Electric Service
Green Power

Snapping Shoals EMC electric customers are among the first Georgia consumers to have an opportunity to purchase "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.

Snapping Shoals EMC electric customers can help support this new environmentally friendly energy by signing up to purchase green power in 150-kilowatt-hour blocks. The price is $4 per block, which is in addition to all regular costs for energy used.

You can sign up to purchase one to four blocks per month. The green power that you purchase will become part of the mix on the electric system, where it will replace an equivalent amount of power from traditional sources. Subscriptions may be cancelled at any time.

A limited amount of green power is available. Consumers will be enrolled on a first-come, first-served basis. Enrollment will be limited to residential customers initially. Non-residential customers may request to be placed on a waiting list. If sufficient green power is available, a special green power program for businesses may be added; pricing and guidelines may be different.

Landfill Gas Project

This green energy program, the first one in the state, comes as a result of the efforts of Green Power EMC, a partnership of 28 Georgia electric cooperatives including Snapping Shoals. Green Power EMC is working, with input from the environmental community, to bring electricity produced from cleaner, greener sources to Georgia consumers.

Green Power EMC's initial project will 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.

Green Power Benefits

Through your green power subscription, you will be helping to reduce waste and pollution in the state of Georgia. If you purchase just one block of green power per month for one year, your subscription will have an environmental impact equal to planting nearly three acres of trees or reducing the use of coal by 9,500 pounds. So think green!