Winds of Change

[This comes from a very interesting blog generally about clean energy, link is at the end of the article.]
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I’ve wanted to make a post about this since it was in the news last Thursday, but it slipped to the back of my mind.  The Washington Post had an article about how in Maryland it’s now cheaper on the electric bill for residents to buy renewable wind energy credits through the Rockville-based Clean Currents than it would be to just buy power through BG&E and Pepco.  This means if you’re in Maryland, you can lower your utility rates and take a significant step to greening your lifestyle at the same time.  Usually, being part of the Clean Currents Program costs ratepayers a little bit more, but the current economic climate has created different conditions.

“The decreased rates are the result of a steady decline in wholesale energy prices. Utility companies set their customers’ rates periodically and have not reduced them to reflect the lower prices they are now paying for energy to produce electricity. But Clean Currents and other companies have taken advantage of the downturn in the price and are offering residents as much as two years of power for 10 to 15 percent less than the utilities’ summer rates. They use some of their revenue to promote wind farms and the use of wind power.”

The article also talked about a family in Maryland who set up their own wind turbine to power their home in Charles County, where the wind is strong.

I’m hopeful this is a trend towards renewables that we’ll be seeing across Maryland and the United States.  One other recent signal that the winds of change are upon us is that there are now more wind jobs than coal.  For now, if you live in Maryland, there’s no excuse to not google Clean Currents right now and consider entering into a 2 year contract with them.  You can save money, and less your impact on the environment at the same time.

http://madrad2002.wordpress.com/

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Baltimore Spokes
https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20090317110317879