What is Green Power?

Much of the modern world relies on some kind of power source for a variety of things such as lights, heat, and entertainment sources like televisions and computers.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “The U.S. energy supply is composed of a wide variety of energy resources; however, not all energy resources have the same environmental benefits and costs.”

Conventional power is achieved by the combustion, or burning, of fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, and oil.  “ (EPA)

Renewable energy is power that comes from sources that are able to renew themselves and regenerate within a relatively short period of time, unlike conventional power methods.  Renewable energy sources include things like wind power, sun (solar), moving water (hydropower), the Earth’s heat (geothermal), and organic plant and waste material (eligible biomass).  Although large hydroelectric plants can effect fisheries and have other environmental issues such as land use, renewable energy sources are thought to be of low impact to the environment overall.

Green power is defined as “a subset of renewable energy and represents those renewable energy resources and technologies that provide the highest environmental benefit. The EPA defines green power as electricity produced from solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass, and low-impact small hydroelectric sources. Customers often buy green power for its zero emissions profile and carbon footprint reduction benefits.” Green power also greatly reduces our carbon footprint.

Although renewable energy is…..well, renewable, there is still a cost involved in harnessing this type of power into a usable form for most households.  In fact, the EPA states that fossil fuels have environmental costs from mining, drilling, or extraction, and emit greenhouse gases and air pollution during combustion. 

Some of the factors involved in the cost according to the EPA are:

•             Supply and demand variability
•             Volume of purchase (total megawatt-hours)
•             Resource and technology type (solar, wind, biomass)
•             Geography (local vs national)
•             Wholesale vs retail pricing

Despite the costs associated with green power and renewable energy, the alternatives cost more and cause more detriment in the end.  Consider one or more types of green power as a main source of electricity for your home or business.

For more information visit www.wasteawaygroup.com.