Electric Service
Green Power

Green power is electricity produced from renewable sources such as solar, wind and biomass, which includes landfill gas and agricultural wastes. Power generated from these resources creates less waste and pollution than energy produced from most conventional sources such as coal. However, the technology used to generate green power is typically more expensive than that used to operate traditional power plants.

Many Snapping Shoals EMC electric customers have helped support this environmentally friendly energy source by purchasing green power in 150-kilowatt-hour blocks at $4 each, in addition to their regular energy costs. The green power blocks are part of the mix on the electric system, where they replace an equivalent amount of power from traditional sources.

Snapping Shoals EMC’s environmentally conscious members have purchased all of the blocks that were made available to us, and we currently do not have any blocks to sell. Consumers were enrolled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Green Power EMC

This green energy program, the first one in the state, comes as a result of the efforts of Green Power EMC, a partnership of 37 Georgia electric cooperatives, including Snapping Shoals.

Green Power EMC utilizes "green" resources such as biomass, solar, wind, and water to generate electricity. Green Power EMC was the first in Georgia to invite consumers to choose how some of their electricity is produced. Since its inception, Green Power EMC has generated over 124,730,132 kilowatt-hours of green energy, providing the same environmental benefits as taking 123,436 cars off Georgia's roads, or planting 175,897 acres in trees.

Landfill energy resources

Landfill projects utilize methane gas from landfills to generate electricity. With this type of project, the gas that is naturally created when waste in a landfill decomposes is captured so that it can be converted and used as an energy source. Gas from the landfill is collected in wells and piped to a processor to remove moisture and other contaminants. The gas is then used to run a turbine that turns an electric generator.

Recovering and using landfill gas reduces odors and safety hazards at the landfill. It also helps prevent methane from entering the atmosphere and contributing to smog and global warming. The two landfill gas-to-electricity projects utilized by Green Power EMC currently produce a combined five megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 3,000 Georgia homes each year.

Low-impact hydro

Hydropower is energy obtained from flowing water. Hydroelectric power supplies about 19 percent of the world's electricity and an estimated 10 percent of electric generating capacity in the United States via dams and turbines. Hydropower is normally applied to peak-load demand because it is so readily stopped and started.

Thousands of hydropower dams throughout the U.S. are located on many rivers and streams. These dams can create pollution-free energy, but they can also produce adverse impacts on fish, wildlife and other resources.

Low impact hydro, a form of hydropower that minimizes negative impact on the environment, is increasingly being used as an alternative energy source. These smaller scale hydropower systems can be installed in small rivers or streams with little or no discernable environmental effect.

Green Power EMC uses low impact hydro produced at Tallassee Shoals Hydroelectric Project. Located on the Middle Oconee River, the 2.3 megawatt facility is owned and operated by the Fall Line Hydro Company, Inc., and licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The Tallassee Shoals Project was the first hydropower facility in Georgia to earn certification from the Low Impact Hydro Institute, which was awarded in July 2004, and the 12th nationwide to earn this distinction.

Solar

Green Power EMC continues to research solar-to-electric power. Solar thermal and passive solar can be cost effective when used for space heating and water heating, and photovoltaic solar-to-electric power is efficient and can be less expensive in certain applications.

Photovoltaic (PV) technology makes use of the abundant energy in the sun-and has little impact on the environment. Photovoltaics can be used in a wide range of products, from small consumer items to large commercial solar electric systems, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. For example, roof shingles coated with PV cells made of amorphous silicon look like ordinary roofing shingles-but help generate electricity.

Snapping Shoals is now offering a rebate to help make installing and generating solar-powered systems more affordable for our residential members. If you choose to install a qualifying solar-powered system on your home, you are eligible to receive a one-time rebate of $450 per kilowatt (kW) installed, up to 10 kW ($4,500). Members can also receive a federal income tax credit of up to 30 percent of the installation cost, or a maximum of $2,000. For more information, please call us at 770-786-3484.

Wind

A clean, inexhaustible energy resource, wind has the capability to generate enough electricity to power millions of homes and businesses, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Harnessing one of the fastest growing forms of electricity generation in the world, the United States currently is able to generate more than 10,000 megawatts of electricity from wind sources-enough to power 2.5 million American homes. Industry experts predict that wind energy may eventually provide 20 percent of the nation's energy needs.

While the nation's greatest wind resources derive from the western states, some areas in North Georgia may lend themselves to wind-to-electricity generation. In 2007, Green Power EMC moved into the second phase of a wind assessment project launched in 2005 when, working with Airtricity, it gathered wind data over a period of 18 months from a meteorological tower installed near the upper reservoir of Oglethorpe Power Corporation's Rocky Mountain Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Plant in Floyd County.

Green Power EMC is continuing to explore national regulatory approvals, conduct environmental studies, and address design challenges and structural issues in relation to wind generation.

Agricultural waste

Green Power EMC is also continually looking for other opportunities like the state’s first poultry litter-to-electricity plant in Carnesville, Ga.

Benefits of chicken litter-to-energy projects include the fact that the gasification technology used to convert litter into energy produces lower emissions; the energy conserved means less reliance on fossil fuels. The process transforms the litter waste into a renewable energy resource that becomes a most valuable commodity-electricity.

When complete, the $20 million facility will generate enough energy each year to meet the needs of more than 15,000 homes. The poultry litter-to-electricity project has attracted interest from universities, government agencies, utility companies and agribusiness interests.

Green-e Energy certifies that Snapping Shoals EMC meets the minimum environmental and consumer protection standards established by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions. For more information on Green-e Energy certification requirements, call 1-888-63-GREEN or log on to www.green-e.org. Green E Price, Terms, and Conditions