Buying Green Power

At this point in my eco-makeover, I've been able to reduce my energy consumption significantly through a few simple projects. This has reduced my monthly energy bill enough that it is time for me to purchase some green power.

What is green power?
Green power is renewable power. But renewable power is not necessarily green.

Consider green power a subset of renewable power. It comes from power sources that leaves the smallest ecological footprint. Wind, solar, tidal, biomass and geothermal power all qualify as green power under most conditions. Hydro-electric power is renewable, but usually not green, because of the dramatic environmental impact it has on the surrounding area. There are companies like green-e that certify green power sources based on their emissions footprints and other environmental metrics.

As we identified when we audited the source of our power, less than 3% of Puget Sound Energy's power can be considered green power, and only 2.6% of the nation's power comes from renewable sources. There is clearly a long way to go before we can relieve our dependency on fossil fuels.

Why purchase green power?
Nationwide, the generation of electricity produces more carbon emissions than any other source. Let me say that again. The fossil fuels burned to generate our electricity produce more carbon than driving our cars, flying in our airplanes, and all of the other polluting activities we engage in.

If we want to slow down climate change we have a few options. We can adopt strict conservation policies and live like cavemen, without any of the conveniences we've come to enjoy today. Or we can quickly rework the nation's electricity generation infrastructure to heavily leverage green sources of power. I'm strongly in favor of the latter option.

Changing where our energy comes from is a hard problem, especially since the existing way we produce it is cheap and easy. Creating change will require two things: lots of demand and lots of money.

By signing up to purchase green power, you are providing both. Not only are you helping to fund new green facilities, but you are also making your support explicit. Your voice is counted and known.

How much does it cost?
The cost depends on your power company and their available programs. The Puget Sound Energy program I signed up for charges either a flat fee of $4/month for 320 kWh, or $0.0125 per kWh on top of your existing energy bill.

Though I need one more bill to arrive to be certain, it appears that I've been able to entirely offset the costs of purchasing green power by implementing a few easy energy projects in my home: enabling my computers to sleep when not in use, switching my lightbulbs to CFLs, and killing some of my vampire power sources. Any household should be able to do the same.

How do I know that the power arriving at my house is green?
Unfortunately, you don't. And it's probably not. The power company doesn't have a magic way of routing the 'green' power to specific homes in the grid. But what it can guarantee is that someone on the grid is getting the green power that you are paying for. Which is really all that matters, right?

Remember, that ultimately you're helping to fund the power company's investments into green power infrastructure.

Puget Sound Energy sends out a quarterly green power newsletter letting its green customers know what is being done with their money. From it, I've been able to figure out that ~1.8% of PSE's customers are involved in the green power program. Not nearly enough.

The top 3 greenest cities in PSE's area are Olympia, Bellingham, and my hometown Bellevue with 6% of its residents signed up. With the number of concerned citizens in the area, I know we can do better.

How do I sign up?
You can find a comprehensive list of green power programs here. Most power companies have online information and sign-up enabled on their website. For others, you may have to call or fill out the form they put in your monthly power bill.

What if my power company doesn't offer this type of program?
First, call up your power company and ask why they aren't offering it. The more demand they hear about, the better the chances are that they will introduce the program.

There are other options available if you would like to invest in green energy. Renewable Energy Certificates can be purchased from various facilities that are investing in green power, and help those companies offset their costs and continue to grow. These can be purchased independent of your local utility. There is some debate on whether these certificates actually make concrete headway in providing more green power or reducing its cost, so research your programs carefully.