Have you ever wondered, when you turn on your lights, where that electricity is coming from?
In nearly all part of the world, most electricity comes from coal, natural gas, and nuclear; and some renewable sources, like hydropower, wind, and solar.
No matter where electricity is generated, it is mixed together on the shared electricity grid. When you turn on your lights or TV, you pull some of that electricity out.
Once electricity is put on the grid, there is no way to know where it came from or how it was generated, all electricity is the same.
If you want to green your power, though, you can do that with renewable energy certificates. These certificates are created each time one megawatt-hour of renewable energy is generated and put on the grid, about what an average home uses in a month.
The wind turbine spins, or the solar panel collects sunlight, and when enough electricity is generated, a certificate is created. This certificate proves that one megawatt hour of renewable energy was generated, and it embodies all the green, environmental benefits of that megawatt-hour including lower amounts of smog causing pollution and greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide.
All of these benefits are included in the certificate. Whoever owns the certificate, owns that megawatt-hour of renewable energy. Certificates are used by states and the federal government to track use of renewable energy.
They are also used by utility green power programs to track which customers receive green power, because certificates provide the only means to know that one megawatt-hour of renewable energy was generated on their behalf.
When an individual or business buys a certificate, they are buying renewable energy, and can claim all the environmental benefits of that megawatt-hour.
Certificates also allow wind and solar developers to build wherever the resources are, knowing they will be supported by customers from across the country.
Renewable energy certificates work because cleaner air and water are worth something extra to all of us, and certificates allow us to buy these environmental benefits no matter where we live.
They help bring us that much closer to true energy independence – power from the sun, wind, and water. And that makes the future brighter for all of us.
