Have you been hearing from "green" electricity suppliers like CleanChoice Energy? You might want to support renewable energy, but are skeptical if your money will actually go toward shifting our electricity away from fossil fuels.

This is a valid concern, and (because of our awesome Green Powered electricity program) one we hear often. That's why we address it pretty regularly on our blog.

Here's a quick summary of how NOT to get greenwashed.

When you buy green electricity, you want this to happen.

But guess what? It doesn't always.

You can buy renewable energy to line someone's pockets, or you can buy renewable energy to help build more of it. How do you tell the difference?

In Massachusetts and Rhode Island, laws require that utilities and suppliers buy an increasing amount of local "Class 1" or "new" renewable energy on our behalf. This creates an incentive to build renewable generators in New England, and by voluntarily choosing to buy Class 1 yourself (or if you live in a community that has enacted Green Municipal Aggregation), you're driving up demand.

With this information you have the power to determine if a supplier is greenwashing you or not. Do they restrict their offerings to Class 1 or "new" renewable energy? If the answer is no, then the energy probably came from projects outside of New England that didn't need your money in order to make the project viable in the first place — which means you're doing nothing to help shut down fossil fuel plants in our region, or anywhere else.

If your interest is piqued, go more in depth on our blog:

Take charge of where your energy comes from, and don't get greenwashed!