Renewable energy
Our final strategy involves increasing the amount of renewable sources of energy we purchase. Our options include directly purchasing clean electricity from a supplier, investing in local renewable energy projects (such as solar panels or wind turbines), purchasing RECs or carbon-offset credits.As we consider purchases of renewable electricity, several criteria should be established to assist in judging our alternatives including: percentage of renewable power, reliability, product choice, and social responsibility. In addition to removing our emissions profile renewable electricity often can provide the benefit of increased price instability.
A renewable energy certificate (REC) represents the environmental attributes of electricity generated from a renewable source. The purchase of RECs promotes the demand for renewable energy and the installation of new facilities. A carbon offset is the act of reducing or avoiding greenhouse gas emissions in one place in order to "offset" emissions in another place. Carbon offsets can be sold as commodities, and are intended to take advantage of the radically different costs and practicalities of achieving greenhouse gas emissions in different locations.
The current markets for RECs and carbon offsets are mainly voluntary and unregulated. Some legitimate greenhouse gas reductions can result from these markets at current relatively low prices. However, it is expected that those prices will almost certainly increase, as the market becomes more critical about the products offered and demand increases. While participating in the REC and carbon offset market is an important component of our proposed strategies, we need to exercise caution and establish rigorous purchasing criteria as we enter into this field.