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Almost every state offers incentives for various alternative energy purchases or conservation actions taken by local citizens. This is to reduce the need to build new energy generating plants that use polluting energies such as coal, natural gas or oil. Incentives are sometimes tax deductions on purchases that will benefit the community as well as the consumer. For example, the Federal tax credit for purchasing an alternative fuel or hybrid vehicle.
Rebates are "after the fact" reinbursement of expenditures on fuel or energy efficient equipment, etc.
Incentives usually have a short lifespan...and are implemented to encourage people to take early action. Once a regulation goes into effect requiring the energy conservation measure -- incentives are usually ended.
It pays to invest early! You can save with incentives and rebates.
- Use compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescent...but turn them off more and use light from your windows. Or...go outside for reading or playing -- sunlight is healthier than indoors!
- Use the microwave to cook small meals instead of your range that is sized for large meals!
- Buy energy efficient appliances when you replace old ones. Buying the right equipment makes using LESS so much easier every time you use the appliance.
Some states, such as California, are working hard to get smoking vehicles off the road -- from cars to pickups to big rigs.
In California you can report smoking vehicles and suspected air pollution violations by calling 800-CUT-SMOG.
Let's be careful out there, folks. Let's maintain our vehicles and protect our communities at the same time!
Anther benefit of maintaining your vehicles is gas savings!!! And that's a very nice alternative in the pocket!
for growth in renewable energy supply.
In 2007, total utility green power sales exceeded 4.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), about a 20% increase over 2006. Approximately 600,000 customers are participating in utility customer choice programs nationwide.
Green Power Marketing Industry
Utility green pricing programs are one segment of a larger green power marketing industry that counts Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and colleges and universities among its customers, and helps support more than 3,000 MW of new renewable electricity generation capacity.Green Marketing Tips
NREL analysts attribute the success of many programs to persistence in marketing and creative marketing strategies, including in some cases, utility partnerships with independent green power marketers. In addition, the rate premium that customers pay for green power continues to drop.NREL performs analyses of green power market trends and is funded by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle.
Pricing programs give consumers clean power choices
April 22, 2008 -- The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) annual ranking of leading utility green power programs provides insights into how consumers change their power-use behaviors.Under these voluntary programs, consumers can choose to help support additional electricity production from renewable resources such as solar and wind. More than 800 utilities across the United States offer these programs.
Using information provided by utilities, NREL develops a Top 10 ranking of utility programs in the following categories:
- total sales of renewable energy to program participants
- total number of customer participants
- customer participation rate, green power sales as a percentage of
- total utility retail electricity sales
- the lowest price premium charged for a green power program using new renewable resources.
