Businesses supplied by green energy

While enjoying an organic mocha over the weekend, the cup told me that Mercury Coffee is a PSE Green Power Partner, receiving 100% of its power from green energy sources.

That's a load of crap - the power grid does not support energy segmentation or dedicated delivery from specific sources to specific customers.  So I looked it up.

When you give PSE money to call yourself a Green Power Partner, PSE uses the money to buy renewable energy certificates (RECs) from green energy providers on your behalf (with some lost to advertising and administerion of the program).  These providers receive the certificates from the state as a proof that they produced energy from green sources.  Certificates are only given to facilities produced after 01/01/1997 so that providers are not rewarded for energy created from processes that existed before the REC system existed.  The energy produced by these facilities is sold separately, just as it is from any power plant.

What does this mean? 

From the provider's point of view, these certificates basically increase the price of electricity produced by green power plants, incentivizing them to create the plants.  The price of these certificates is based on supply and demand - the more people who want to buy them, the more they cost, and the more the providers are rewarded for their energy.  When you buy an REC, you are giving money directly to the green energy providers as a thank you for producing clean energy.

According to Dominion energy, you are "buying the right to claim the environmental benefits that were created by adding that renewable energy to the grid."  So, you're not directly helping the environment, you are purchasing the right to claim you are helping the environment, and participating in a system that gives people the incentive to produce cleaner energy.

What happens to the RECs after you give money to PSE to buy them?  PSE will have a stockpile of RECs that they own.  If they can sell the RECs at a later date, your purchase is useless.  In some states, RECs expire, which alleviates the problems.  Although not explicitly stated, it sounds like if the REC is registered with Green-e (82% of the market), only the first sales is authorized.

I started looking into this assuming that it was a crock.  But it seems legitimate.  I might just have to celebrate with a cup of coffee.