Buying Clean Energy

Here in Pennsylvania, consumers have a choice of electricity suppliers, which means that they have the opportunity to purchase energy which comes from CO₂-free sources. While governments and other large consumers of electricity can directly contract for the output of an entire solar or wind farm, retail electricity is generally handled by the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs. Each REC is a legal certification that one megawatt-hour (MWh) of renewable energy has been delivered to the grid, and represents the economic value of that attribute, separate from the value of the electricity itself.

For each megawatt-hour, or 1000 kilowatt-hours, of electrictiy you use (roughly a month’s worth, for the typical home), the energy supplier will purchase one REC on the open market, and that cost is bundled into your rate. Thus, if one REC costs $10.00, it will add a penny per kilowatt-hour to the base cost of the electricity.

Despite criticisms from some purists, there is nothing wrong or dishonest or “less good” about clean energy purchased with RECs. They are simply a way of creating demand for renewable energy, while indirectly providing the needed financing to build facilities. However, some renewable energy contracts are based on hydropower, where little or no new capacity is being built. To maximize impact, be careful to verify that the purchased energy is coming from wind and/or solar.

You can sign up for clean energy at https://www.papowerswitch.com/.