by Ethan Johnson
May 28, 2006

I have been wanting to dump our current electric company for some time now. Their customer service people have been rude to us, the costs are spiraling up, and I was really put out to learn that nearly 40% of their power comes from coal, let alone what the other 60% comes from. I wanted to switch to a "green" company. but so far, that search has been fruitless. Here is what I have learned about "green" energy in Texas.

I was initially won over by Green Mountain's claims of offering "100% wind" and other "green" alternatives. TXU claims to sell "green" power but it tends to be about 10% "green" to 90% "the usual". Green Mountain looked like a shoo-in, and then I did a little more digging. Check out what the Austin Chronicle said about Green Mountain:

In June, Austin-based Green Mountain Energy Company – self-described as "one of the nation's largest retail providers of cleaner electricity products," generated from sources such as wind, solar, water, biomass, and natural gas – announced the crosstown relocation of its headquarters from aquifer-sensitive west Austin to an award-winning green office tower downtown, in anticipation of growth and expansion. By the time the move was complete, however, the energy provider had discontinued servicing about 480,000 customers in Ohio and Pennsylvania, laid off 15% of its workforce, and found itself facing suit in federal court. Green Mountain blames regulatory and market obstacles for its woes, but its critics cite an over-reliance on natural gas and a lack of investment in the very clean energy sources the company has made its trademark.

It gets worse. Read the whole thing.

Here is what I don't get. There is no shortage of wind (especially solar wind, but I don't know that one begets the other) and Sun. Especially Sun, here in Texas. One goal that I have is to introduce solar into our home gradually, such as solar-powered attic fans. Think about it: Why not power our attic fans (cooling our home) with the reason why we need them? Hello!

So if solar and wind are plentiful commodities here in Texas, why can't us regular Joes switch over to true 100% "green" energy?

One cynic long ago claimed that commercial solar power was never going to be viable until someone figured out a way to charge us for the Sun. That model appears to be a reality now. Get enough fans or solar panels lined up and you should be keeping the lights on for a quite a few people, no? Especially if wind/solar for the individual is too costly to be worth the investment. (Or your HOA has rules against it.)

In the case of Green Mountain, they seem to be mired in the same circumstances as the Cult Awareness Network. Scientologists filled the ranks at the CAN in such a way as to render the outfit useless. (The Church of Scientology bought the CAN outright in 1996.) Same with Green Mountain. They have quite a few ties to BP/Amoco and the Wyly brothers - big supporters of noted failed oil man George W. Bush. You might have heard of him.

Small wonder, then, that Green Mountain has been accused of passing off natural gas as "green" energy. Compared to coal, yes, I suppose, but compared to wind and solar? Uh, no.

I have been frantically trying to find an alternative power provider but have really struck out. What seems to be passing for "green" energy (with a huge feel-good component to it) has been the idea of buying "certificates" for "green" energy. Here is an example of how this works, as told on the Clean and Green web site:

Green-e Disclosure Statement pertaining to Clean and Green Renewable Energy Credits (RECs):
As a Clean and Green member, renewable energy credits will be purchased in your name. The purchase of renewable certificates is supporting renewable electricity production in the USA. You will continue to receive a separate electricity bill from your utility.

For every unit of renewable electricity generated, an equivalent amount of renewable certificates are produced. The purchase of renewable certificates helps offset conventional electricity generation in the region where the renewable generator is located. The purchase also helps build a market for renewable electricity and may have other local and global environmental benefits such as reducing global climate change and regional air pollution. For more information about renewable certificates, please visit www.green-e.org.

Simply put, we pay extra for the investment in "green" infrastructure somewhere, and we may never actually receive any of the energy we are paying for. But we can feel good that someone got the benefit of it, right?

The problem is, I want to a) reduce my energy bills (and get away from my current provider), and b) switch over to 100% "green" energy. These "certificate" programs, while well-intentioned, accomplish neither of those objectives. That's a tough sell to ask for "something extra" for possible long-term results when in the near-term, we're groaning under high energy costs. Solar and wind cannot be that costly to produce. Not like coal. Can it?

Things are looking pretty grim on the commercial front in Texas. The Texas Power Score Card lists 14 plans that serve my area. They rate as follows:

1 excellent
1 poor
12 unacceptable

The 1 "excellent" provider? Green Mountain, which seems to be based on the claim, not the proof, that they offer a plan that serves up 100% wind power. Pardon my skepticism.

Anyone have any "green" power insights they'd like to share? <EM>