Switch to renewable energy, for FREE

[Jude Iam]

i haven't signed up - not my decision. sure looks great! let us know your take on this. best, jude

Switch to renewable energy, for FREE


Arcadia Power just released a nationwide option so you can use clean energy for free instead of fossil fuels.

It takes about 3 minutes to link up your account online and start using renewable instead of fossil fuel energy.
They are even giving ZME readers 4 free energy-saving LEDs if you sign up by September 30th.

Arcadia's free option is available with nearly all major utilities in the US.

[Dixon]

i haven't signed up - not my decision. sure looks great! let us know your take on this. best, jude

Switch to renewable energy, for FREE

Arcadia Power just released a nationwide option so you can use clean energy for free instead of fossil fuels.

It takes about 3 minutes to link up your account online and start using renewable instead of fossil fuel energy.
...

Since this sounds a bit too good to be true, and I couldn't figure out how they could possibly switch your energy over to green energy without installing solar panels on your house or actually changing your energy provider, I took a few minutes to do a little research on this. Here are some relevant excerpts from one helpful article:

"...they are not actually selling you electricity. They are essentially just taking over billing responsibility and charging you a premium for the same electricity you are already buying. That’s right – they just add 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour (about 15%) to your regular electric bill, collect the money from you, and pay your regular utility company...

"So are you really buying green electricity? The answer is yes and no. What they are doing is buying/producing electricity from wind farms and selling that electricity to utility companies on the electric grid. Utility companies are willing to buy this electricity for a variety of reasons, some of which are financial, and some are regulatory. That doesn’t mean they are selling the electricity to your utility company, however. The idea here is that your electricity use is offset by renewable energy that is pumped into the electric grid. Your home will still be powered by the same predominantly natural gas, nuclear, and coal fuel mix...

"What you are doing with this service is buying Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), which is a commodity that certifies that a unit of electricity was produced with renewable energy sources. These RECs are bought and sold on the market to allow utility companies and others to meet Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)...

"Arcadia Power has wrapped up the sale of RECs in a neat little package that simplifies REC purchases for consumers. For those that truly want to contribute in this way, they provide a suitable method to do so, even if you live in an apartment or condo where you can’t install your own solar energy equipment. You will not save money (your electricity will cost about 15% more). You will not be “running on solar energy” in reality. You will not be buying actual renewable energy for your home, and you will continue to use the same utility company.

"One of the stated features of this service is that you don’t have to install anything on your home to benefit from renewable energy. This is pretty slick marketing, but an apples to oranges comparison with installing distributed solar energy or other renewable energy products at your home. If you really want to benefit in a financial sense and make a bigger impact on the environment, it is unquestionably better to install your own system. But if you can’t because of where you live, or you just want to make a small contribution on a monthly basis, this product might be good for you.

"You can think of this as a voluntary tax or sorts that goes to a specific cause. It’s like planting a tree if you drive a gas guzzler. It’s not a bad idea, but make sure you know exactly what you are buying before committing to this program. You may find that your money is better spent installing your own solar energy system and reaping more than just a clear conscience."

Dixon again: Since the article from which I drew those excerpts was written, Arcadia has started offering their services free in some areas. I checked my zip code (94931) on their website and found that they will give their services for half of my electricity free of charge, but to get their full services it'll cost the 1.5¢ per kWh premium for the other half.

So, it sounds like Arcadia's service could be of some value, but they're not as marvelous as they sound in the hype (surprise, surprise). I hope this info is of some value.

Here's the link for the quotes I excerpted above:
https://floridasolardesigngroup.com/...arcadia-power/

[Jude Iam]

thanks for delving into this a bit, dixon. my take-away is that it's more good than bad or neutral, particularly if one incurs no additional cost, though the RECs - like carbon tax - are kind of a regulatory game that doesn't result in actual improvement of environmental realities... or what? damn complex world. going to sit by a creek for a bit. jude

[KWinter]

Why not Sonoma Clean Power -- Evergreen if you want 100% renewables -- and keep the $$ in SoCo?

[Shandi]

Dixon, Thank you for digging in to this. It seemed too good to be true. Slick marketing with "free" in the intro can hook many of us. But most of us know that there's hidden details. No company can afford to give much of anything free, without getting something for it. I appreciate the time you took to educate us!