There's no place like a green home

Just like three heel clicks did the trick for Dorothy, three clicks of the mouse will help New Yorkers looking to make an easy switch to renewable energy use.

Tue, Dec 01 2009 at 10:22 AM

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Wind Power

Ah, New York ... the city where everything is so convenient yet so out of reach; the city where it takes minimal effort to buy a gallon of organic chocolate milk and a falafel sandwich at 3 am yet where it’s seemingly impossible to find the time to sit down and fiddle with the utility bills.

Well, help has arrived when it comes to purchasing renewable energy for humble NYC abodes (and small businesses) in the form of Green Power NYC, a joint effort between the NRDC and the Alliance for Clean Energy NYC. New Yorkers crave speed and optimum accessibility, which is what makes Green Power NYC such a boon for New Yorkers wanting to make the switch to clean energy but lacking a couple of hours to mull over options and sit on the phone with the utility company.

Here’s how the three-clicks-and-you’re-done program works: once at the just-launched Green Power NYC homepage, you choose which kind of green power technology you’d like to purchase (wind or a wind/hydro blend); next you pick which type of wind or wind/hydro blend you want (there’s price/payment differences); finally, you fill out a brief application and voila … you’ve subscribed to clean, renewable energy and reduced your dependence on polluting fossil fuels.

Before signing up, remember that subscribing to clean energy will cost you a small premium — in the range of 1 cent to 2.5 cents additional per KWh of electricity used depending on which plan you choose — and that electricity generated from example, a wind turbine, doesn’t bypass the grid and come directly into your home or apartment. What you’re purchasing are renewable energy credits (RECS), environmental commodities that support the creation of renewable energy while allowing you to maintain a relationship with the utility company, in this case, Con Edison. And yep, renters can participate in the program as long as they pay for their own electricity.

According to Green Power NYC, by subscribing to wind or green power (a wind/hydro blend), the average New Yorker will be tapping into an annual environmental benefit equivalent to planting two acres of trees or not driving 6,200 miles. Remember, that the holidays are on the horizon making it an ideal time to treat yourself and the planet to renewable energy ... the gift that really does keep on giving.

Photo: Betty Blade

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