Generate Your Own Wind Energy or Use a Provider?

If you can’t put up a wind turbine without pissing off the neighbors or you figured that buying or leasing a wind turbine is just too costly, alternatives exist to power your home with green energy. Green energy providers such as Bullfrog Power buy up electricity from wind farms and other renewable energy sources, then resell that electricity to you. You continue purchasing energy from your local utility and the provider uses your funds to add green energy to the grid. It’s a simple setup that doesn’t require much work at all on your part. Here are the pros and cons to going with a provider.

Pros

Backing the right cause – By supporting green energy producers you not only increase their sales, which leads to more wind farms, but you avoid putting money into the pockets of coal, nuclear and other dirty energy providers.

Easy – Making the switch is as simple as filling out a form that you can cancel at any time. If you cannot install a wind turbine on your property or if you just don’t like the idea of having one, this avoids the hassle.

No NIMBYs – Wind turbines have sadly been stigmatized as noisy eyesores. The not in my backyard factor stops many a wind turbine from ever spinning a blade. Going this route allows you to use wind energy without the headaches associated with putting up a turbine.

Cons

Cost – Purchasing power from a green energy provider means that you’re still paying your regular energy bill as well as a premium to the green energy provider on top of that.

Invisible – People won’t know you’re powering your home by wind unless you tell them. Do you enjoy advocating on behalf of renewable energy? If so—and you don’t like openly advertising that you buy green energy—this may not be the right option for you. If, on the other hand, you like to stand on the soapbox and spin soliloquies about the benefits of green power, here’s your chance!

No sight to see – To some people, staring into a wind turbines’ spinning blades until they enter a trance is quite a thrill. Going this route means you won’t have your own turbine to look at, but you would be contributing to the building of turbines at a wind farm somewhere nearby.

Stay tuned for following sections of the Buyer’s Guide to Wind Turbines in the coming weeks or join our free newsletter to download the entire guide>>

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image:  (Creative Commons BY-NC-ND)

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