Green Power NYC

Electricity generation is the leading cause of industrial air pollution in the U.S. Most of our electricity comes from coal, nuclear, and other non-renewable power plants. Producing energy from these resources takes a severe toll on our environment, polluting our air, land, and water. Renewable energy sources (solar electric, wind, geothermal, biomass, and small and low-impact hydro) can be used to produce electricity with fewer environmental impacts. It is possible to make electricity from renewable energy sources without producing CO₂, the leading cause of global climate change.

For more information, please visit the Green-e website at:
http://www.green-e.org/learn_re_why.shtml

All green power products have a few things in common: they all reduce the use of dirty fossil fuel generation; they are all from naturally renewable resources, and they are all nearly emissions-free. But dig a little deeper and you'll see that you often have a choice in what renewable resources your product comes from. First, look for utility green power programs or renewable energy certificates that are Green-e Energy certified by the Center for Resource Solutions, an independent nonprofit organization that ensures the renewable energy comes from new facilities and provides an extra measure of certainty that you're getting what you paid for. Next, you can decide what type of renewable resource you want to buy from, and where it's located. Lastly, consider price.

No, the actual electricity coming into your home won't change. That's because once electricity is put on the grid, it's impossible to route it to any one destination, like your home. What you're actually buying are renewable energy certificates that have been sold by the renewable energy generator as environmental commodities. Each certificate represents the environmental benefits of a kilowhatt hour (kWh) of renewable electricity. Your purchase enables you to make a claim to that renewable energy that no one else can make. Once you've purchased it, that certificate is "retired" so it can't ever be used again.

Green Power is more expensive than energy produced from burning coal or oil because of the high costs of initial development. Currently, renewable energy technology is still not widely utilized. It is hoped that as demand for renewable energy grows, construction of renewable energy generation will increase and costs will decline in the long run due to economies of scale.

In summary:
• High initial development costs.
• Relatively new product in the market place.
• Small but growing demand.

A renewable energy certificate (REC) represents all of the environmental and social attributes in a unit of "renewable" power. Since it is not practical to directly schedule the power from a renewable generator for your home's electricity needs, your electricity is based on energy from the grid plus the renewable energy certificate/tag from a renewable source. A kWh hour of renewable energy is supplied to the grid for each kWh of renewable energy that you purchase, and each kWh of energy is associated with a renewable energy certificate. This is the nationally accepted method for distributing green power to the public. Every kWh of renewable energy produced means one fewer kWh hour of energy needed to be generated from conventional sources (such as fossil fuels and nuclear energy).

For more information on RECs and green power purchasing, consult the EPA Green Power Partnership website:
http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/buygp/types.htm

All of the products listed on this website take the extra step of voluntarily certifying their electricity through the Center for Resource Solutions, a not-for-profit environmental organization that allows consumers to quickly identify environmentally superior electric companies. The Center for Resource Solutions has granted these products "Green-e Energy" certification, which is like a Good Housekeeping seal of approval for renewable energy products.

For more information on Green-e Energy, consult their website:
http://www.green-e.org

Local / regional products are from renewable sources that supply electricity directly into the New York State power grid, and are tracked by the New York State Public Service Commission. National RECs are from renewable sources outside of the New York region (typically West of the Mississippi where development costs are lower) and the electricity is not delivered into the New York State power grid.

Yes, if you pay your own electric bill you can sign up without any permission from your landlord.