Buy portions of your electricity from a TVA program that generates power from clean,
renewable resources.
Yes!! I want to sign-up for
the Green Power Switch® program.
Blue Ridge Mountain EMC (BRMEMC) is offering residential members the choice to
buy portions of their electricity from a program called Green Power Switch®
offered through the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
With Green Power Switch®, you may buy a portion
of your TVA power generated from three renewable energy sources: wind, solar, and
earth. What value is there for you in contributing to Green Power Switch®? First,
Green Power is generated with renewable resource technology that lowers the environmental
impact. Second, your investment in Green Power Switch® goes directly into developing
new Green Power Switch® technology. Third, all the Green Power TVA generates is added
to the Valley's power mix.
When can BRMEMC members join in Green Power Switch®? Immediately. Residential members
can buy one block (150 kilowatt-hours) of electricity for as little as $4 per month added to
your monthly bill or as many blocks as you like for $4 per block each. The cost
per block won't change with your monthly usage. Commercial and industrial members
can purchase multiple block minimums based on their electric use as defined by the
rate schedule under which they are served.
Why does green power cost more? Because while renewable resources like sunlight
may be free, the technology used to capture the energy these resources produce is
still more expensive than traditional power generation methods. By choosing to pay
a little more for Green Power Switch, you help advance the technology and increase
the amount of electricity generated from cleaner sources.
TVA has built the first commercial wind-powered turbines in
the southeastern U.S. on Buffalo Mountain in Anderson County, Tennessee. Solar generation sites are
located in the service areas of participating public power companies. And methane gas is providing
power at Allen Fossil Plant in Memphis, where a methane waste by-product from the
city’s wastewater treatment plant is used for co-firing.
TVA has the capacity to provide as much as 97 million kilowatt-hours of green power
annually. Physical laws determine where electricity is ultimately used, so power
from these 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.