Making the switch to “Green Power” has become as easy as flipping a light switch for folks in Tennessee. Thanks to the efforts of the EPA and the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) “Green Power Switch” initiative, both commercial and residential energy customers can now choose to pay just a little more for renewable resources instead of conventional power.

This is how it works: Customers sign up to purchase 150-kilowatt-hour blocks which is about 12% of a typical household’s monthly use. For each block of green power they buy, there will be about a $4 increase on their monthly bill. All blocks of green power that are purchased is added into the TVA’s total power mix to be shared by all. So the more people that participate in the Green Power Switch, the less conventional means are necessary. That is because the dollars from every block sold goes directly into the Green Power Switch program. That means more technology can be afforded to capture the energy from renewable resources such as Wind, Methane Gas & Solar Power.

Buying two blocks of green power per month for one year is equal to recycling 480 lbs. of aluminum (that’s 15,322 cans!) or recycling 1,766 lbs. of newspaper.

Earth conscious people need not consider moving to Tennessee just yet. If they are interested in supporting green power they only need to look in their own back yard! The EPA has established their Green Power Partnership where companies all over the US can register to join the race for global green. You would be surprised to learn that even companies near the big cities, like Detroit, have started to adopt greener methods of producing electricity. For example, in Michigan you can find a handful of companies that have all partnered with the EPA in the last few years. Consumers Energy’s Green Power Program has been harnessing the power of wind since 2001. Detroit Edison’s Solar Currents program has been gathering solar power since 1996. As of 2001, Lansing’s Board of Water and Light has the Green Wise Electric power program that uses landfill gas and a small hydropower plant to gather electricity. Traverse City’s Light and Power adopted Green Rate in 1996, which gathers their green alternative from wind.

If you want more information please check out these websites and help support the green power effort for the benefit of our future and Mother Earth! Make sure you use the EPA’s green locator to find companies near you that have already adopted greener alternatives!