Green Power: Key Facts and Insights

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The electricity powering your home or business comes from a diverse mix of sources, each with unique environmental impacts and costs. From the clean energy of wind and solar to the environmental challenges of fossil fuels, here’s what you need to know about green power, renewable energy, and conventional power in the U.S.

Green Power: The Gold Standard of Clean Energy

When it comes to eco-friendly electricity, green power is the cream of the crop. It’s a subset of renewable energy, representing the most environmentally beneficial sources like:

• Solar
• Wind
• Geothermal
• Biogas
• Low-impact small hydro

To qualify as green power, the electricity must go beyond standard regulatory requirements, delivering extra environmental benefits. With its zero-emissions profile, green power is a favorite for individuals and businesses looking to reduce their carbon footprint. By choosing green power, you’re not just using renewable energy – you’re supporting the cleanest and most sustainable options available.

Renewable Energy: A Broader Category of Sustainability

Renewable energy includes any resource that naturally replenishes over time, such as:

• Solar
• Wind
• Moving water (hydropower)
• Biomass (organic plant and waste material)
• Geothermal heat

While renewable energy offers significant environmental benefits, it’s important to note that not all technologies are without trade-offs. For example, large hydroelectric dams can impact fisheries, alter land use, and disrupt ecosystems. Even so, renewable energy remains a cornerstone of the clean energy transition, providing a sustainable alternative to finite resources like coal and oil.

Conventional Power: The Backbone with Environmental Costs

Conventional power comes from fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) and nuclear energy. While these sources have powered our world for decades, they come with heavy environmental baggage:

Fossil Fuels:

• Major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
• Extractive processes like mining and drilling damage ecosystems and communities.

Nuclear Power:

• Generates electricity without greenhouse gases during operation but poses challenges with radioactive waste and long-term storage.

Although conventional power is still a significant part of the energy mix, its environmental impact highlights the need for cleaner, more sustainable solutions.

The Big Picture: Making an Informed Choice

The U.S. electricity mix reflects a spectrum of energy sources, from the most sustainable to those with environmental drawbacks. Here’s how they stack up:

• Green Power: The cleanest and most environmentally friendly option.
• Renewable Energy: Broader and sustainable, with some environmental trade-offs.
• Conventional Power: Reliable but with significant environmental costs.

By understanding these options, you can make informed decisions about the electricity you use – and its impact on the planet. Whether you’re supporting green power or advocating for more renewable energy, every choice helps move us closer to a cleaner, more sustainable future.

Understanding Green Power Programs

A common misconception about green power programs is that enrolling will provide you with electricity directly from a renewable source, like solar or wind. However, this isn’t how it works. When you sign up, your utility purchases a certain amount of renewable energy, such as wind or solar, on your behalf, which is added to the overall electricity grid. This helps increase the total amount of renewable energy on the grid, but the electricity that powers your home is a mix from all sources on the grid, not just renewable ones.

It’s important to understand that green power programs are not the same as generating renewable energy yourself, like with rooftop solar. While rooftop solar allows you to generate your own clean energy, participating in a utility’s green power program means you’re financially supporting renewable energy production on a larger scale. Your support helps to increase the share of renewable energy in the grid, but it does not directly correlate with the electricity that powers your home.

Different Types of Green Power Programs

There are two primary ways to access green power: green pricing and green marketing.

Green Pricing  

This option is available in regulated energy markets where you cannot choose your energy provider. Instead, your utility company typically offers a green power option for customers. This allows you to support renewable energy by paying a premium for a portion of your electricity to come from green sources.

Green Marketing

In unregulated markets where multiple utilities compete for customers, you can choose an energy provider based on the green power programs they offer. This allows for greater flexibility in selecting a provider that aligns with your sustainability goals.

Three main purchasing structures

Block Renewable Energy Plans: Green Energy Made Simple

This model allows customers to buy renewable energy in fixed blocks, typically in 100 kilowatt-hour (kWh) units. This approach lets you choose how many blocks to purchase based on your monthly energy use, with the price staying constant each month regardless of market fluctuations. You can opt to cover a portion or your entire energy consumption with green energy.

This plan is common in green pricing programs offered by utilities in regulated markets, but it is also available in some competitive energy markets. The flexibility of purchasing a set amount of renewable energy helps customers support green energy without having to generate it themselves, such as with rooftop solar. This model is also referred to as a Block Renewable Energy Plan or a Green Power Block Program depending on the provider.

For example, NorthWestern Energy’s E+ Green Program allows customers to buy blocks of 100 kWh for around $1.25 per block, supporting renewable energy generation across the region. Other utilities may offer similar programs with different pricing and names, such as Green Power Blocks or Renewable Energy Blocks.

Percentage of Monthly Use 

This plan is a flexible option that allows you to purchase renewable energy based on a percentage of your total electricity consumption. For example, if your home uses 1,000 kWh per month and you opt for a 90% green power plan, 900 kWh of your electricity will come from renewable sources. This type of plan supports a blend of renewable and conventional energy, making it easy to contribute to cleaner energy even if you’re not using solar panels yourself.

In 2024, utilities like Madison Gas and Electric offer a similar plan where customers can choose the percentage of their energy to come from renewables for an additional $0.01 per kWh. Similarly, Dominion Energy provides a 100% renewable option at an extra cost of $0.012 per kWh, depending on the customer’s energy usage. Both utilities offer flexible pricing and participation options, making it easier for customers to contribute to the growth of renewable energy​.

Such programs are flexible, allowing customers to opt for partial or full renewable coverage, making it easier for households to go green without installing their own solar panels. The cost varies based on your usage and the percentage you select.

Long-Term Fixed-Price Contracts  

These contracts are commonly used by large organizations such as government agencies, universities, and corporations to secure stable and predictable energy costs from renewable sources over a long period, typically 10-20 years. These contracts, often referred to as Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), offer several benefits. They provide the renewable energy developer with a guaranteed revenue stream, making it easier to secure financing for large-scale projects, while also giving the buyer protection from energy price volatility.

By locking in a fixed price for green energy, organizations can avoid fluctuating market prices, making it easier to budget for energy costs over the long term. These contracts also help support the growth of renewable energy infrastructure by ensuring steady demand for clean energy​

Disclaimer: To ensure you have the latest information specific to your area, it’s best to contact your utility provider directly.