Overview
Our everyday activities add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. These gases, primarily carbon dioxide, cause climate change. The atmosphere gets warmer and more volatile, leading to more intense weather events like flooding, hurricanes, draughts and wildfires. By reducing our carbon emissions (our carbon footprint), we can slow climate change.
The Carbon Problem
Our carbon footprint is a measure of how much our everyday activities impact climate change. To reduce our carbon footprint, we need to know where the carbon emissions are coming from. The primary activities contributing to a household’s carbon footprint include:
- Transportation
- Electric Power
- Heating
- Waste
The Solution
The easiest way for a household to implement a major reduction in its carbon footprint is to transition to renewable electricity. Renewable electricity, also known as green or clean electricity, is generated without using fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas. Generating renewable electricity does not emit greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.
Note: Implementing energy efficiency measures can also reduce a carbon footprint.
When renewable electricity is generated, it has two components: Electric power and that power’s environmental attributes. The environmental attributes are the benefits from avoiding carbon pollution and the emission of carbon dioxide.
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are the instruments used to track those environmental benefits because there is no way to follow “green electricity” once it enters the electric grid. These certificates can be purchased by utilities, corporations and individuals to represent ownership of green or environmental benefits and to certify a reduction in carbon footprints.
Here are four ways to transition your household to renewable energy or add to renewable energy in Illinois:
| Community Solar | Renewable Energy Certificates (REC’s) | Alternate Retail Electric Supplier | Rooftop Solar | |
| Reduces Household Carbon Footprint | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Up Front Cost | None | Very Low | None | High to Low |
| Effort to Switch to | Minimal | None | Minimal | Moderate |
| Change in Cost of Electricity | Lowers Rates | None | Varies | Reduces cost over time |
| Lower cost energy without putting solar panels on your house. Brings renewable energy to Illinois. | Certified renewable electricity. Lowest cost way to support the renewable energy market if you’re not in a municipal aggregation plan. Energy source could be anywhere in U.S. | Bundle electricity and green energy benefits together on your electric bill. Alternate suppliers buy renewable energy certificates for you. | Save money on your energy bills. Short payback periods, often 5 to 7 years, and generous system-life savings, can make the installation of rooftop solar panels attractive. | |
program that will provide a community-wide reduction in Deerfield’s carbon footprint.
This program is expected to be implemented by the end of March 2021.