Aimee Greeblemonkeys last blog post..Many Random Things Pulled Together Into One Incoherent Post

This is great, because transitioning to renewable energy is the most effective way to reduce our carbon output. There are many carbon offsets available, including planting trees or forcing algae blooms, which help to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, but none are as effective as actually changing where we get our energy from. This is why supporting renewable energy is the way to go.

Just wanted to add another comment, as I have been a Policy Advisor for a renewable energy company for the past year. A key consideration with your purchase of RECs is where they are coming from. There are currently 26 states (www.dsireusa.org) with legally mandated renewable energy targets, which means that the utility companies in these states need to be a certain percentage renewable by a specified date. And to meet this target, the utility companies buy RECs.

So voluntary purchases of RECs, by people like you and me, from these 26 compliance states means that the utility companies need to invest in more renewable energy projects to meet their goal. The voluntary demand is essentially competing with the utilities for a limited number of RECs…which will lead to more renewable energy development, and the creation of more RECs for compliance.

The bottom line goal is to increase the amount of renewable energy flowing into the power grid. And your purchase can ensure this happens. Just choose a company that holds themselves to this standard and only sells RECs from compliance states.