The Revitalist

The Washington Post reports that two real estate firms have arranged to buy wind-generated power for their headquarters. The concept is more sophisticated that putting turbines on their roof or hooking into a nearby generation plant. They are purchasing credits from a middleman that buys and sells credits for green power. Because the wind farm supplies power into the grid where it mingles with all the other power generation sources and is then drawn down by consumers, the two firms can't guarantee that the actual juice comes from wind. They can, however, ensure that their money goes to the wind producer. "But we're committed to the fact that enough energy is generated through wind to compensate for the amount of energy we're using in our buildings. We purchased wind to meet 100 percent of our energy needs."

Because we're talking about annual usage for three high-rise office towers, there is enough quantity here to make this feasible. Wonder if one day individual consumers will be able to purchase green power on their own?

Recently, I have heard that the green building community is working on a similar concept: Suppose you built a building with green mechanical systems. You modelled it's operation versus a conventional building and could then quantify the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions created by your building's operation. Suppose then that you could get emission credits (similar those created under the Kyoto Protocol) that you could sell on the open market to raise equity for your project, just like you sell Low Income Housing Tax Credits or Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits. Imagine that.