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Buy Green Power

The electricity we consume comes from the power grid, which is supplied from a number of power plants using a variety of energy sources. The grid transmits the power throughout the region to meet the requirements of all customers within it. In many states, electricity restructuring allows consumers to choose what kind of electricity to buy—conventional or renewable (“green”). And buying clean, renewable, green electricity is the single most powerful action a family or business can take to fight pollution and climate disruption.

For the average family, switching to 100 percent green power does as much environmental good as planting 950 trees or driving 20,000 miles less each year. Green power is a worthy investment, since it eliminates or offsets reliance on conventional “dirty” power and helps promote additional renewable energy development.

What Are My Options? We have provided a full discussion of options here. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there are essentially three options when buying green power. These include green pricing, green power marketing and renewable energy certificates (RECs).

Green Pricing: Green pricing is an optional utility service that gives customers an opportunity to support a greater level of utility company investment in renewable energy production and distribution. Participating customers pay a premium on their electric bills to cover the incremental cost of the additional renewable energy. With green pricing, you do not have to change your electricity provider. Examples include NSTAR Green 50% or 100%.

Green Power Marketing: Green power marketing is the sale of green power in competitive markets, where consumers have the option to choose from a variety of suppliers and service offerings. The key difference between green power marketing and green pricing is that with green power marketing, you are actually switching electricity providers. Examples include Cape Light Compact Green 50% or 100% and National Grid’s Green Up program.

Renewable Energy Certificates: Consumers throughout the United States can purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs or "green tags"). A REC represents the environmental attributes or benefits of renewable electricity generation and can be sold separately from the physical electricity. RECs can be purchased in almost any quantity and are usually available from someone other than your electricity provider. While RECs do have an actual cash value, what you pay for is the benefit of adding clean, renewable energy generation to the regional or national electricity grid. A renewable energy certificate is created for every megawatt-hour of electricity generated from a qualified renewable source, the definition of which may be unique to each state but generally includes wind, wave, tidal, solar, and biomass (wood, landfill gas, etc.). The sale of these certificates helps the owner recover the cost of building and operating the equipment that generates the “green” electricity. So in states that have a renewable portfolio standard you are already supporting some green energy providers in the attribute form of RECs, but not the actual power itself.

How Can You Tell If You're Buying Green Power?
The “Guide to Purchasing Green Power” (PDF) provides valuable information about buying green power. It includes information on the different types of green power products and the benefits of green power purchasing, including how to capture the greatest benefit from your purchase. The Guide is the product of a cooperative effort between EPA, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the World Resources Institute, and the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS).

Obviously, using less electricity is the best option irrespective of the fuel source, but if you want to make a significant difference and be part of the green energy revolution, you should participate in one of the green power options. To find out what options are available in your state, visit the U.S. Department of Energy Can I Buy Green Power in My State? webpage and click on your state.

Noteworthy Items for Massachusetts
NStar Green is a unique program that provides actual wind-generated electricity, allowing customers to purchase wind power from projects in upstate New York and, eventually, northern Maine. The advantages of this NStar program are itemized in the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Utilities (DPU) ruling (07-64-A) as: 1) Helps stabilize energy prices 2) Reduces renewable portfolio standard compliance costs 3) Helps eliminate barriers to the development of renewable energy resources in Massachusetts 4) Long term contracts are necessary for renewable developers to secure credit and financing

If you want to buy a larger share of just the attributes of renewable energy in the form of RECs beyond what is already included in the states RPS mandate you can sign up for the Cape Light Compact Green or National Grid GreenUp products. These products are based on RECs from existing low-impact hydro, bioenergy, wind, and solar photovoltaic systems in New England. Consumers who buy REC-based products offset their purchases of conventionally generated power. The New England Wind Fund allows you to invest in a future wind project to be sited within the region, at a location to be determined.