The Green Power Blog

Why Does Green Power Cost More Than Conventional Power?

Most green electricity costs just a couple of cents more per kilowatt hour to produce than traditional energy, according to many sources. One advantage that green power has over fossil-fuel based energy sources is that most renewable sources are not subject to fluctuating fuel prices. It does not actually cost any money to get energy from the sun, the water, or the wind. The money is spent investing in the technology and infrastructure necessary to harness that energy efficiently and distribute it to power customers.

Some people are resistant to a switch to green power, because it involves a large investment up front, and we already have the existing infrastructure to produce energy in a conventional manner. However, many people are starting to see that the investment in green power is the investment in a premium product, the energy of the future. Climate change, oil spills, and coal mining disasters continue to remind us that the old way is not always the best way.

Some governments around the world are encouraging green power country-wide. In other places, it is up to people to choose for themselves. Individuals and businesses can easily purchase green power in a variety of ways. In the U.S, some utility companies offer the option of investing in more renewable energy sources. Power customers around the U.S. pay upwards of 0.2 cents extra per kilowatt hour to their utility company if they wish to participate in purchasing green power in addition to paying their usual utility bill.

Other people do not have the option of purchasing green power through their utility company, or perhaps they prefer to consider purchasing certified green energy through organizations such as Green-e, Eco Electrons, or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership.

One advantage of purchasing green power and becoming a member of the Green Power Partnership is good publicity for businesses and organizations. For example, the U.S. EPA has just released this year’s top purchasers of renewable energy. According to a publicity email from the EPA, “The top 10 on the list are Intel Corporation, Kohl’s Department Stores, Whole Foods Market, City of Houston, Dell Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Cisco Systems, Inc., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, U.S. Air Force, and the City of Dallas.” It might cost a little more money, but these sustainable businesses and localities are now seen as environmental leaders based on their commitment to green energy use. 

Climategate Scientists Cleared

Seven months ago, the Climategate email scandal broke. Emails that described some statistical methods used with the climate data were made public. To many climate change skeptics, these emails seemed to bring the validity of some climate change research into question and suggest fraudulent or unscientific research methods.

Now an independent review panel has released their findings in this matter to the general public. This 160-page report does not find any problem with the scientists or the data that should cause anyone to question the validity of the climate change research conducted at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, or the data they contributed to reports made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The panel did find that researchers should be more open with the public when they receive requests for information, and they should make it more clear to the general public how they used the data to create various graphic organizers and climate predictions.

Climate change skeptics can no longer legitimately hold onto this scandal as a means to deny climate change.

Record heat waves on the East Coast of the US add to the list of recent extreme weather events that will become more common as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere increase.

Meanwhile, oil is still spilling and cleanup and containment efforts are still going on in the Gulf of Mexico months after an explosion caused oil to start spewing into the water at a rate of 60,000 barrels each day.

Now is not the time to make petty arguments about statistics. Now is the time to find alternatives to the dirty fossil fuels of the past. Investing in energy efficiency, purchasing renewable green power, and conserving conventional energy use are a good way to start turning to clean energy.

Photo via .Martin.

China Leads Global Investment in Green Power

China's booming population and rapid industrialization has been a concern to environmentalists for years as China rapidly put new coal plants online. Currently, China is the world's leading emitter of carbon dioxide, and their demand for energy is increasing. It is very good news for our planet's health that China is now seeking to be a leader in eco-technology and pushing for stringent emissions controls.

Countries such as the United States, Australia, and Japan, which lack a national climate change policy, seem to be lagging behind countries with carbon mandates, such as China, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, in both targets to reduce carbon emissions and investment in green energy. In the U.S., the combination of the recession and the lack of comprehensive climate legislation could be to blame for its fall from first place in the green power investment race.

In terms of actual production of renewable energy, though, the United States is still in first place with 52.2 gigawatts of electricity, which comes from a combination of green power sources. China is catching up with 49.7 gigawatts. Their green power push focuses mainly on wind power. Germany is not far behind the U.S. and China in terms of both investment in and production of green power.

Photo via Robert Thomson 

Bill Gates' last wish: zero CO2 emissions

Will BYD's electric car reduce carbon emissions?

BYD, short for Build Your Dreams, is planning to launch Chinese-built electric cars in the U.S in the later part of 2010.

BYD has a very interesting story. Its founder, Wang Chuan-Fu, was described as a combination of Thomas Edison and Jack Welch by Charlie Munger around the time when Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's legendary company, made an investment in BYD. Wang started BYD in 1995 with $300,000 and set out to manufacture cellphone batteries to compete with Sony and Sanyo. Within 5 years, BYD was the world leader in cellphone batteries. Having known the automotive business very little, Wang entered it in 2003 and started churning out cars that became best sellers in China.

BYD plans to introduce an electric plug-in called e6 into the US this year. A large part of the plug-in's success will depend on BYD's lithium-ion ferrous phosphate battery technology. e6 is a five passenger car that can travel upwards of 200 miles on a single charge.

But how helpful will electric cars be in reducing carbon emissions if the electricity required to charge them comes from fossil fuels? Instead of burning gasoline in a car engine, coal or natural gas is burnt in a power plant. The emissions, though less in magnitude, will still be released. But, what if the electricity required to charge the car came from green energy sources instead? Now, that would make a much bigger difference.

A sinking feeling

An interesting article in The Economist says that sea levels are rising twice as fast as previously forecast by United Nations. Four scientists presented these findings in a conference in Copenhagen just two weeks ahead of UN Climate Change Conference scheduled to take place in Bonn.

http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13271832&source=features_box_main