Author Topic: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"  (Read 1127 times)

Civex

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Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« on: August 21, 2021, 05:56:43 PM »
Good Evening!

Just wondering what the consensus was on paying more for electric from your utility provider for it being from a renewable source. Does this actually help ensure renewable energy usage & creation or is it just virtue signaling?

I'd like us to be more green-we've done the basics; ensure good insulation, smart thermostat with reasonable temperature settings, recycle, plant based diet, compost, LED bulbs, and try to purchase energy efficient appliances. I'd love to move to solar or geothermal, but I can't make the finance side make sense-~12 year payback on solar. Our utility allows us to kind of "ear mark" our usage from renewable only sources for a pretty minimal upcharge-$0.003/kWh.

My oil loving father put me on this train of thought-I mentioned being interested in an electric vehicle and he basically poo-poo'd that because most electric is made from coal and it isn't more environmentally friendly. Researched our current electric provider and we are at ~55% coal produced electric, so he isn't completely wrong.

What do you think?

Abe

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2021, 06:25:13 PM »
Your utility is unique in the US if it’s mostly coal-driven energy at this point. It’s right on the borderline of electric car vs gasoline car being cleaner. The way most utilities run their renewable energy plans is agreeing to buy a percentage of electricity from renewable sources over the course of a year to compensate for your usage. This is in effect a subsidy from you towards renewable energy companies. At this point, most sources are cheaper than natural gas or coal, so a subsidy is helpful but probably not necessary. I’d recommend spending that money on more attic insulation and saving towards replacing your HVAC with a heat pump down the road.

MudPuppy

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #2 on: August 21, 2021, 08:53:52 PM »
We’re a large percentage hydroelectric here, but I did purchase a “share” of the solar specific option from our cooperative. It breaks even for us, or slightly saves us money.


*majority nuclear though
« Last Edit: August 21, 2021, 09:14:55 PM by MudPuppy »

RWD

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #3 on: August 21, 2021, 09:02:51 PM »
We're enrolled to pay extra towards renewables. And it is actually going towards that.
https://www.tva.com/newsroom/press-releases/tva-increases-contracted-solar-capacity-by-60-percent

MudPuppy

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2021, 09:07:34 PM »
Yeah, that ^^

bacchi

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2021, 09:16:04 PM »
My utility also purchases solar power and builds solar farms. I "lease" a solar panel from them.

former player

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2021, 02:42:17 AM »
I switched to a supplier that is 100% renewables, although it's something of a fiction because the electricity still comes through the grid.  It's probably not the cheapest on the market but it's still cheaper than our legacy suppliers.

The extra charge in your case seems small and sends a signal to the utility about the direction to go in.


Cranky

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2021, 05:43:36 AM »
We’ve been talking about switching to the Shared Solar program. It is more expensive, but it acts as a subsidy. We’ll get solar panels eventually but have several projects ahead of that.

mspym

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #8 on: August 22, 2021, 03:06:27 PM »
No need to be dismissive of virtue signalling - that is a very direct way to tell companies that this is important to you. This is how you show there is a market.

roomtempmayo

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #9 on: August 22, 2021, 04:37:46 PM »
The extra charge in your case seems small and sends a signal to the utility about the direction to go in.

Our ^ attitude as well.  Our grid is amalgamated from a bunch of sources, so there's no way to know what sort of power we're actually buying, and I'm sure it varies by the day or hour.  We're happy to pay a few extra bucks a month even if it's just sending a message to the utility that people want renewable energy.

@Civex If your breakeven on residential solar is 12 years, you'd be roughly cutting your energy bill in half if you buy a system with a 25 year warranty.

Abe

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #10 on: August 22, 2021, 05:09:56 PM »
Also it’s worth noting that the solar panels is a minimum of how long the panels are expected to produce at least 80-90% of the initial power. In reality they will likely last much longer, and probably will just need to add/replace a few to compensate for this drop. So it’s not like the whole array needs to be scrapped and re-done. Cost effectiveness is thus determine by a combination of how long you will stay at your house, and what (if any) resale value the panels will add to the house. I anticipate a slight benefit for the latter.

For reference on cost: my panels were $25k ($20k after tax credits) and provide about 50%-60% more power than needed for all electricity (including AC) for our 4000 sqft house during Houston’s 90-95F, 40-60% humidity summer. I’d say we’re on the higher end of power usage for new builds nationally (due to location), yet the economics still work out.
« Last Edit: August 22, 2021, 05:12:44 PM by Abe »

gooki

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #11 on: August 24, 2021, 04:28:08 AM »
Agreed. I used a 50 year life span and a 0.5% reduction in electricity produced per year when calculating the benefits of solar

Aethonan

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Re: Subscribing to utility provider's "renewable energy program"
« Reply #12 on: August 25, 2021, 03:14:40 PM »
IMO, it's helpful both for the utility and for the regulator/legislature to see that citizens are voluntarily paying for green energy.  It's been cited as the basis for ramping up renewable legislation in some areas.  So yes, it seems useful!