Suppose you’d like to power your home (or business) with electricity from clean, renewable energy sources. Okay, now suppose you could do that without actually investing in a solar rooftop or erecting a wind turbine in your backyard.
This is not just a dream–this is available today, and it’s even possible to do it for free.
Okay, I admit, your electricity won’t be free, but you can switch to powering your home or business with certified clean electricity for free. No investment necessary, no upfront costs, no strings attached. Even if your utility company offers only toxic fossil fuel-based electricity, now there is a way to choose clean energy.
Available to anyone in the US with a utility bill, Arcadia Power* offers a simple, convenient way to choose clean power from American wind farms by purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Who’s Arcadia Power?
With a mission “to change the way we power our homes and businesses from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy,” the company states that, “in just 3 minutes, you can join a community of individuals and businesses across the U.S. supporting cleaner energy and making an impact.”
Arcadia Power partners with sustainability-minded organizations and brands like the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters. This way, Arcadia Power helps to combat global warming without relying on government subsidies or tax benefits to operate its business.
“While we believe the government has a role in spurring innovation,” Arcadia adds, “buying renewable energy certificates (RECs) through Arcadia Power is voluntary – and we only expect to grow our industry by building more demand for clean energy.”
What’s a REC?
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “RECs have become an important tool for the renewable electricity market.” By purchasing RECs, you immediately reduce the environmental impact of your electricity use, help support wind energy providers, and help stimulate the growth of renewable energy in the US.
Measured in single megawatt-hour increments, RECs are generated at the same time as the renewable electricity is generated. Each one represents “a specific amount of electricity produced and delivered to the power grid by a renewable resource such as wind or solar,” states the EPA, noting that RECs “are a component of all renewable electricity products.” Every REC purchased through Arcadia Power is a direct investment in a wind farm.
Is Your Current Electricity Certified, Verified, and Audited?
RECs offered by Arcadia Power are produced in the current year and certified by Green-e Energy, the leading certification and verification program for renewable energy in North America. Green-e is the only program of its kind in the US, providing non-profit, third-party independent verification to ensure that strict environmental and consumer-protection standards are met.
Green-e certified renewable energy providers must meet stringent disclosure and truth-in-advertising requirements. They are also annually audited to verify that the type and quantity of renewable energy was generated or purchased to meet both marketing claims and customer demand. Purchasers of Green-e certified RECs commonly include builders for earning points towards LEED-certification.
Green-e Energy reports that, in 2013, nearly 717,000 retail customers, including 69,000 businesses, purchased certified RECs representing 33.5 million megawatt-hours. That’s enough clean electricity to power more than 25 percent of the homes in the US for an entire month.
Whose Clean Energy Will You be Supporting?
When you sign up with Arcadia Power, you are supporting renewable energy generation from wind power all across the country. A few of these wind farms include:
+ Leaning Jupiter I (OR): a 100.5-megawatt project near Arlington, Oregon, began operations in September 2006. This project has 67, 1.5-megawatt turbines.
+ Baldwin Wind Project (ND): located in Burleigh County, North Dakota, Baldwin Wind Project began operations in 2010 and has 66 1.6-megawatt GE turbines that are capable of generating enough electricity to power more than 25,500 homes.
+ Gray County Wind Farm (KS):Built in 2001, Gray County Wind Farm near Montezuma, Kansas is the largest wind farm in Kansas. It has 170 turbines with the generating capacity of 112 megawatts – enough electricity to power 33,000 homes.
Ready to Switch to Clean Energy?
According to the EPA, producing electricity for the average home requires burning 8,180 pounds of coal every year. It also produces over 14,500 pounds of CO2, and requires over 275,000 gallons of water.
When you switch to clean energy, those numbers drop to zero. Are you ready yet? Get your latest utility bill info ready, decide how you will pay your new utility bill every month, and it will take three minutes to get your new service with Arcadia Power started.
There’s no cost or commitment to switch, no contract, and you don’t lose your relationship with your local utility company. Arcadia conveniently monitors your monthly electric usage via your local utility and purchases Green-e Energy certified RECs to match your monthly usage.
Your utility company bills Arcadia, who then pays on your behalf and sends you a monthly bill that includes your local utility charges and clean energy amount.
Match 50% of Your Monthly Usage With Clean Energy for Free
If you sign up to match 50% of your monthly usage with clean energy, it’s completely free. Yes, free. And you can always check your monthly usage from your local utility account, so the service Arcadia Power offers is completely transparent and easily verifiable. You’ll pay Arcadia exactly what you would have paid your utility company, but this way half of your home’s electricity use is offset by certified clean, renewable energy generated and distributed to the national grid.
It’s physically impossible for anyone to know the original generation source of electrons circulating on the grid. However, generating and distributing one MW of renewable energy to the grid logically, physically, and environmentally offsets one MW of carbon-based power. Your switch to clean electricity not only supports the environment, it also sends a loud, clear message to your utility company that you’re “mad as hell and won’t take it anymore!”
If you’d like to take the extra step and go completely 100 percent clean energy, a premium of 1.5 cents per kWh will be added to your monthly Arcadia bill. But, no worries, this only adds up to a few extra dollars a month for the average customer–well worth the value you receive for offsetting your home’s entire carbon footprint!
Share Your Positive Environmental Impact!
Once you sign up, you’ll get a modern energy dashboard with your Arcadia Power account, where you can track your RECs and get a detailed understanding of your personal environmental impact.
Paying your power bill with a credit card earns reward points that also can be redeemed in the dashboard. From innovative home energy products to great outdoor goods, Arcadia rewards its customers with exclusive discounts from partner organizations and brands
You can even get a $25 credit for every friend you refer — that’s a great discount on renewable energy just for sharing your big, positive environmental impact with your friends!
*This post has been sponsored by Arcadia Power; images from Arcadia
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