Domain: bullfrogpower.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to bullfrogpower.com.
Comments · 6
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Re:FFS
The more important question is, how exactly does one "choose" a green energy source. I don't know about other parts of the world, but up here in Canada we generally only have one choice of power provider. We don't get to shop around for which power plant we want to produce our power.
Usually it isn't feasible to direct power from a specific power plant to a specific home. That doesn't mean you don't have options. In Canada you can sign up with Bullfrog Power. You continue recieving electricity as per normal, but pay a small premium and have Bullfrog deal with the electricity providers to ensure an amount equal to your usage is injected into the system from green sources. It is available all over Canada and costs around $1 per day for an average residential home. Thus, while you don't change electricity providers, you do ensure that your usage is effectively from green sources.
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Re:One problem with this plan
Do you have the option on your power bill to purchase "clean energy"?
Yes. -
You can buy green power right now
Your electrical energy provider might already have a program that lets you pay a few cents more for 'green' electricity.
In Alberta and Ontario, you can sign up with Bullfrog Power (I did just last week). For an extra 2c/kWh (less than $6/mo for me) they put 'green' electricity on the grid to match what I used.
In Alberta they use wind power, in Ontario a mix of wind and 'low impact' water generation. I imagine if more people sign up and solar power price drops as TFA says, that they'll be adding solar to the mix shortly. -
Re:Carbon tax is a good ideaYou'll have NIMBY for any power generation scheme. No-one wants a dam destroying their favourite river, no-one wants a nuclear plant irradiating their children, no-one wants a big tower with a bunch of mirrors pointed at it ruining their view. As for the birds:
Are wind turbines dangerous to birds?
Bullfrog Power only sources energy from wind farms that meet the federal government's Environmental Choice Program EcoLogoM standard. This standard includes critieria focused on the protection of concentrations of birds, including endangered bird species. In addition, most major studies indicate that properly situated wind turbines pose minimal risk to birds. A 2001 study of wind farms in the United States and the UK, for example, found minimal ecological impacts on bird populations (Kerlinger; Avian Issues and Potential Impacts Associated with Wind Power). Bullfrog Power will also work with its producers to assess and minimize impacts on the local habitat of new wind power projects.
From Bullfrog Power, where I buy my electricity. Granted, they're blowing their own horns, so you have to expect some bias, but I've looked into the EcoLogo standard as well, and I'm satisfied with the requirements. -
Re:Carbon tax is a good idea
Yeah, I simplified where the power came from in the interests of clarity. I buy from Bullfrog Power. Their electricity is 20% wind turbines, 80% certified low-impact hydroelectricity.
However, when the wind isn't blowing here, it probably is still blowing somewhere else. The power all comes from the same grid.
Granted, there is no way to say that the watts that I'm using came directly from a wind turbine or low-impact hydroelectric station. BFP guarantees that it injects as many MWh into the grid as its customers use (and has hired auditors to confirm this), but a MWh is a MWh. In the end, my dollars just go towards subsidizing the construction of more clean generation capacity. -
Re:Ultra-capacitors for a different type of hybrid
I know that Ontario has at least 1 supplier of Green Power