Your Questions About Renewable Energy Certificates
Sharon asks…
how exactly does Green-e Certified Renewable Energy Credits work?
how exactly does someone save money by buying these certificates ? does this mean that someone who pays 300 a month on gas can just buy this certificate and then it will go down to $70 a month because you went green?
admin answers:
I don’t think the certificates are designed to save you money. My utility company has a program called greeen energy that cost me about 1/2 of 1%, so about $10 in the summer. They will buy electricity from renewable/clean sources in the amount that the participants in the program use. This helps build the demand for renewable energy and fund new projects. Part of the program also helps with the rebates offered for homes and businesses to install solar systems.
I know you can buy credits to offset travel and a variety of other things, but again I don’t think they are designed to save money. It is a way for people who want to do their part to reduce carbon emissions to help fund programs that will help reduce CO2 in other ways.
Steven asks…
How would you create a non-profit to offer affordable carbon credits to individuals?
Imagine your benevolent great great grandpa has just died and left you a fortune with one directive: use the money to create a non-profit organization that offers AFFORDABLE, SIMPLE carbon credits to the public. They could be easily bought online or through retail (sell a certificate for a pre-set amount). The organization must keep two kinds of purchasers in mind: those buying credits to offset their own use and those offering a carbon offset as a gift or thank you present (example, a couple getting married could offset the carbon of all their guests attending the wedding as a thank you present).
Unfortunately, I don’t have a rich, dead environmentalist in the family. But, I think this could get an interesting conversation started. Be creative – any kind of carbon credit program that’s proven is acceptable or some combination of a variety of programs.
admin answers:
You could invest the money in a variety of renewable enrgy projects and sell the carbon credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange or some other carbon trading market. The offset receipts could be applied towards additional investments in renewable energy, which would generate more offsets for sale, and so on. Given enough returns, those wishing to sell thier offsets to our non-profit could do so at a certain percentage above the market price based on the type of offset as an incentive at the organization’s expense (granted, it would take the hit). Those wanting to buy carbon offsets from our non-profit could do so at market price BUT commission-free as an incentive.
Of course, this is hypothetical. I’m not an economist and I’m not sure if selling credits off the Climate Exchange would constitute market manipulation.
For the record, some of the members of the VOLUNTARY Chicago Climate Exchange include:
Ford Motor Company
DuPont
Sacremento County, CA
Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak Film)
Bayer Corporation
Motorola
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
