Exciting events are already afoot at The New Century School in 2013, a mere 2 weeks into the year! As reported last November, it’s time to kick off TNCS’s Green Neighborhood Energy Challenge (GNEC), sponsored by TNCS’s new green energy supplier, Clean Currents. By the way, Clean Currents was the December 2012 recipient of the Green America’s People & Planet award for their clean energy innovations and community-minded business operations—Congratulations Clean Currents!
Join the Green Energy Neighborhood Challenge and clean up your home’s energy source!
Profiled in this blog in Blown Away with Wind Energy, Clean Currents is a local, independent green energy company, supplying TNCS and other commercial customers with wind and solar power options. In fact, TNCS and the Lingo Leap have been running on 100% wind power since October. Now, it’s time to bring it on home. Starting Monday, January 14th and running through Friday, March 15th, TNCS is partnering with Clean Currents during the Green Neighborhood Challenge to bring clean energy to you.
What is the Green Neighborhood Energy Challenge?
GNEC is Clean Current’s community engagement program. Since 2008, more than 150 Maryland and D.C. communities, schools, groups, and environmental non-profits have participated in GNEC, and, in 2013, Clean Currents is expanding into PA. The program provides both education about why sustainable energy is so important and the support for actually switching to wind power, all while raising money for local green projects. In other words, it brings 100% renewable, sustainable energy into your home. Plus, for every family who makes the switch, Clean Currents donates $30 to TNCS for their use in a school environmental initiative of their choice.
Benefits Galore
Sounds too good to be true, right? It isn’t. Sounds like a lot of effort, expensive, and time-consuming? It’s none of those either. By enrolling in TNCS’s GNEC online, families will see a line item on the power bill they are already accustomed to receiving each month. This line item is not an additional charge, it just means that the money you are putting toward energy suppy is going exclusively to fund wind power production (not power sourced from dirty and carbon-intensive fossil fuels). The charge is right around the same cost (give or take a few tenths of a cent, depending on the particular service) as, for instance, Baltimore Gas & Electric’s current charges. Even better, while BGE and other power companies’ rates fluctuate with the market and also throughout the day (i.e., peak-hour usage costs more than off–peak-hour usage), Clean Currents’ energy rates are fixed; rates are quoted in 12- and 24-month increments. The online enrollment process takes no more than a few minutes, and, once that’s complete, Clean Currents takes over. Your energy bill will reflect the changes within one or two meter readings. There’s nothing to install, and there are no hidden or additional fees.
And, again, TNCS gets $30 for every household who makes the switch! Note: this opportunity is not limited to TNCS-enrolled families. Anyone who wants clean, green energy can join the GNEC . . . but do please mention TNCS on the enrollment form!
Says Emily Conrad, Clean Currents Community Outreach Coordinator, “Our hope is that the Green Neighborhood Challenge will provide an excellent platform to bring The New Century School community together and empower both the students and their families to positively and quantifiably contribute to the school and the planet.”
Emily Conrad, Clean Currents’ Community Outreach Coordinator
5 Quick, Easy Steps to Joining the GNEC
Having trouble believing that such dramatic benefits can come from next to no effort? Read on.
Step 1: Go to http://www.cleancurrents.com/ (or click here).
Step 2: Click the orange circle on the right of the page that says, “sign up NOW”.
Step 3: Enter your zip code and click “VIEW RATES”.
This Pennsylvania wind farm is Clean Currents’ supplier.
Step 4: Choose from one of five listed plans that include 1) 12-month or 24-month options, 2) neighborhood or national (via Renewable Energy Certificates—RECs; watch the video) wind suppliers (see map of Clean Currents’ wind farms) that are both Green e-Energy Certified, and 3) 50% or 100% wind power and then click “Enroll now”.
Step 5: Complete the very brief electronic form, accept the terms, click “Submit”, and congratulate yourself for reducing your family’s carbon footprint in an immediate and quantifiable way!
Seriously—it’s that simple!
Do note that on the form you will be asked to “Please provide further details and your Green Neighborhood Challenge name, if applicable”; this is where you fill in “The New Century School” so TNCS gets credit for participating in GNEC. Another field on the form asks for your Electronic I.D., which is not the same as your account number, and can be found at the top left on the second page of your bill. A final note about the form concerns whether you are currently under contract with another supplier. Unless you have voluntarily opted for a supplier other than the utility company (in Baltimore City’s case, BGE), you are not currently under contract (BGE doesn’t count). If you are under separate contract, however, you may want to wait until your renewable window comes around before signing up with Clean Currents to avoid an early termination fee.
So come on everybody, make the choice between 1/14/13 and 3/15/13 to GO GREEN by accepting the Green Neighborhood Energy Challenge! You won’t regret it, and . . . it’s a “breeze.”
As always, kindly let us know your thoughts about this post in the comments section—we love to hear from you! Plus, stay tuned to see TNCS’s measurable process in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Baltimore!