They just sent me my annual statement for 2016. Turns out that this clean power costs me only an extra nickel a day.
In 2016, I used a total of 2,378 kWh -- an average of 198 kWh per month. (The average residential use is 901 kWh/month.) Total cost = $408. To make it green, I paid an extra $19.01, which works out to $0.008/kWh -- an extra 4.9%. Or $0.052 per day.
A nickel a day. $1.59 per month. Which I can easily afford. Who couldn't?
PGE said my purchase of green electricity saved 3,755 lbs of CO2 emissions -- 1.71 metric tons, when the average US per capita emissions is now 16.9 tonnes.
And that this was equivalent to not driving 4,190 miles. (So they're assuming 0.41 kg of CO2 emitted per mile.)
I drove 6,743 miles in 2016 (I keep track for tax purposes, and also personal interest). Avg = 27 mpg. Much of it up to Portland for lacrosse games, volleyball games, soccer games and swim meets. Hey, I'm a great uncle.
I'm also now buying green offsets for my natural gas usage, but I don't have much data yet to report.
Respectfully think you need to correct or at least explain several of your statements .. "Awhile back I subscribed to my electricity provider's -- Portland General Electric -- Green Source Program, where the electricity I receive is 100% renewable.
ReplyDeleteWhen you enrolled in 'Green Source,' you are really purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs). You may or may NOT be actually using renewable energy. And if you ARE just getting 'renewable energy,' then it means some other PGE customer is going to get more of the 'basic service mix' of: 13.75% Wind, 27.01% Coal,
0% Nuclear, 0% Waste, 31.34% Natural Gas, 26.69% Hydroelectric, 0.98% Biomass, 0.19% Solar and 0.04% Other.
And, while I can agree that it is only costing YOU pennies extra, how much in additional costs are taxpayers subsidizing, to save you that $$? What is the 'real' costs to add these 'new' renewables.
PGE indicates that there 'renewables' mix include 74% wind and 21% solar; so that 95% of their 2017 renewable mix is NOT reliable, without a dependence on 'other' reliable sources. (https://www.portlandgeneral.com/-/media/public/shared/documents/green-e-green-source-ptc.pdf?la=en)
Thanks
Unknown: PGE says, about their Green Source program:
ReplyDelete"PGE has bought or plans to buy power or unique claims on the electricity produced from these types of power plants."
https://www.portlandgeneral.com/residential/power-choices/renewable-power/green-source
I don't know exactly how PGE supplies this green energy, and you provided no evidence to back up your claims either.
I'm making sure my electricity footprint is green. I can't control what others do in response to that, but other PGE customers can do the same, and, as I showed, at very little cost.