Did you know that most people in the U.S. today have the opportunity to purchase some or all their electricity from clean, renewable sources? If you didn't know that, don't feel bad. Most people aren't aware of this opportunity.  

During the past couple of years, my wife Abbie and I have been trying to figure out how we could fulfill our electrical needs with renewable energy. Solar panels and windmills were out, as we just couldn't afford to make the investment. Finally, we found Maine Renewable Energy (MRE), a local Maine company that sells 100% renewable power, a combination of wind and hydro, so we signed up. It costs us a little more, 1-2 cents per kWh, which translates to an additional $5 to $10 per month. We think it's worth it and believe it is the right thing to do.

As we began to share the idea with others, to our surprise, no one seemed to know anything about the "green power option". That bothered me. So, I started doing some research and found that "not knowing", is a major problem across the country. Here in Maine, MRE has just 2,300 customers out of 600,000 possible statewide. That's only 0.4%. Why is that?

According to the US Department of Energy (Green Power Marketing in the United States: A Status Report: 11th Edition), by the end of 2007 only 526,000 residential customers nationwide were participating in Utility Green Pricing Programs the ("green power option"). Only 10 programs accounted for 60% of all participants. The growth in new residential green power customers dropped by 50% in 2007 compared to previous years. The average participation rate among eligible utility customers is only 2%.

The overall lack of improvement in participation rates resulted from a lack of customer awareness of green power programs (i.e. "not knowing"). A number of utilities have reported that only around 20% of their customers are aware of the "green power option". There is also an unwillingness to pay a premium for green power. Customers are also uncertain as to the benefits of green power.

Why is this so important? Why is it so important for each of to sign up for the “green power option” now? Why don't we just wait until the whole grid changes over to green power? There are currently no incentives to close coal plants. The coal and oil industries continue to pressure Congress to maintain the status quo. A sure way to close coal plants is for customers to choose the “green power option.” Although the Pickens Plan is good, the plan will not displace coal plants and only create more capacity. Without a commitment from customers, green utilities will be reluctant to invest in more capacity. As customers choose the "green power option", capital will flow to the green utilities rather than coal utilities. Customers moving to the "green power option" will save tax payers money, (private capital versus government support). Customers moving to the “green power option” now will begin to reduce CO2 emissions immediately.

We could move thousands of customers nationwide to the “green power option” now, if we just put some effort into it. People need to know they have a choice.  It seems to me that we are missing an opportunity to make a real difference with very little effort. We can do better! We must do better! If we want to stop global warming and end our dependence on foreign oil, we need to start now. We don’t have to wait for government action, we can make it happen ourselves. It's all up to us and the time to act is now. A partial solution to global warming is possible. We have the power, after all, we are the customers. All we have to do is sign up for the "green power option."  It's easy, simply a change to your utility account.

To sign up for green power in Maine, please go here, and for all other states you can go here.  

A final thought: we need to get the word out. We need to fix the problem of "not knowing" People need to make an informed choice about the “green power option” and we can help make that happen. Please pass the word along to everyone you can think of and ask them to spread the word. It really will make a difference.