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What Should I Look for in
Buying Green Power?
There are a number of factors you will want to consider.
Percentage of renewables - The more renewable energy in the electricity you buy, the more of an impact you will have on the environment.
If you are a residential customer, you may be offered a product "blend" that is 25%, 50% or 100% renewable energy, for example, so you can compare products this way. Some green power products are offered in blocks or fixed amounts of renewable energy, such as 100 kWh for a fixed price. In this case, the block may be 100% renewable, but you then have to decide how many blocks you want to purchase, considering both the cost and the percentage of your electricity use each block would account for.
If you are a business
customer, the percentage of renewables may be important to how credible your purchase is with outside observers. While you may consider the percentage of renewable energy in a blended product, or how many blocks of green power you want to buy, you should also think about what percentage of your total electric load you want to come from renewables. The
EPA's Green Power Partnership has some minimum purchase thresholds for recognition by that program.
New renewables - Look for green power products with renewable electricity generated by recently constructed facilities that were built to meet market demand. Our shorthand for this is "new" facilities. This is because it is new resources that provide additional environmental improvement and benefits by displacing traditional energy sources. Existing renewable energy from plants that have been around for a number of years and that would have run anyway without your support, will not make an immediate difference. That said, it is not always possible or economic to sell only from new generating facilities, and demand for green power, whether new or existing, may demonstrate enough support to stimulate investment in new facilities.
Type of renewable resource - All resources have some environmental impact, but some are more benign than others, even among renewables. Most opinion polls show that people prefer solar and wind power, and believe they have the least environmental impact. There is not total agreement even among environmental groups about what resources are green. But some groups have worked together to create a certification standard for green power, and others have developed an environmental assessment tool called the
Power Scorecard. Wind power, of course, is a no-emissions resource that is also the most cost-effective renewable resources. For a list of wind projects near you, click here.
Certification - One way to address questions about green power and green power products is to look for a seal of approval. The Center for Resource Solutions developed the
Green-e renewable energy certification program [external link?] to denote products that meet its standards. These standards were developed by a variety of stakeholders (power marketers, environmentalists) in different regions of the country.
Emissions - There are a variety of environmental impacts from electricity generation and use, and this information is available but not always provided. The biggest environmental impacts are on emissions to the air of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide, and the creation of radioactive wastes. Some states require that emissions be disclosed on a standard label. If not, you can ask a prospective supplier for this information so you can compare one product to another.
Price - The price or cost of green power, of course, is a factor. For more information, see What Does Green Power Cost?
Location - For local or regional benefits, where the electricity is generated may make a difference. Offsets to local pollution may be a priority, yet on the other hand, support for green power anywhere will provide carbon dioxide benefits in reducing greenhouse gases. Awareness of where the renewable energy was generated may be more important if you are buying tradable renewable certificates separate from electricity.
Ownership of tradable renewable certificates - When you buy green power, you are not just buying electricity, you are also buying the environmental attributes of that energy, such as the reductions in air emissions. These attributes may be embodied in tradable renewable certificates. Some of these emission reductions have monetary value. If you pay for these benefits, you should be sure that the terms of sale of the contract you enter with the seller specify that you get them. Usually this means that the energy providers will not sell the attributes or certificates to anyone else. If you are a large business that is buying green power under a contract, you should be certain that your contract spells out who will own the attributes, tradable renewable certificates, or emission reduction credits that may be created.
NEXT: Other
Factors in the Decision-making Process
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