from Earth Ethics Action Team

By choosing ‘clean’ or ‘green’ energy, we direct our money away from fossil fuel energy sources, accelerating the industry’s decline, and toward environmentally responsible energy sources, accelerating their rise toward the majority (and eventually 100%) sources of electricity and heat in America. Choosing clean energy helps decrease air pollution, which has a lot of positive knock on effects (decreased asthma, increased health, more pleasant outdoor experiences, etc.).  

There are two sides to purchasing electricity — the distributor and the supplier. These two can be the same company and likely are, unless your household has done work to change the supplier — such as by choosing clean energy. If you do so, your bill will be split into two parts (on the same bill). PepCo, BG&E, or Potomac Energy will be paid as the distributor and your supplier will be paid for generating the electricity.

The Montgomery County Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions recommends the following two Green-e certified, Better Business Bureau rated A+ wind suppliers:

AEP Energy — AEP Energy is a large, multi-state utility offering 100% wind power at a fixed price: 7.79 cents/kWh (current as of writing this blog post). They offer a 12 month contract which can be cancelled without penalty at any time. If you choose to purchase from AEP, be sure to select the plan with the wind turbine symbol.https://enroll.aepenergy.com/acquisition/zipcode

Groundswell/WGL Energy Services — Groundswell is a local, renewable energy non-profit with a supply agreement with WGL Energy Services, an affiliate of Washington Gas Light. They offer 12 and 24 month contracts at a fixed price (8.60 cents/kWh) and have a cancellation penalty of 10$/month still left on the contract.https://one.wglenergy.com/cmp/groundswell/

Community Solar — In addition to or in place of switching suppliers, joining a community solar program supports the development of solar generation in Maryland. You subscribe to a community solar program, the program generates solar energy and distributes it to the grid, and then the utility company provides credits on your energy bill equal to the portion of the program your subscription equals. This isn’t a discount, simply changing who gets the money from a portion of your utility bill and therefore which type of fuel you support.

Solar United Neighbors of Maryland maintains a list of current and future community solar projects, in MD, DC, and several other states, plus other information at https://cs.solarunitedneighbors.org/.

You can also go directly to Neighborhood Sun and CleanChoice Energy, the two groups most likely found in our area through Solar United Neighbors.

If you’d like to learn more about EEAT, contact Rich Reis at rich.reis1@gmail.com