Companies vie to sell renewable energy to Cincinnati

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Providers are lining up to sell discounted renewable energy to the city of Cincinnati which is trying to go 100 percent renewable.

The city of Cincinnati received proposals from seven companies willing to provide discounted rates on electric service using renewable resources. It’s part of an aggregation program authorized by Cincinnati voters in November and modified by Cincinnati City Council in February.

Cincinnati is trying to become the largest city in the country to source 100 percent of its energy supply from renewables, including wind, solar and biomass.

The city asked bidders to quote their best rates for electric rates from any source, including coal-burning power plants, nuclear and natural gas. It also asked suppliers to quote their best rate including the purchase of renewable energy credits, which are used to cleaner-burning power generation plants.

By offsetting the city’s consumption with renewable power generation, the city can claim its energy comes from up to 100 percent renewable resources.

The city sought bids from energy suppliers in March. All seven bidders submitted proposals with enough energy credits to assure a 100 percent renewable supply, said Larry Falkin, the city’s director of environmental quality. Falkin declined to discuss other details of the bids.

Read more about the bidders in the Cincinnati Business Journal.