets in the WECC and the West.
For over 20 years, the annual REM conference has been the leading forum for the clean energy marketplace — attracting participants from around the globe who share a commitment to promoting clean energy. Organized by the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions and co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this annual meeting of clean energy stakeholders includes generators, marketers, utilities, purchasers, policymakers and regional stakeholders. Over the last decade, 3Degrees has been a proud REM sponsor.
“The energy industry is undergoing rapid change across both national and international markets. 3Degrees is excited to share insights at REM from our work helping corporations, utilities and project developers develop and implement next-generation renewable energy strategies — including PPAs, community solar, and innovative approaches to getting new projects built,” says Steve McDougal, CEO of 3Degrees.
Learn more: www.renewableenergymarkets.com
3Degrees Staff,
September 14, 2016
Independent non-profit assessment identifies 3Degrees as a creator of positive community impact
3Degrees was honored today at the first annual Best for the World Celebration and Awards Ceremony. The company was recognized for the positive environmental impact of its products, services and internal business practices.
“We are honored to be part of today’s ceremony,” said Steve McDougal, CEO of 3Degrees after he accepted the award. “3Degrees is a company centered around two fundamental notions. First, that many people in this country are willing to direct their money and time to support renewable energy. Second, that as a business we could hold ourselves to a higher standard in how we built and operated the business. This distinction from B the Change Media recognizes that union.”
The Best for Environment category judges business practices and product offerings against environmental impact. In addition to its mission-based product line 3Degrees matches 100 percent of their electricity usage with renewable energy certificates, offsets employee commute emissions and gives preference to local, sustainable and fair-trade suppliers, just to name a few.
“The companies we are honoring as the best for the world represent the cutting edge of a global movement using business as a force for good. We are inspired by them, and feel deeply honored to join them in this historic and ground-breaking celebration,” said Bryan Welch, CEO of B the Change Media.
The ceremony took place at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas Business School. Only the top 10 percent of Certified B Corporations received awards in a variety of categories.
3Degrees Staff,
June 16, 2016
Joining forces to further the vision of a world where it is universally more valuable to solve environmental problems than to create them.
CDP and 3Degrees are pleased to announce that 3Degrees is coming on board as a partner to bring renewable energy products and services to CDP responding companies worldwide.
For more than 10 years, 3Degrees has been working with Fortune 500® clients, developing strategies to help them meet their carbon reduction and renewable energy goals. During this time, 3Degrees has played a leadership role in the renewable energy sector and has been named an EPA Supplier of the Year eight times.
“Climate change crosses political and geographic boundaries, and so must our solutions. 3Degrees has been working on this important issue for over a decade,” says Kim Fiske, vice president of Renewable Energy Procurement. “This partnership with CDP will allow us to make a larger impact as we work to connect people and businesses with cleaner energy on a massive scale.”
This partnership represents a new opportunity for 3Degrees to leverage their industry experience and help organizations worldwide reduce their carbon footprints by making direct investments in renewable energy.
“We are excited to welcome 3Degrees as a Gold Renewable Energy Partner that will help our global network drive the transition to a low-carbon future through renewable energy procurement,” says Paul Robins, Head of Partnerships at CDP. “3Degrees’ extensive expertise in this field will be a positive addition to CDP and will add great value to our responding companies.”
3Degrees Staff,
June 13, 2016
3Degrees announced a five year contract with the Maine Public Utilities Commission to continue to offer Maine Green Power to the state’s electricity users. This second contract between the two organizations ensures customers of Central Maine Power and Emera Maine – the utilities servicing the majority of Maine’s population – will continue to have the option to support green energy.
2000 customers are already enrolled in the program, together supporting 10,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy in 2015 alone. Maine is New England’s leader in hydro and wind power generation and as such it is no surprise that the program has garnered a positive reception during its first three years. “It makes sense that electricity users in Maine would want a program like Maine Green Power. It’s a natural outcome of Mainers’ passion and commitment for keeping things local” said Ryan Link, Director of Utility Partnerships at 3Degrees.
Maine-based program staff will continue marketing the program through events and door to door canvassing. Representatives will also focus on helping commercial businesses meet sustainability goals by using green energy. “Businesses are always looking for ways to differentiate themselves from competition. Choosing renewable energy with Maine Green Power is a way to match business operations with customer values,” added Link.
About Maine Green Power
Maine Green Power is a program developed and overseen by the Maine Public Utilities Commision which allows any entity paying an electricity bill in Central Maine Power or Emera Maine territories to pay an additional charge to purchase renewable energy made in Maine. There is no contract, no equipment to install, and a person can enroll regardless of their competitive electricity supply.
3Degrees Staff,
June 3, 2016
3Degrees welcomes Tyler Espinoza as our newest Renewable Energy Analyst. Tyler joins Kim Fiske’s team at 3Degrees which is focused on advising customers through the direct purchase of renewable energy, such as via PPAs or on-site solar. In this role, Tyler will evaluate direct procurement energy deals with an eye for risk and opportunity, an assignment that is trickier than it sounds.
“These transactions can have a real financial upside,” said Tyler. “However, there are many variables to be considered. For example energy prices may remain low, or curtailment or congestion issues may develop and have a significant and unexpected financial impact. My goal is to paint the entire picture for decision makers so they can make a fully informed decision.” Also important to consider is the contract structure. Term, price and location must meet the client’s risk, environmental and financial goals. The experience Tyler brings to 3Degrees will help illuminate these details for clients.
