Green electricity is the cleanest, most beneficial forms of renewable energy

Green power is a subset of renewable energy and represents those renewable energy resources and technologies that provide the highest environmental benefit.  The U.S. voluntary market 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.

What is green electricity?

Green electricity is the cleanest, most beneficial forms of renewable energy. For example, municipal solid waste or large scale hydropower are indeed renewable but still have major polluting capacity. These are the energy sources considered to provide green electricity:

• Solar
• Wind
• Biomass
• Geothermal
• Small-scale hydropower

If you install solar panels on your home, you can reduce your electricity bill, protect against rising energy costs, and increase your property value. Even more, solar homeowners benefit from a number of different incentives and programs that have to do with the state they live in and how committed it is to green power. U.S. utilities have to observe a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) which is typically a percentage of energy generated from renewable resources that serves as a goal that should be met by that utility. Because utilities struggle to create enough energy from green sources on their own, renewable energy credit (REC) programs allow them to buy documentation of renewable production from homeowners and in theory, “take credit” for that generated power. One REC refers to one megawatt-hour (MWh) of energy produced or 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh).

A REC represents the environmental and social benefits that distinguish clean, renewable energy from conventional sources of energy like coal.  For example, every time the blades on a wind turbine spin, both a unit of electricity and an associated REC are generated. When electricity flows onto the grid, it mixes together with all the other electrons moving on the grid, so it’s not possible to send particular “renewable energy” electrons to a specific home or business. RECs make it possible for consumers to ensure that the electricity they are using is green. Recs are also well known as green tags or renewable energy certificates and apply to people who own a renewable array such as a solar panel system.

Whereas net metering allows a homeowner to be credited for surplus solar panel production, a solar REC (also referred to as an SREC) does not pertain to any surplus grid supply but has to do with someone getting credit for helping the environment. Organizations that sell RECs buy them wholesale from clean energy generation sources and repackage them into smaller quantities to sell as green power.  When you buy RECs, the seller transfers ownership of the RECs over to you, and you become a consumer of green power.

Whoever purchases RECs legally owns the social and environmental benefits of the associated renewable energy, which have been separated from the electrons on the grid. This means that buying RECs makes you the owner of green power, and a supporter of renewable energy.  The money that you spend on RECs also helps fund renewable energy projects, making more projects possible.

The Center for Resource Solutions, the organization behind thethis great video that explains RECs.

Green-e Energy certification program for renewable energy, made