Purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to offset 100% your home's electricity use and your household's greenhouse gas emissions
If you live in Thurmont and cannot purchase electricity from renewable sources through your utility, or if you are interested in offsetting your household’s greenhouse gas emissions, purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), also known as Green tags, is a flexible option that supports the growth of the renewable energy sector.
RECs quantify the amount of clean energy a power generator has produced from a clean, renewable source, such as wind or solar. Every megawatt-hour (1,000 kilowatt-hours) of electricity generated from a renewable source is assigned a unique Renewable Energy Certificate, also known as a “green tag”. Most RECs are certified by a third-party entity, such as Green-e, and sold as a commodity to offset the pollution from electricity generated by burning fossil fuels. Whoever owns or purchases a REC can claim ownership of the environmental benefits attributable to clean renewable energy projects.
You can purchase RECs from a REC marketer; some of these marketers make it easy for individuals and families to purchase RECs online. Some marketers are geared for commercial operations.
Purchasing RECs will not affect your utility bill; you will be billed separately by your utility and your REC Marketer.
Determine how many RECs you need per year to offset 100% or 50% of your electricity use. Use your electric bill and find the "Usage History" on the bill. Use the “Last 12 Months Use” or take the “Average Monthly Use” and multiply it by 12 to get an estimate of your annual energy use.
Purchase Renewable Energy Certificates from a REC marketer.
Purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to offset 50% your home's electricity use and your household's greenhouse gas emissions
If you live in Thurmont and cannot purchase electricity from renewable sources through your utility, or if you are interested in offsetting your household’s greenhouse gas emissions, purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), also known as Green tags, is a flexible option that supports the growth of the renewable energy sector.
RECs quantify the amount of clean energy a power generator has produced from a clean, renewable source, such as wind or solar. Every megawatt-hour (1,000 kilowatt-hours) of electricity generated from a renewable source is assigned a unique Renewable Energy Certificate, also known as a “green tag”. Most RECs are certified by a third-party entity, such as Green-e, and sold as a commodity to offset the pollution from electricity generated by burning fossil fuels. Whoever owns or purchases a REC can claim ownership of the environmental benefits attributable to clean renewable energy projects.
You can purchase RECs from a REC marketer; some of these marketers make it easy for individuals and families to purchase RECs online. Some marketers are geared for commercial operations.
Purchasing RECs will not affect your utility bill; you will be billed separately by your utility and your REC Marketer.
Determine how many RECs you need per year to offset 100% or 50% of your electricity use. Use your electric bill and find the "Usage History" on the bill. Use the “Last 12 Months Use” or take the “Average Monthly Use” and multiply it by 12 to get an estimate of your annual energy use.
Purchase Renewable Energy Certificates from a REC marketer.
If you have access to a sunny yard, patio, or deck, solar ovens, also known as solar cookers, provide a simple and safe way to cook without consuming fuel or electricity. You can choose from several design options including a box oven, parabolic cooker, and a panel cooker. Temperatures can reach 200 – 400°F making the cookers suitable for everything from cooking rice and stews, to baking apples and biscuits. It does take longer to cook with a solar cooker, however, so you will need to plan ahead, much the same way you would if using a crock pot.
Take Action:
Enter “solar ovens” in your internet browser to learn more about options and products available online.
Learn how solar cooking is improving social, economic, and environmental conditions around the world.
Even if you heat your home with an oil burning furnace, you can burn a more renewable fuel by using bio-heating oil, which is traditional home heating oil blended with 5% Biodiesel (known as B5). Biodiesel is made in the U.S. from soy, corn, and other vegetable oils, animal fats, recycled restaurant oils, and other natural sources. New sources, such as algae and cellulose from switch grass, cornstalks, and other plants, are under investigation. As an incentive, the State of Maryland offers a Bio-Heating Oil Tax-Credit of up to $500 for using bio-heating oil through 2017. Bio-heating oil costs are similar to traditional heating oil costs.
Take Action:
Purchase bio-heating oil from a distributor serving Frederick County. As of March 2013, two distributors offered bio-heating oil:
Use efficient furnaces and stoves designed for biomass fuels. a. Replace an older inefficient wood burning stove with a new efficient wood or pellet stove
Residential biomass furnaces and stoves are an alternative to heating oil furnaces or electric systems; they burn renewable materials like wood, wood pellets, corn, or nutshells. Biomass is a renewable energy source because the carbon dioxide emitted when it is burned can be recaptured if the biological source used is replanted. Depending on home size and layout, free-standing biomass stoves can provide all of a home’s heating needs or supplement traditional heating systems. Biomass furnaces and boilers are designed to replace traditional furnaces.
The Maryland Energy Administration’s (MEA) Clean Burning Wood Stove Grant Program offers $400 grants for approved wood-burning stoves and $600 for approved pellet-burning stoves. A wide variety of stove and furnace options are available; enter “biomass stove” or “biomass furnace” into your internet browser to review products on the market, or review the lists of stoves eligible for the grant program.
Opinions differ on how “green” biomass stoves and furnaces are. See How Green are Biomass Stoves and Furnaces? for more information.
Use efficient furnaces and stoves designed for biomass fuels. a. Replace an older inefficient wood burning stove with a new efficient wood or pellet stove
Use efficient furnaces and stoves designed for biomass fuels. b. Purchase a new efficient biomass stove or furnace
Residential biomass furnaces and stoves are an alternative to heating oil furnaces or electric systems; they burn renewable materials like wood, wood pellets, corn, or nutshells. Biomass is a renewable energy source because the carbon dioxide emitted when it is burned can be recaptured if the biological source used is replanted. Depending on home size and layout, free-standing biomass stoves can provide all of a home’s heating needs or supplement traditional heating systems. Biomass furnaces and boilers are designed to replace traditional furnaces.
The Maryland Energy Administration’s (MEA) Clean Burning Wood Stove Grant Program offers $400 grants for approved wood-burning stoves and $600 for approved pellet-burning stoves. A wide variety of stove and furnace options are available; enter “biomass stove” or “biomass furnace” into your internet browser to review products on the market, or review the lists of stoves eligible for the grant program.
Opinions differ on how “green” biomass stoves and furnaces are. See How Green are Biomass Stoves and Furnaces? for more information.
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