The sun was elusive and a chilly breeze kept folks bundled up, but it didn’t stop inquisitive strollers at Birmingham’s Pepper Place farmer’s market on Saturday from stopping by the Greener State tent to learn about options for greening their energy mix.
Nearly 2,000 Alabama Power customers are enrolled in Alabama Power’s Greener State, which provides an economical way to support renewable energy. With people across the globe today commemorating Earth Day, Alabama Power customers can support renewables through the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs.
Customers who purchase RECs can match their electrical usage with renewable energy and claim ownership of a specific amount of renewable energy going to the Alabama Power grid. Customers can choose among three pre-built plans or create their own custom plan.
The three pre-built plans — named Leaf, Tree and Forest — match customers with different amounts and types of renewable energy. For example, customers who enroll in the Forest plan for $15 a month for a year get 12,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy generated from Alabama sources – an amount roughly equal to the energy used in a month by a typical Alabama home. Customers also can build a customized plan and purchase enough renewable energy to match their individual usage or more. The cost of the plan is in addition to a customer’s normal power bill.
Greener State is also available to commercial customers and small businesses.
Throughout Saturday morning’s farmer’s market, shoppers paused at the Greener State tent to learn more about the program and sign up for more information. They also learned about some of the renewable energy projects in the state.
In 2017 Alabama Power completed construction of two solar energy projects at Army bases in Alabama, at Fort Rucker and Anniston Army Depot. The energy and RECs from the project are being used to serve Greener State customers.
Also, in 2017, one of the largest solar facilities in the state began operating in LaFayette, in Chambers County, in partnership with Alabama Power. Called the AL Solar A project, most of the energy and RECs from that facility are going to serve Walmart within Alabama Power’s service territory. The remaining RECs are being sold to Greener State customers and other interested in supporting solar energy. The project was featured last year in Parade magazine online as part of its Earth Day edition.
Learn more about Greener State and options for Alabama Power customers to support renewables at www.greenerstate.com.
(Courtesy of Alabama NewsCenter)
