Green Power

What is Green Power?

Green Power is a renewable energy initiative that offers consumers in the Tennessee Valley a choice in the type of power they buy. TVA, working in cooperation with the environmental community, developed the Green Power Program as a way to bring electricity that's generated by cleaner renewable resources to consumers. More than ninety public power companies in the TVA service area are currently selling energy generated by solar, wind, and methane gas resources.

How much does Green Power cost?

Green Power is sold to residential consumers in 150-kilowatt-hour blocks (about 12 percent of a typical household's monthly energy use). Each block adds an additional $4 to the customer's monthly power bill. Consumers can buy as many blocks as they like. In other parts of the country, residential consumers who participate in Green Power programs pay an extra $2 to $10 per month for Green Power. Green Power also is being marketed to commercial and industrial consumers who buy blocks based on the amount of energy they use.

Why does Green Power cost $4 per block?

While renewable resources like sunlight may be free, the technology used to capture the energy they produce is still more expensive than traditional power generation methods. But, increased demand may lead to expanded power production capacity and eventually to lower costs.

The $4 block of Green Power represents 150 kilowatt-hour blocks or 12 percent of a typical East Tennessee home's monthly use. The Green Power produced by TVA replaces power that otherwise would have to be produced by other non-renewable resources. The technology for capturing energy through renewable resources like sunlight and wind is still more expensive than traditional methods.

By choosing to pay a little more for Green Power, you can help advance the technology and increase the amount of electricity generated from cleaner sources.

When Green Power Switch began in 2000, TVA projected the $4 block price would allow the Green Power program to pay for itself by 2020.

What happens to the $4?

TVA uses the $4 to provide infrastructure to generate Green Power from wind, solar energy, and landfill gas. The Green Power generation infrastructure includes:

18 wind-powered turbines located on Buffalo Mountain in Anderson County, Tennessee, with a combined capacity of 29 megawatts (provides electricity to approximately 3,780 homes per year)
16 solar generation sites that provide a total solar capacity of 300 kilowatts
The wastewater treatment facility in Memphis currently generates 8 megawatts of methane gas on an annual basis (provides electricity to approximately 1,043 homes per year)

Altogether, the Green Power Switch program has a generation capacity of over 37 megawatts on an annual basis (provides electricity to approximately 4,823 homes per year). Since the Green Power Switch program began in 2000, more than 290 million kilowatt-hours have been generated.

What happens if TVA produces less Green Power than what they actually sell?

If more people were to subscribe to the program than current resources would accommodate, according to its accreditation by the Green-e Renewable Energy Certification Program, TVA has a prescribed period of time to bring Green Power Switch back into balance.

What happens to the alternative energy that is produced if nobody buys it?

All the energy produced by TVA's renewable resources flows onto the power grid to be used by its consumers. TVA has indicated it would not make a decision on adding additional resources until existing Green Power generation is approaching full utilization.

How does Green Power benefit the environment?

The environmental impacts of traditional energy sources like coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear power can be significant. Although no source of energy is impact-free, renewable resources create less waste and pollution. In fact, an investment of an additional $8 per month on your power bill buys enough Green Power to equal the environmental benefits of planting an acre of trees in the Tennessee Valley.

How do we know Green Power impacts fossil fuel energy consumption?

Green Power Switch is an official Green-e certified program, a renewable electricity certification program administrated by the Center for Resource Solutions. The Green-e Renewable Energy Certification Program is a voluntary certification program that sets consumer protection and environmental standards for renewable energy options and verifies that Green-e certified options meet these standards.

Does TVA count hydroelectric as "Green?"

No. The only resources classified as renewable resources in the Green Power Switch program are solar, wind, and methane gas generation.

How much electricity will Green Power produce?

Physical laws determine where electricity is ultimately used, so power from these cleaner sources will go into TVA's electric system as part of the Valley's total power mix, rather than to individual homes or businesses. When the green power resources aren't operating--for instance, when wind speeds are too low to generate energy--TVA's other resources will continue to supply reliable electricity.

How many consumers will Green Power serve?

Green Power can provide enough electricity to supply 150 kilowatt hours a month for more than 30,000 homes, plus an ample supply of energy for participating businesses and industries.

Which public power companies are participating in the Green Power Program?

4-County Electric Power Association
Alcoa Electric Department
Alcorn County Electric Power Association
Appalachian Electric Cooperative
Athens Utility Board
Benton Electric System
Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corporation
Bowling Green Municipal Utilities
Bristol Tennessee Electric System
Brownsville Utility Department
Caney Fork Electric Cooperative
Central Electric Power Association
Chickasaw Electric Cooperative
City of Athens Electric Department
City of Elizabethton Electric Department
City of Maryville Electric Department
City of Okolona Electric Department
City of Oxford Electric Department
Clarksville Department of Electricity
Cleveland Utilities
Clinton Utilities Board
Columbus Light and Water
Cookeville Electric Department
Cullman Electric Cooperative
Cullman Power Board
Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation
Decatur Utilities
Dickson Electric Department
Duck River Electric Membership Corporation
Dyersburg Electric System
Elizabethton Electric System
EPB (Chattanooga)
Erwin Utilities
Fayetteville Public Utilities
Florence Utilities
Fort Loudon Electric Cooperative
Franklin Electric Plant Board
Gallatin Department of Electricity
Gibson Electric Membership Corporation
Greeneville Light and Power System
Harriman Utility Board
Hartselle Utilities
Holston Electric Cooperative
Hopkinsville Electric System
Huntsville Utilities
Johnson City Power Board
Jackson Energy Authority
Joe Wheeler Electric Membership Corporation

Knoxville Utilities Board
Lafollette Utilities Board
Lawrenceburg Power System
Lenoir City Utilities Board
Loudon Utilities
McMinnville Electric System
Meriwhether Lewis Electric Cooperative
Memphis Light Gas & Water
Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation
Milan Department of Public Utilities
Morristown Power System
Mountain Electric Cooperative
Murfreesboro Electric Department
Murray Electric System
Muscle Shoals Electric Board
Nashville Electric Service
Newport Utilities
North East Mississippi Electric Power Association
North Georgia Electric Membership Corporation
Oak Ridge Electric Department
Paris Board of Public Utilities
Pennyrile Rural Electric Cooperative
Pickwick Electric Cooperative
Plateau Electric Cooperative
Powell Valley Electric Cooperative
Pulaski Electric System
Rockwood Electric Utility
Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative
Sevier County Electric System
Shelbyville Power System
Smithville Electric System
Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation
Springfield Department of Electricity
Starkville Electric System
Sweetwater Utilities Board
Tippah Electric Power Association
Toshomingo County EPA
Tri-County Electric
Tri-State Electric Membership Corporation
Tullahoma Utilities Board
Tuscumbia Electric Department
Union City Electric System
Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation
Volunteer Energy Cooperative
Warren Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation
Weakley County Municipal Electric System
Winchester Utilities