By Jessica Richardson
Staff Writer

The world is warming up. But with any large-scale issue, the question often is, what can I do about it? N.C. GreenPower says one answer is contributing as little as $4 a month for 100-kilowatt hours of green energy produced right here in North Carolina. How does that put a damper on global warming? Green energy, produced by renewable resources such as solar, wind or biomass, help offset energy produced by coal, a major source of carbon dioxide.

N.C. GreenPower is a nonprofit organization that began in 2003. It is the first of its kind in the nation with the support of all of the electrical utility companies in the state. The green energy program allows anyone who gets electricity to contribute through his/her monthly utility bill. Advanced Energy, an independent nonprofit in Raleigh administers the program.

Jeff Brooks, N.C. GreenPower Marketing and Communications Coordinator said green energy sources are a mix of small producers and largescale. “For solar technology, our incentives are appealing to small producers,” said Brooks. The majority of solar photovoltaic energy producers are individuals who produce enough for their home and some excess energy that is sold back to the grid.

Landfill methane gas can only be produced on a large scale. The Asheville City landfill is the only participating methane source in the program. Hydro electricity from converted mills is another small-scale source.

“With wind, you have a mixture of large and small scale,” said Brooks. “We have a developer looking to build a large scale wind farm.” Currently, the program includes only two small-scale wind producers– one of which is in Clyde.

“North Carolina possesses the best wind resources in the Southeast. The best are along the ridgelines and near the coast,” said Brooks. The challenge in the mountains is the remote location and an aesthetic concern.

“Something to consider is the impact pollution has had on the view shed of the mountains,” said Brooks.

North Carolina’s Ridge Protection Act is another barrier for producing wind in the mountains. “The utility commission has been evaluating it,” said Brooks. “We’re hopeful that we can find some means to make wind more viable in western North Carolina.”

N.C. GreenPower provides additional support to producers of renewable energy. “Under federal law, any energy that is tied to the grid has to be used by the utilities,” said Brooks. The cost of producing renewable energy is more than energy from fossil fuels and what producers receive back from the utility companies is never equal to what they pay to produce the energy, said Brooks. For example, solar photovoltaic, although it saves money in the future, has a lot of upfront costs. “What we do is help bridge the gap between the money they receive and what it actually costs to generate the energy,” said Brooks.

For solar energy producers, individuals pay 9-10 cents a kilowatt and receive about four cents back from the utility company. N.C. GreenPower adds an additional five to six cents. There are also tax incentives that help bring the costs of producing renewable energy down.

“This leads to a dual opportunity,” said Brooks. Some can become producers and others can participate with federally taxdeductible contributions. “Many of us are not in a position where we can install the technology in our homes, but we can all participate in N.C. GreenPower.”

Currently, about 10,000 individuals and businesses participate in N.C. GreenPower and contribute to 21 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy each year. One unit, for $4 a month equals about 1/10 of the energy for average home usage, or about what it takes to run a refrigerator for a month.

That means less of the energy North Carolinians use has to come from coal power, the largest source of energy in the state. “We’re helping to offset fossil fuel sources and pollution that impacts us all. Renewable energy can impact us all positively,” said Brooks. Sixtypercent of North Carolina’s energy comes from coal, which Brooks said is “by far the most obvious polluter to the air.”

Over the course of a year, that $4 a month is equal to planting 190 trees or not driving for 3,000 miles. “It’s an opportunity for all of us to contribute toward a common goal,” said Brooks.

More information is available online at www.ncgreenpower.org, by contacting your local energy provider Duke Energy 1-800-943-7585 or by calling 1-866-533-NCGP.