Education
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Got Questions? We Have Answers!
Q. What is choose2bgreen and why are you offering it?
A. Our customers have expressed an interest in reducing their global warming impact on on the environment. Green Mountain Power's Choose2BGreen offers customers three programs to do just that:
GreenerGMPYou can choose to purchase energy from certified renewable resources equal to all or just a portion of your monthly use. You can choose renewable resources equal to 25, 50, 75 or 100% of your monthly use. The additional premium for residential customers is currently 4 cents per kilowatt-hour. This charge will be incorporated in your monthly bill.
CoolHomeOffers you the opportunity to offset the carbon dioxide pollution produced by heating an average Vermont home through a partnership with NativeEnergy. Customers who sign up for
CoolHome pay $6 per month to offset 6 tons of CO2 pollution a year. The charge for the CoolHome program can be conveniently billed to your credit card.
CoolDriverWhether you drive a small, medium or large car or truck, you can offset the global warming impact for as little as $3 per month up to $8 a month. Through
CoolDriver you can offset those emissions by helping to build new renewable energy projects. The charge for the
CoolDriver program can be conveniently billed to your credit card.
Q. What sources will the renewable power for GreenerGMP be from?
A. The power meets very high certification requirements and comes from new wind, new hydro, certain biomass, biogas or solar. We will purchase certified renewable Vermont resources. If enough operating Vermont projects are not available to fill the need, the funds will be used to support the development of new Vermont renewable resources.
Q. What is the difference between renewable and non-renewable power?
A. Renewable power is power that is fueled by sources that can replenish themselves naturally, like hydro, wood and solar. Renewable energy does not use up finite sources such as coal and oil.
Q. How can I be sure I get renewable power?
A. Due to the laws of physics, we can't ensure that the exact electrons from a renewable resource go to a customer who requests it. We can ensure that the premium a customer pays for
GreenerGMP means that we will purchase a renewable resource in Vermont equal to the portion the customer designates.
Q. Is Green Mountain Power profiting from these programs?
A. No. Green Mountain Power will not make any additional profit from these programs. We essentially just pass through the additional costs of this power to customers.
Q. How much greener is it than the regular Green Mountain Power power?
A. 100% of the power that you are choosing through
GreenerGMP is from certified new renewable resources. We've listed below the 2007 Green Mountain Power fuel mix for its regular rates, so that you can compare it to the 100% renewable resources through
GreenerGMP.
Fuel mix for Green Mountain Power regular rates:
| Hydro: |
47.5% |
| Wood: |
4.3% |
| Wind: |
0.02% |
| Nuclear: |
37.8% |
| Oil and natural gas: |
1.9% |
| Market power: |
8.5% |
*Renewable Energy Credits (REC) were sold for a portion of the energy generated at GMP's wind facility in Searsburg. Energy associated with the RECs is 0.5% of the total energy in 2007.
Total water, wood, wind: 52%
