While the costs of setting up a solar or wind power system for an individual home can be prohibitive, there is another option. You can buy green power from the utility you already use. For a nominal fee (we pay four dollars a month) you pay your utility a little extra to buy electricity from a renewable source.

While the green power you buy does not go directly to your home, it does get fed into the electrical grid and helps pay for the costs of establishing, expanding, and maintaining the network of green power systems.

While the immediate feel good factor is relatively low because you cannot see the effects of your efforts, you are helping to subsidize a part of the power industry which will eventually be a major part of the effort to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

The link below is for Puget Sound Energy’s Green Power Program. Feel free to check it out. To see if you can purchase green power, contact your local utility.

http://www.pse.com/solutions/home_greenPower.aspx