By: Nick Clark
Your questions about electricity and renewable energy are welcome. For more information, contact me on LinkedIn and I will be happy to answer any of your queries. Or telephone me, 403.244.7299, Ext. 200.
If we ever are going to reach a point of true sustainability in Alberta, we need to employ every method available to us. Trust the age-old mantra: Reduce what we use, re-purpose our waste, and ensure that what we do use has the smallest possible impact.
Buying RECs is the easiest way to show that you are green powered or using 100% renewable energy.
We believe this is an important environmental commitment because these dollars are recycled by power generators to help support their next investment in renewable projects. At Green Alberta Energy, we understand that we all want a greener future, but that in tough economic times, our investment in tomorrow needs to make sense today.
This is the reason we made RECs affordable for residential and small business consumers in Alberta.
A REC (pronounced: rěk) represents the qualities of renewable electricity generation and is sold separately from the underlying physical electricity that consumers pull off the grid and use in their homes or business. Green electricity isn’t a product that is specifically delivered to your home or business but it is important to understand how the off-set process works and how you can participate in helping to green the grid. Buying a REC is one step—and an important step—in the right direction.
This is important: If the physical electricity and the associated RECs are sold to separate buyers, the electricity is no longer considered "renewable" or "green."
Actually, the REC product is what conveys the attributes and benefits of the renewable electricity, not the electricity itself. This prevents the double counting. As RECs are sold they are tracked, audited and retired to ensure that they are only sold once. And within our monitoring system, we tag it to the consumers’ actual consumption corresponding to the REC purchased and retired.
The source of production of the green energy is detailed in the tab labelled Projects and Sources specification sheet. You get a full explanation by clicking here. You can also try calculating your own green energy here.
Look for the ECOLOGO certificate pictured below. If a retailer doesn’t display this guarantee, we recommend that you shop elsewhere. Green Alberta Energy has been licenced by UL and is proud to display the certification on the energy we are selling our customers.
The Grid: Once electricity is put on the grid from the various generators in our province (coal, gas, co-gen, wind, biomass, solar and hydro), all the electrons are the same — zipping around on the grid. We want to remind you that electrons from clean sources can’t be directed straight to your home. What’s important is how these electrons are created: This is something you can influence by purchasing RECs and offsetting the electricity you are consuming.
The Big Picture for Renewable Energy Developers: RECs provide an additional income stream that can help make a green project viable or more competitive with conventional fossil fuel generators. It allows them to capture the added value in producing energy in a sustainable way. Further, the robust voluntary REC market demonstrates broad support and demand for renewable energy.
Green Offsets: Supporting the purchase of Green REC Offsets is available to everyone. Here are three leaders in the field:
Killing the Myth: If it’s green, it must be expensive. Here is the important part of what we are offering and why we are different: RECs are affordable. The program we are offering is different than Bullfrog or Chirp: We are encouraging consumers to green only what you can afford. You do not have to buy blocks of green offsets 15, 50 or 100. Now you can actually select exactly how much of your electricity consumed that you actually want to green. There are no extra administration fees – and no cancellation fees. Any percentage is ok, and if thousands of people do this, collectively, we will make a difference.
Use this calculator provided by Green Alberta Energy to show you how affordable it really is.
Here’s an example calculated for you. OK, let’s say you wanted to green just green 25% of your monthly consumption. For the average home owner, this would cost just 8 cents per day. You do not need to pay 15 or 20 dollars per month: We have made the concept totally flexible and retailers supporting the program have even lowered their energy rates to help you minimize the impact on your monthly bill. It truly is a win-win and an affordable option.
If we ever are going to reach a point of true sustainability in Alberta, we need to employ every method available to us. Trust the age-old mantra: Reduce what we use, re-purpose our waste, and ensure that what we do use has the smallest possible impact.
Introducing the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC)
The voluntary purchase of green power increased in popularity across North America during the past decade. To help distinguish sustainable energy from such forms as natural gas or coal, the REC was created as a symbol of sustainable energy – clean energy. This certificate—also used to describe “green off-sets” –helps to reduce the amount of energy needed from traditional sources. It is that simple.Buying RECs is the easiest way to show that you are green powered or using 100% renewable energy.
