What Does It Really Mean to “Buy Green Energy”?

In this age of environmental consciousness, more people are choosing to purchase “green” or renewable power. And with the increase in renewable energy demand comes a change in the energy industry. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, at least half of all consumers have the option to purchase renewable energy directly from their power supplier, and everyone has the option of purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).

What’s the difference between purchasing renewable energy directly or enrolling in a REC based plan?

In some areas, consumers have the option to directly purchase electricity which has been generated from renewable sources. In that case, the electricity purchased may come specifically from a wind or solar farm, or other power plant generating energy from renewable sources in the same or adjacent community to where the consumer resides.

Although there is an increasing number of clean power generators, not everyone has the ability to purchase electricity directly from one. Renewable energy certificates, or RECs, allow the consumer to contribute to the generation of “green” energy if their electricity is not able to be generated by a power plant with renewable sources. 

I’m ready to enroll in a green plan, so what now?

AEP Energy offers several renewable price plans with you and a cleaner environment in mind. To view our price plans, click here and enter your zip code.

Our ECO-Advantage^SM plan matches 100% of your electricity usage with national Green-e Energy® certified, wind RECs. So you’ll feel good knowing you are managing your budget and supporting a cleaner environment. For more information about Green-e Energy®, see www.green-e.org/rec.

We also offer solar energy choices. AEP Energy Solar Marketplace is our free, easy-to-use shopping service, where we partnered with Pick My Solar, to help customers explore the environmental impact and savings of going solar. This one-stop shop makes it easy to determine if going solar makes sense for your home! Then find and compare deals for rooftop solar systems from the best local vendors.

 For more information on renewable energy and the benefits of it, check out AEP Energy’s resource library where you can find several simple ways to go green and save money.

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