A Greener House

by Alysa Sullivan, March 14, 2007

It’s March. Vermonters, in their infinite wisdom, refer to it simply as mud season. It’s hot, it’s cold, it’s winter, it’s spring. My head spins with the comings and goings of the weather. I am never so cold as I am during this dreary month. My brain and body are ready for Spring, for warmth and sunshine but March is dead set on confusing me even further. I am, simply put, bothered.

Being generally bothered is not conducive to shopping. It’s too early to buy spring clothes, any shoes I dare to buy now would get ruined right quick and even household items don’t tempt me at this point in the year. But, I have been shopping as of late, it’s just not been in any stores.

I have been “greening” my household for a long while now, we recycle religiously, we use as many CFL bulbs (http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls) as I can stand, we eat local and organic foods, the house is insulated to the hilt, I clean with non- chemical household cleaners, I never let the car idle, and on and on. However, I have not been able to figure out how to lower the carbon footprint of my house. The only renewable energy source that my house is a good candidate for is geothermal, and well, that is just not in the budget at the moment. I know that I can purchase renewable energy for my home usage but I have put that off because it was so darned confusing to me.

A few years back, New York State deregulated the electricity/natural gas utilities. Consumers in New York can now choose to buy their electricity and or natural gas thru their utility or another supplier. Central Hudson, in my case, will continue to deliver my electricity and respond to emergencies or power outages but, I can opt to purchase kilowatts from another source.

John Maserjian, Central Hudson’s spokesman (845 452-2700) walked me through the maze of information and broke it all down for me in a very user friendly fashion. Let me try to pass this on to you so that when you find yourself in the market for renewable energy supply it won’t be such a daunting task.

All energy producers be they nuclear, coal, hydro, biomass, wind or solar, sell their energy into the wholesale market. The utilities, such as Central Hudson, buy their energy from this market. The majority of the energy comes from coal, nuclear and gas sources. However, if the consumer, corporate client or utility wants to support the growth of renewable energy sources they can do one of two things.

Renewable Energy Certificates (REC’s) can be purchased by the consumer or utility as a way to support renewable energy. REC’s, also known as Green Tags, are a wonderful way to support existing or help fund new facilities that are producing solar, hydro or wind energy. Think of it as a monthly investment that the consumer contributes toward clean energy. Buying REC’s will not lower your utility bill nor will it mean that the power coming into your home is clean, but what it does mean is that you are encouraging and actively supporting the growth of clean energy providers. Think of it as carbon offset for your home.

To find out a listing of providers go to: http://www.energyguide.com/finder/nyfinder.asp?referrerid=209&sid=481

Enter your zip code then look for companies with a green check mark. Double clicking on the check mark will open up a window with that companies environmental disclosure statement (the breakdown of energy sources).
Know your annual usage for the last year or two (call your utility for this info) before you call around, then the companies can help you figure out a program that works for you.

If you want to insure that the electricity coming into your house is at least a slight shade of green you can choose to buy energy directly from an independent energy marketer with more renewable energy portfolio. You would be involved with two companies in this case, the supplier ( your choice) and the delivery utility (your utility company). As long as the energy marketer has a billing agreement with your service provider all of your energy costs will appear on one bill. Your utility will deliver the energy at a fixed rate, however, the energy suppliers are not regulated so you must read the fine print very carefully.

Central Hudson provides a comprehensive list of alternate energy suppliers at:
http://inet.cenhud.com/retailchoice/marketers/emarketer.asp
It is up to the consumer to contact each supplier to check on rates and breakdown of energy sources.

I called five of the suppliers on the list. Four of them supplied energy from conventional sources. Energy Services Providers, Inc from Troy NY( http://www.yesespi.com) is announcing a new program in which over 51% of their energy will be sourced from renewable resources. They expect to launch the program in the next month or so, and have just completed a billing agreement with Central Hudson. I will be checking back with them after the launch for the full disclosure statement.

It is worth noting that CH Energy Group, Central Hudson's parent company, has invested in renewable energy facilities through an independent subsidiary, by way of involvement with two wind projects in Pennsylvania and New Jersey , an ethanol facility and a biomass plant in upstate New York, they are also fueling thier trucks with a biodeisel blend.

We in the Hudson Valley may not yet be able to buy green energy from our utilities but if more of us invest in REC's or switch to providers with greener sources, we can make a big difference in how green our valley can be.