Green Power Switch
Wind Power
Power out of thin air -- it's no magic trick. Properly placed wind turbines can generate electric power anywhere the wind blows steady and strong. Wind turbines use the momentum of moving air to quietly turn the large blades, which are attached to the shaft of an efficient electric generator.
What is Green Power Switch?
Green Power Switch is a renewable energy initiative that offers consumers in
the Tennessee Valley a choice in the type of power you buy. TVA and local
public power companies, working in cooperation with the environmental
community, have developed Green Power Switch as a way to bring green
power--electricity that's generated by cleaner, renewable resources such as
solar, wind, and methane gases--to Valley consumers.
How much does Green Power Switch cost?
Green Power Switch is sold to residential consumers in 150-kilowatt-hour
blocks (about 12 percent of a typical household's monthly energy use.)
Each block adds $4 to the customer's monthly power bill. You can buy as many
blocks as you like. Green Power Switch is also marketed to commercial and
industrial customers, who are asked to buy blocks based on the amount of
energy they use. Although
How does green power benefit the environment?
The environmental impacts of traditional energy sources like coal,
natural gas, oil, and nuclear power can be significant. Although no source
of energy is impact free, renewable resources create less waste and
pollution. In fact, an investment of an additional $8 per month on your
power bill buys enough Green Power Switch to equal the environmental
benefits of planting an acre of trees in the Tennessee Valley.
How much electricity does Green Power Switch produce?
Approximately five megawatts of green power is currently being
generated by three wind turbines, eleven solar installations, and a landfill
methane gas site.
Methane Gas
There's treasure in your trash. In the start-up stage of Green Power Switch, methane gas from landfills will provide the largest source of its cleaner energy. If released directly into the atmosphere, the methane that landfills emit becomes a potent greenhouse gas. But using the methane gas as fuel to power an electric generator transforms the problem into a renewable energy solution that actually helps reduce air pollution.
Solar Power
Strong enough to fry eggs from 93 million miles away, the sun is an incredibly powerful source of energy. That's why we're collecting solar power with photovoltaic panels and transforming it into usable electricity. When the rays of sunshine strike a solar panel, they give some of the electrons inside it more energy, which creates an electric current. At present the amount of energy derived from solar power is small, but we plan to grow Green Power Switch's solar component.