In recent days I’ve started reading a book called Earth: The Sequel, which offers an exciting perspective on current efforts, both public and private, to “reinvent energy.” With a renewed sense of hope in mind, I did a little web-surfing this morning and found an article with some exciting news about our regional power company, Georgia Power.
Georgia Power has, in the last month, launched a green energy program for both business and residential customers in which customers can buy 100 kilowatt-hour blocks of renewable power (solar, wind, water, and biomass) to replace roughly 10% of their normal power consumption at a rate of $4.50 per month. The program has just been certified by an independent consumer protection program called Green-e,1 which certifies renewable energy programs in a similar way to how LEED certifies green construction projects. Georgia Power’s site claims that buying one 100 kilowatt-hour block monthly for a year will reduce the customer’s carbon footprint the equivalent of a 2,000 mile drive in a car.2 Nate and I just purchased two monthly blocks of renewable energy, adding an affordable $9.00 per month onto our power bill.
If you are a Georgia resident and are interested in the Green Energy program, visit the company website: http://www.georgiapower.com/green/home.asp. If you reside under another power company’s domain and want to see if they have an equivalent program, here is a Wikipedia list of websites for all regional power utilities: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_electric_companies
Now, I should interject here that Georgia Power and its parent, the Southern Company, have some of the CO2-spewingest coal-fired power plants around. But if there is a way to support renewable energy within the current system, then I’m all for it. Until the federal government spurs on energy reform through legislation, market-driven change will be the driving force behind renewable energy. Now I’ll ask for your help– what renewable power companies and initiatives have you heard about outside of the regional utility giants?
Comments
Kathleen, There is an interesting section in Georgia Power’s website under “learn more” concerning how they generate their “green” energy. It comes primarily from using landfill gas as fuel to generate electricity rather than just burning it (in a flare) to get rid of it.
Good point, Dad. The website says that the term “biomass” refers to generating electricity from primarily methane gas, which is emitted in large quantities from organic matter in landfills. They are also generating solar power in smaller quantities, but are not yet generating wind power in Georgia. It pays to read the fine print!
Kathleen, Just to be clear, I am saying that what Georgia Power is doing with landfill gas is a good thing. Rather than the gas being burned in a flare for its disposal, it is burned in a power plant to generate electricity. The same amount of carbon dioxide emissions occur from the flare or the power plant. However, the power plant generates enough electricity for thousand of homes without using additional fossil fuel (probably coal). In that sense, it is “green” power.
T. Boone Pickens (what a great name), a man who made his fortune out of oil, is planning on erecting the largest windfarm in the world in Texas. He says he’s not gone soft / green but rather he thinks that there’s a lot of money to be made in it. Which is perfect. If died-in-the-wool capitalists like him can start to see financial benefits of renewable energy, a major corner is about to be turned. The capital markets (and the masses with them) may come slowly to issues like this, but thankfully they do eventually.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/14/windpower.energy