Sunday, May 13, 2007
THE GOAL
The Maine Public Utilities Commission is looking for 10,000 residents to switch to a renewable electricity provider by Earth Day 2008 (April 22).
HERE'S HOW IT WORKS
Participants go to www.10000carbonfreehomes.com. There they'll find an online calculator to estimate their current carbon dioxide emissions, based in part on the number of people in the home, monthly electric bill and how the home is heated. Then they'll see a handful of conservation measures, such as replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents. These steps will cut energy use and carbon emissions. Below that is the Web site's primary mission: Driving people to switch to a green electricity provider. Listed is information on green power suppliers and renewable energy certificates, which support wind and other projects.
It's hard to miss all the news coverage these days about global climate change. Larisa Ebinger decided last month that she wanted to take some action.
"I was just looking for ways to make a small difference in my own home," she said.
That's when Ebinger stumbled on a Web site recently launched by state government, www.10000carbonfreehomes.com.
This month, she's preparing to switch her standard offer electricity account to one associated with a small hydro dam on the Androscoggin River. The monthly electric bill at her Bowdoinham home will rise a bit, but Ebinger thinks fighting global climate change is worth the extra expense.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission is looking for 9,999 other residents like Larisa Ebinger.
The agency began running media ads last week for a campaign called 10,000 carbon-free homes. The goal is to convince 10,000 households to switch to a renewable electricity provider or support green power projects in other states by April 22, 2008 -- Earth Day. The pitch: Homes can play a key role in cutting carbon dioxide emissions, the gas most associated with global climate change.
But the program has another aim.
The Maine Legislature wants to encourage retail competition in electricity markets. One way to do that is to get tens of thousands of home customers to switch to green power.
That effort has largely failed over the past seven years, since Maine restructured its electricity industry. Competition is well established in the state's commercial and industrial sectors, but fewer than 3,000 Maine households have signed up to buy their electricity from a competitive supplier.
Now the Maine Public Utilities Commission is betting that the growing awareness of global climate change can overcome homeowner energy inertia. Lawmakers have given the PUC $200,000 over two years, to try to make something happen.
"The commission has been waiting for a real opportunity to drive the market," said Kurt Adams, the PUC's chairman. "That time, in my opinion, is now."
But the effort faces a couple of big challenges.
First, green power tends to cost more than standard offer electricity, which now serves 99 percent of Maine households. Green power currently is priced more than 3 cents a kilowatt hour above the standard offer -- roughly $20 a month more for a typical bill.
Second, there are nearly 700,000 households in Maine. It's unlikely that switching 10,000 homes would create any real incentive to develop new renewable power projects in Maine.
Adams is aware of both these obstacles. But he thinks there are many more homeowners like Ebinger; they will embrace green power, if the state makes a sustained effort to promote it.
"It would be a jump-start for the market," he said.
A carbon-free home sounds good, but it's more a phrase than a practical reality. Residents who sign on to the PUC program aren't likely to literally make their homes carbon-free. If they heat or cook with oil or gas, or drive a car, they're burning fuels that emit carbon dioxide.
But electricity suppliers that rely on wind, biomass or other renewables displace power generated by fossil fuels on the regional grid. So the net effect is to cut the overall amount of CO2 given off by each household, making them carbon-lite, if not carbon-free.
Home customers who want to directly buy green electricity now have only one choice, Maine Clean Power. The electricity comes from the Worumbo Dam on the Androscoggin River in Lisbon Falls. A companion product, Maine Clean Power Plus, combines that dam's electricity with credits that support wind turbines in other states.
Home customers also can pick from options called renewable energy certificates, sometimes referred to as carbon offsets or green tags. People who buy these certificates don't actually switch energy suppliers. They purchase credits that support renewable generators and offset carbon emissions. One product is called Wind Watts; it's tied to the new wind farm at Mars Hill.
These products have different prices and assumptions.
Maine Clean Power currently costs 12 cents per kwh. Maine Clean Power Plus costs 12.5 cents. The prices are locked in for three-year contracts. By comparison, standard offer electricity for home customers living in Central Maine Power's service area now costs 8.8 cents per kwh.
The standard offer price changes every six months, based on bids and market conditions. That's the PUC's way of smoothing over sudden price shocks, and it tends to keep the standard offer cost lower than green power.
"Price really does matter," said Rich Silkman, a co-owner of Competitive Energy Services in Portland.
Silkman's company is the state's largest retail electricity broker. It offers the green power options through an affiliate, Maine Clean Energy, and a partnership with the nonprofit Maine Interfaith Power & Light.
Over the years, Silkman has learned, many Mainers say they support clean power, but balk at the price. With all energy prices rising, he observed, it's not surprising that people are looking for ways to save money, not spend more.
"The PUC is trying to get people to understand that it's an investment," Silkman said. "It won't pay you back, but you feel good and it hasn't cost that much. That's not an easy thing to convey. It doesn't fit on a bumper sticker."
It also will take considerably more than 10,000 homes to spur new green power development, Silkman said. The 19-megawatt Worumbo Dam only uses about one-eighth of its capacity to supply power to the 3,000 existing home customers, he said. The rest of the power is sold on the regional grid.
"It's tough to see how residential demand will suddenly shift the renewable market in a big way," said Dave Wilby, executive director of the Independent Energy Producers of Maine.
Wilby's group includes 20 of the state's hydro, biomass, wind generators. They sell to wholesale markets, not retail programs like Maine Clean Power. Household demand is small, compared to industrial and commercial sectors, he said. Institutional customers, such as colleges that have pledged to reduce carbon emissions, can play a larger role in driving the renewable power market.
But Wilby speculated that thousands of green-power homes could create demand for some small-scale hydro and wind projects.
The idea of small, locally produced power appeals to Ebinger. That's why she's planning to switch to Maine Clean Power, which benefits the dam in Lisbon Falls. She considered buying renewable energy certificates, but was confused by the concept.
Ebinger lives in a small house, and she and her husband are already energy conscious. Her typical electric bill, which she estimated at $45 a month, is half of what an average household pays. Switching to green power will add another $9.60 to her monthly bill, based on the current 3.2 cent premium for Maine Clean Power.
The 10000carbonfreehomes Web site features a live counter that continually updates the number of households that have agreed to participate in the program. As of late last week, 89 had signed on.
Now, the Maine PUC is looking for 9,911 more residents like Ebinger.
Staff writer Tux Turkel can be contacted at 791-6462 or
Questions/Comments
North of the Border
Recently Seen
Mothers Day Baseball in Buxton
Trout and Heads
May Pajama Story Time
'What Happens in Vegas'
The Baker's Bench
The Big Lebowski
Where's the beach?
Casting Call
Reader comments
Sort by: Oldest first | Newest First
You must be a registered user of MaineToday.com to post a comment. Register or log in.