We believe this is an important environmental commitment because these dollars are recycled by power generators to help support their next investment in renewable projects. At Green Alberta Energy, we understand that we all want a greener future, but that in tough economic times, our investment in tomorrow needs to make sense today.
This is the reason we made RECs affordable for residential and small business consumers in Alberta.
A REC (pronounced: rěk) represents the qualities of renewable electricity generation and is sold separately from the underlying physical electricity that consumers pull off the grid and use in their homes or business. Green electricity isn’t a product that is specifically delivered to your home or business but it is important to understand how the off-set process works and how you can participate in helping to green the grid. Buying a REC is one step—and an important step—in the right direction.
The difference between fossil fuel and green electricity
As renewable generators produce electricity, they create one REC for every 1000 kilowatt-hours (or 1 megawatt-hour) of electricity placed on the grid.This is important: If the physical electricity and the associated RECs are sold to separate buyers, the electricity is no longer considered "renewable" or "green."
Actually, the REC product is what conveys the attributes and benefits of the renewable electricity, not the electricity itself. This prevents the double counting. As RECs are sold they are tracked, audited and retired to ensure that they are only sold once. And within our monitoring system, we tag it to the consumers’ actual consumption corresponding to the REC purchased and retired.
The source of production of the green energy is detailed in the tab labelled Projects and Sources specification sheet. You get a full explanation by clicking here. You can also try calculating your own green energy here.
The official logo guarantees green power
Don’t be fooled by retailers who say you are buying green because they have invested into a community solar farm or wind generation. Let’s be clear: If the generator is selling RECs to help finance his green generation investment, you want to make sure you are only buying the REC, if it is certified and audited.Look for the ECOLOGO certificate pictured below. If a retailer doesn’t display this guarantee, we recommend that you shop elsewhere. Green Alberta Energy has been licenced by UL and is proud to display the certification on the energy we are selling our customers.
The Grid: Once electricity is put on the grid from the various generators in our province (coal, gas, co-gen, wind, biomass, solar and hydro), all the electrons are the same — zipping around on the grid. We want to remind you that electrons from clean sources can’t be directed straight to your home. What’s important is how these electrons are created: This is something you can influence by purchasing RECs and offsetting the electricity you are consuming.
The Big Picture for Renewable Energy Developers: RECs provide an additional income stream that can help make a green project viable or more competitive with conventional fossil fuel generators. It allows them to capture the added value in producing energy in a sustainable way. Further, the robust voluntary REC market demonstrates broad support and demand for renewable energy.
"Killing the Myth: If it’s green, it must be expensive."
Green Offsets: Supporting the purchase of Green REC Offsets is available to everyone. Here are three leaders in the field:
- Bullfrog Power from Ontario, an industry pioneer, that launched a successful program a decade ago;
- Bow Valley Power, a leader here in Alberta;
- EPCOR, a 2015 entrant that introduced the Chirp program to promote RECs.
Killing the Myth: If it’s green, it must be expensive. Here is the important part of what we are offering and why we are different: RECs are affordable. The program we are offering is different than Bullfrog or Chirp: We are encouraging consumers to green only what you can afford. You do not have to buy blocks of green offsets 15, 50 or 100. Now you can actually select exactly how much of your electricity consumed that you actually want to green. There are no extra administration fees – and no cancellation fees. Any percentage is ok, and if thousands of people do this, collectively, we will make a difference.
Use this calculator provided by Green Alberta Energy to show you how affordable it really is.
Here’s an example calculated for you. OK, let’s say you wanted to green just green 25% of your monthly consumption. For the average home owner, this would cost just 8 cents per day. You do not need to pay 15 or 20 dollars per month: We have made the concept totally flexible and retailers supporting the program have even lowered their energy rates to help you minimize the impact on your monthly bill. It truly is a win-win and an affordable option.