“Most individuals and businesses support the idea of going green, but few can manage the cost of making the switch to renewable resources like solar, hydro wind & or geothermal power.
While these sources are essentially free, provided by nature, the cost of converting our homes and offices to these systems is perceived by many to be prohibitive.
The use of these sources is growing in the U.S., but the growth is painfully slow. Renewable energy’s share of total U.S. energy consumption increased by only one percent between 2014 and 2018. The slow climb can be attributed to several reasons:
1. The costs involved in building renewable power plants are higher than for fossil-fuel burning plants.
2. Transforming this energy into electricity and delivering it for consumption is costly, because the electric grid has to be updated and extended.
3. More energy-generating & facilities would have to be built, especially in remote areas where the most effective renewable resources are found.
While integrating renewable energy into our current infrastructures may seem like a daunting task, inventive new options are being developed all the time.
One of the most effective of these options is a collection of tax incentives being offered to alternative energy producers to support the building of more renewable energy facilities, and while this may not lower costs in the immediate future, it will decrease our reliance on fossil fuels over time.
According to the Energy Information Administration, Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels, this program has encouraged a quadrupling of wind energy capacity over the past few years.
Another effective option is the availability of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), even if your utility doesn’t have access to green power. Each certificate represents a credit for one megawatt hour of the renewable electricity that’s being generated on the power grid.
While these certificates don’t actually deliver green energy to your home or office, they identify you as someone who supports going green, because the proceeds from RECs are used to fund renewable energy projects.
There are several different REC programs available. If you’re an Nstar customer, you can purchase either 50% or 100% of your monthly electric usage as green energy and pay an additional .00837¢ and .01396¢ cents per kilowatt hour above the basic service rates.
National Grid offers a “”greenup”” option that allows you to purchase RECs as a separate line item on your monthly invoice. And Glacial Energy offers a flexible REC that allows you to decide what percentage of your usage to purchase and whether you want Basic or 100% wind, for an additional cost of approximately .0025¢ per kilowatt hour.
If you’re already purchasing electricity from an alternative energy supplier, you’re probably already saving 10 to 20% over what the utility charges. But even if this is the case, there are still benefits in purchasing RECs, because a combination of RECs and the low alternative price you’re getting may still be lower than traditional electricity.
If your business has the resources, on-site renewable generation — the installation of solar panels or windmills at your location — is also an option. There are several government-sponsored rebate programs that can help offset the cost of this approach.
In this tough economy, businesses are more concerned with staying profitable than protecting the environment, so choosing a green alternative is difficult to justify. The primary choice a business has to make when considering alternative energy sources is this…
do I get the lowest price possible for my electricity, or do I forgo the savings and opt for renewable energy?
But perhaps the real question is an ethical one rather than a financial one. By supporting renewable energy, even if it costs your business a few extra dollars, you can make a difference in the world while creating a positive image for & your clients and your community.
And that’s probably something you can’t afford not to do.
Source: Energy Information Administration, Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels”