How Can I Buy Green Power?

As an electricity customer, you can make a positive consumer choice right now to support green power. Many utilities offer special "green pricing" programs to their customers. You can choose to buy all or a percentage of your electricity from your utility.

If your utility does not yet offer this option, you can purchase renewable energy certificates, described below, to offset your electricity use.

Either way you will be increasing consumer demand for clean, renewable energy in the U.S. Buy green power now and help expand the green power market in your community and throughout the country.

Through Your Utility

Green pricing programs are offered by utilities throughout the U.S. to give electric customers the option to support green power generation. Electric customers who participate in a green pricing program do not have to change their electricity provider. Instead, customers agree to pay a small premium on their electric bill to pay for the extra cost of buying renewable energy. In the U.S. over 500 utilities - including investor-owned, municipal utilities, and cooperatives - have implemented green pricing options or announced plans to offer a green pricing option in the future.

You can find a full listing of all utility green pricing programs at the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy site, or visit the U.S. EPA's Green Power Partnership green power locator.

Our pilot Radio Public Service Campaign is active in the following 5 states/regions: Maryland, District of Columbia, Illinois, Michigan and North Carolina. Website links to these utility green pricing programs follow:

Maryland/District of Columbia

PEPCO Energy Services

Washington Gas Energy Services

Old Mill Power

Illinois

ComEd /Exelon

Community Energy

Michigan

Consumer's Energy

Detroit Edison

Lansing Board of Water and Light

We Energies

North Carolina

Dominion North Carolina Power

Duke Power

Progress Energy Carolinas

To learn North Carolina's statewide green energy program, NC GreenPower, visit www.ncgreenpower.org. For a list of all other North Carolina electric providers that offer green power, http://www.ncgreenpower.org/participating

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)

If your utility does not yet offer a green pricing option you can purchase renewable energy certificates, also known as RECs. A REC represents the non-electrical attributes or qualities of one mega-watt hour (MWh) of renewable energy generation supplied into the regional or U.S. electricity grid. RECs provide a green power option to electric consumers in any state or region, regardless of whether or not there is renewable generation in your area, or whether or not your utility offers a green pricing option.

Visit the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program to view a list of all U.S. REC providers:

By purchasing renewable energy certificates you actively support renewable energy by:

assuring demand for the product and increasing its supply;

offsetting some or all of your electricity use; and

helping to keep our environment clean and promoting renewable energy.

Photo Credit: Alden Hathaway