What Are the Benefits of Green Power?

For many organizations, conventional electricity use is a significant source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Buying green power can make a real difference environmentally by helping to develop new, domestic renewable energy capacity, which produces electricity with significantly less air pollution and no net increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

Organizations are capturing strategic value through green power purchases. Sometimes, organizations find the total value created from a green power purchase to be greater than its cost. Benefits produced from a green power purchase can include:

• Producing no net increases in (anthropogenic - human caused) greenhouse gas emissions
• Reducing air pollution
• Meeting organizational environmental objectives
• Creating positive publicity and increasing public image
• Displaying civic leadership
• Producing customer, investor, or stakeholder loyalty, and employee pride
• Providing a hedge against future electricity price instability
• Differentiating your organization’s brand in the marketplace
• Stimulating local economies
• Increasing domestic security through a more diverse fuel mix
• Encouraging long-term cost reductions for renewable energy
• Reducing the vulnerability of our nation’s energy infrastructure

-- The Envionmental Protection Agency