GREEN POWER: BUYERS BEWARE

... given their eagerness for environmental bragging rights, many of the power companies are strangely reluctant to explain with specificity how extra payments from consumers produce green energy that would not be generated otherwise. A recent investigation found that a good portion of money is actually going toward marketing:

• Georgia Power's Green Energy program services 4,042 customers, but the company charges a premium even though green energy is actually cheaper than conventional alternatives.
• In Indiana, Duke Energy sponsors the Go Green program that could provide green energy to 1,156 customers, but in 2007, less than 18 percent of voluntary consumer contributions went to renewable energy development.
• Companies like Dominion in North Carolina provide the NC GreenPower program to over 14,000 customers, yet only 19 percent of program spending in 2007 was directed to renewable energy projects. [more, snip]

Moreover, buying gas-powered electricity from, say a landfill, does not appear to achieve any additional environmental benefit. The renewable gas-from-trash is now actually less expensive than conventional sources like coal, adds BusinessWeek.

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