Tyler brings extensive industry experience to the role. Previously he led renewable energy procurement services for public and private clients, including the Department of Energy’s Sunshot initiative. During his career Tyler has helped aggregate solar purchasing for several universities, helped bring 78 megawatts of new solar capacity online and assessed over seven million square feet of space for its solar potential. He will use this vast experience, and knowledge of regional power market dynamics and environmental policy trends, to thoroughly evaluate business and financial risk for 3Degrees clients. Tyler has an MA in International Energy and Policy from Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
Commonly referred to as PPAs, power purchase agreements are a common mechanism for renewable energy procurement and are a growing global trend, thanks to rising interest in sustainable business operations and declining costs of green energy options.
Connect with Tyler on Linkedin.
3Degrees Staff,
March 31, 2015
Scope includes green program design, marketing services and support for community solar, energy efficiency
3Degrees Inc., a leader in utility green power programs, recently signed a multi-year contract with Seattle City Light to support innovations in their renewable energy programs. Through this contract, 3Degrees will provide consulting services to Seattle City Light on a number of green power topics.
In addition, 3Degrees will be responsible for a variety of marketing activities, including support for an overall green program marketing strategy which is designed to cross promote energy efficiency and renewable energy through all appropriate marketing channels. 3Degrees also will provide marketing and outreach services for the utility’s existing green power programs, including Green Up and the utility’s award-winning community solar program.
“Seattle City Light has been a leader in offering renewable energy options to its customers,” says Adam Capage, Vice President of Utility Partnerships at 3Degrees. “We are excited by the opportunity to help them as they grow and expand the Green Up and community solar programs.”
About Seattle City Light
Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to about 750,000 Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.
3Degrees Staff,
February 25, 2015
New program allows for continued environmental improvement, leadership
In a continued effort to decrease its environmental impact, 3Degrees has offset its 2014 water footprint through the purchase of Water Restoration Certificates (WRC).
Similar to how companies purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to balance out their electricity consumption for areas where they cannot reduce their energy usage, 3Degrees has purchased WRCs to cover the areas where water usage cannot be reduced, such as day-to-day office operations. Each certificate represents 1,000 gallons of water restored to critically dewatered rivers and streams through solutions like water conservation, updated management and irrigation systems, and changes to water rights and agreements. All projects are certified by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).
3Degrees is proud to be supporting the Sevenmile Creek project in the Klamath River Basin, and the Colorado River Delta project, located in Sonora, Mexico. The Klamath River Basin straddles Oregon and California, two of the states where 3Degrees operates its largest office sites. The basin is home to six National Wildlife Refuges, but extreme over allocation and diversion of water resources has resulted in inadequate stream flows and the degradation and loss of critical aquatic habitat. The Colorado River Delta, located at San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico, was once one of North America’s great desert ecosystems, but due to historical treaties between the U.S. and Mexico that neglected to allocate water to sustain the river, the delta has been almost completely dry for the past five decades. The projects that our purchases support are restoring these important water resources.
“3Degrees is committed to reducing our environmental impact,” says Steve McDougal, President of 3Degrees. “Water Resource Certificates provide an opportunity to support projects that restore critical wildlife habitat while offsetting the use of water in our business operations.”
Water Resource Certificates are 3Degrees’ latest commitment to environmental stewardship. As a Certified B Corp, 3Degrees meets rigorous standards of social and environmental performance. Our on-going commitment to the environmental is evidenced by our recent designation as Climate RegisteredTMPlatinum and being named one of the National Best and Brightest Sustainable Companies®. More details about our focus on sustainability can be found on our About page.
3Degrees Staff,
December 9, 2016
Creative products and stellar service sets 3Degrees apart
3Degrees was again named the 2016 Best Trading Company in the Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) – North America category by Environmental Finance magazine. This is the second year in a row the company earned the top position and is based on a survey of customers and peers.
The award reflects the value 3Degrees products and services bring to partners throughout the voluntary and compliance marketplaces. “These markets are complex and ever-shifting,” explained Scott Eidson, Vice President of Environmental Markets. “In response, 3Degrees has developed flexible products that use renewable energy certificates as well as other solutions to help clean energy suppliers and buyers mitigate risk and meet carbon reduction goals.”
3Degrees products and services span the globe including North America’s most complex markets such as the WECC, PJM, New England and Illinois but it is the extensive industry knowledge and focus on high-touch customer service that keeps hundreds of energy suppliers and buyers returning to Scott’s team each year. “Our focus on relationships and ease of transacting gives our partners a simple way to support the type of clean energy that is most beneficial to their business and geographic location.”
Since 2015 3Degrees has transacted more than 90 million megawatt-hours of renewable energy from over 500 facilities – with nearly 50% of those facilities coming online in the last six years. Overall, this is the fifth time 3Degrees has earned a top designation by Environmental Finance readers in this category.
3Degrees Staff,
June 26, 2015
New service helps companies derive financial benefits from renewable energy procurement
3Degrees formally announces the launch of Renewable Energy Procurement – a service line helping clients to source green energy directly from projects through long or short term agreements. This announcement is a culmination of work that 3Degrees has done over the past several years with a number of key clients, helping them explore new opportunities to access renewable energy.
“There is now a way for companies to realize both the environmental and financial benefits of supporting renewable energy,” says Steve McDougal, 3Degrees CEO. “3Degrees offers a customized approach and can work with companies to identify competitively priced clean energy.”
Often called power purchase agreements (PPAs) or direct procurement, these new renewable energy strategies have generated significant interest in the private sector. Given the growing market demand for these services, 3Degrees has built a team exclusively dedicated to this service line, including appointing Sarah Penndorf to head up the Renewable Energy Procurement business. 3Degrees has also recently joined the Business Renewables Center (BRC), an industry collaboration aimed at accelerating corporate renewable energy procurement.
“I am excited to help clients expand their participation in renewable energy,” says Sarah Penndorf. “With our industry knowledge and strong developer network, we work with clients to navigate these multi-faceted deals.”
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