US Consumers Increasingly Choose Green Power
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO 
on 07.31.06
Throughout the United States, more and more utility customers are choosing to purchase green power, even though it comes at a premium. An AP article in Sunday's Washington Post focuses on Minnesota, and notes that 30% more of the state's residents this year are willing to pay extra for electricity that comes from renewable sources:
Since 2001, Minnesota's utilities have been required to offer customers the green pricing option.Minnesota isn't the only US state seeing such an uptick in consumer purchase of green power: nationwide, 20% more customers are taking advantage of green power options if they're available. Thirty-six states offer green pricing. ::Washington PostCustomers check a form to offset a certain percentage of their energy in renewable energy - primarily wind. While the green energy isn't necessarily delivered directly to the customer, the utilities generate an amount of renewable energy equal to the purchase.
In Minnesota, which ranks fourth in the country in wind energy, participation in green pricing varies.
More than 700 customers in Moorhead, for instance, pay higher bills to get power from two 180-foot wind turbines in the city. That's more than 5 percent of the utilities' 14,000 customers - the highest percentage in the state.
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Does anyone know if PG&E offers green electricity options on California? My friend was asking me, but I now live in DC (where I buy 100% wind energy from Pepco Energy Services) but I'm not up-to-date on California offerings. I know some local utilities, such as the one in Palo Alto do offer green power, but wasn't sure about PG&E.
Check this site to see if you can get green power in your area.
What could possibly be more patriotic at a time like this than spending a few extra bucks to wean the country off its dependance on foreign oil? Think of the enivornmental impact, the number of our troops' lives saved, as well as civilians in war zones! We don't have to wait for the big companies to make the choice! Each individual American can do so by making this choice and forcing the issue! EXCELLENT!
Interestingly, MN just got rid of the green-pricing mandate as part of the massive renewable energy standard they passed last month. I would expect most utilities to still offer it though - afterall, when you need to provide 25% of your power from renewable sources and you have people willing to pay extra to help you get there, why not take advantage?